"Here is no shouting, no banging of the bauble. The form of phrase, the inflexion of voice, the dancing light of humour, make up the motley which is the true jester's 'only wear'; and under his flashes of merriment is a sober, sound philosophy. This, after all, is the only kind of humour that lasts ... it is easy to appreciate, difficult to acquire; and Mr. Owen Seaman, having acquired it with all the felicity of good humour and art, stands practically alone among the humourists of the hour.... His technical quality seems to strengthen with every new volume."--Mr. ARTHUR WAUGH in _The St. James' Gazette_. "Clean laughter, and scholarly wit; polished metre, and humorous phrase--these are to me the essential characteristics for which I am invariably glad to read Mr. Owen Seaman."--Mr. THEODORE COOK in _Literature_. "The brilliant author of 'Cap and Bells' assumes, before the eyes of a later generation, the mantle of Crawley, and does the same sort of work more felicitously still."--_The Speaker_. "At the end of the volume Mr. Seaman gives agreeable evidence that, in the domain of memorial and complimentary verse, he has the knack of combining felicity of phrase with a wholesome avoidance alike of adulation and excess. The 'In Memoriam' lines to Lewis Carroll, with the graceful reference to Sir John Tenniel, are particularly happy."--_The Spectator_. "Calverley had not, or did not show in his verses, Mr. Seaman's critical acuteness and depth.... As a critic in the form of parody, Mr. Seaman is without a rival.... Of his serious poems an ode to Queen Wilhelmina is a very graceful accomplishment of a difficult task."--Mr. G. S. STREET in _The Pall Mall Magazine_. "Mr. Seaman is what we may call a critic of mannerisms, and a very keen critic to boot. His is a useful, not a merely destructive, function. He is no wanton debaser of the poetic currency. One might rather call him a touchstone of true merit in poetry."--_Daily Chronicle_. "A new volume from the pen of Mr. Owen Seaman must needs be welcome. He is the most accomplished versifier among all our jesters."--_The Globe_. "The parodies in Mr. Seaman's new volume are wonderful examples of this difficult art; the Stephen Phillips, the Alfred Austin, the Watts-Dunton, and the George Meredith are faultless."--_Academy_. "Mr. Owen Seaman has already made his reputation as, perhaps, the surest modern poet to make you laugh, and the nature of his new collection of copies of verse cannot be better described than by saying that it is well worthy of his hand.... The book is heartsome and delightful all through."--_The Scotsman_. "The present vogue of Mr. Owen Seaman's delightful parodies is very great."--_Liverpool Courier_. JOHN LANE: The Bodley Head, London & New York. * * * * * Transcriber Notes Typographical inconsistencies have been changed and are listed below. Hyphenation standardized and is also listed below.