y ingenious, but just because it is such a skillful mosaic of
Georgian 'rubber-stamp' phrases, it must ever fall short of true art."
Mr. Moe is correct. We have, in fact, heard this very criticism
reiterated by various authorities ever since those prehistoric days when
we began to lisp in numbers. Yet somehow we perversely continue to
"mosaic" along in the same old way! But then, we have never claimed to
possess "true art"; we are merely a metrical mechanic. "A New Point of
View In Home Economics", a clever article by Miss Eleanor Barnhart,
concludes the =Official Quarterly= proper.

But the =New Member= supplement, with its profusion of brilliant
credentials, yet remains to be considered. "Dutch Courage", by Louis E.
Boutwell, is a liquorish sketch whose scene is laid in a New Jersey
temple of Bacchus. Being totally unacquainted with the true saloon
atmosphere, we find ourself a little embarrassed as to critical
procedure, yet we may justly say that the characters are all well drawn,
every man in his humor.

"Ol' Man Murdock" is a quaint, and in two senses an =absorbing=, figure.
The rest of the issue is given over to the Muses of poesy. "The Saturday
Fray" is a clever piece by Daisy Vandenbank. The rhyming is a little
uneven, and in one case assonance is made to answer for true rhyme.
"Cream" and "mean" cannot make an artistic couplet. "The Common
Soldiers", by John W. Frazer, is a poem of real merit; whilst "Little
Boy Blue", by W. Hume, is likewise effective. Mr. Hume's pathetic touch
is fervent and in no manner betrays that weakness bordering on the
ridiculous, to which less skillful flights of pathos are prone. "The Two
Springs" is a pleasant moral sermon in verse by Margaret Ellen Cooper.
Concluding the issue is "The Under Dog in the Fight", a vigorous
philosophical poem by Andrew Stevenson.

* * * * *

=The Woodbee= for January is distinguished by Mrs. Winifred V. Jordan's
brilliant short poem entitled "Oh, Where is Springtime?" The sentiment
of the piece is an universal one, and the pleasing lines will appeal to
all. "Retribution", by Mrs. Ida C. Haughton, is a clever story, but the
present critic's extreme fondness for cats makes it difficult to review
after reading the first sentence. However, the well-approached
conclusion is indeed just. The "moral" is a pathetic example of
unregeneracy! Miss Edna M. Haughton's critical article is direct and
discerning; the Woodbee Club is