haracter. The
story is simple, but the piece gains distinctiveness from its absolutely
faithful reproduction of the spirit of frontier balladry. In words,
swing, and weird refrain, there exists every internal evidence of
traditional authenticity; and that such a bit of Nature could be
composed by a cultivated feminine author is an overwhelming testimonial
to Miss Jackson's unique gifts.

That Miss Jackson can reflect the spirit of the most dissimilar
characters is further proved by the two immensely powerful studies of
the vagabond type entitled "The Call" and "John Worthington Speaks."
These things are masterpieces of their kind; the self-revealing
narratives of restless wanderers by land and sea, crammed to repletion
with details and local colour which no one but their author could
command without actual experience as a derelict of five continents and
as many oceans. They leave the reader veritably breathless with wonder
at the objectivity and imagination which can enable a New-England
poetess to mirror with such compelling vividness in thought and language
the sentiments of so utterly opposite a type. Not even the narrowly
specialised genius of such rough-and-ready writers as Service and
Knibbs, working in their own peculiar field, can surpass this one slight
phase of Miss Jackson's universal genius.

It remains to speak of the singular power of Miss Jackson in the realm
of the gruesome and the terrible. With that same sensitiveness to the
unseen and the unreal which lends witchery to her gayer productions, she
has achieved in darker fields of verse results inviting comparison with
the best prose work of Ambrose Bierce or Maurice Level. Among her older
poems the ghastly and colourful phantasy "Insomnia" and the grimly
realistic rustic tragedy "Chores" excited especial praise, a critic
referring as follows to the latter piece:

"It has all the compelling power which marks Miss Jackson's darker
productions, and is conveyed in an arresting staccato measure which
emphasises the homely horror of the theme. The phraseology, with its
large proportion of rural and archaic words and constructions, adds
vastly to the general effect and atmosphere."

This reference to Miss Jackson's unusual vocabulary deserves
elaboration, for one of the secrets of her effective poetry is the wide
and diverse array of words and word-combinations which she commands.
Recondite archaisms and ruralisms, together with marvell