The Monthly.

One might almost call the May Monthly an Elizabethan number, as two of the three prose articles relate to Queen Elizabeth and certain phases of life of her time. Mr. Baker, the English instructor, contributes the first of these two articles-the title of his essay being "The Children of Paule's." In it a charming and interesting picture is given of the choir-boys of St. Paul's Cathedral, their life, duties and pleasures in the good old days when the Tudor family reigned over England. Much space is given to a description of their acting and the literary effect of these companies of choir-boys; for from the beginning of the English drama to the close of the theatres, children played a prominent part and affected both the acting and the literature of the Elizabethan stage.

"The Princess Elizabeth's Love Affair," Mr. Dodge treats in a discriminative, historical way of what Louisa Muhlbach pictured in a more romantic manner in "Henry VIII and his Court." It is an episode is the great queen's life which is interesting even to the most indifferent student of history. It was Sir Thomas Seymour whom Elizabeth loved, and, as the author of this sketch puts it, "In her love for him she came near wrecking her happiness for his sake, and the sorrowful ordeal dried up all the freshness of her nature."

"A Rational Cure," the only bit of fiction in the number, is an excellent piece of work. While the plot as a whole has no particular originality, there are a number of minor incidents which Mr. Hapgood has treated in a fresh and novel manner. The author has woven into his cloth several threads of Boston Bohemianism, Beacon Street society, and man's affection requited and the whole forms a fabric at once compact and pleasing.

The verse of the number is of a character less strong than usual, although both of the two poems are far from mediocre. "Two Ships" has much of the poetic in it and the simile of the poem is apt. The strength which it possesses is somewhat crude and several lines are marred by bad accentuation, a fault noticeable in the author's "Sonnet," published in the Advocate some weeks ago. "To L. M.," is not so good as some of the verse Mr. McCulloch has written but it is a pleasant fancy and its poetry mirrors the sentiments of many men at this springtime season.