wizard? 'What is the locus classicus describing the wizard's wiles? Who had previously told the story of Sabrina? The attendant spirit, he will notice, has learnt from 'Melibœus' the right mode of invoking her; and Professor Masson thinks that this is 'a somewhat sarcastic allusion' to Geoffrey of Monmouth (the 'sarcasm,' it must be admitted, is carefully hidden). This suggests the desirability of reading Geoffrey's narrative, and then of remarking how it was modified by Milton in his history of England. Some young gentlemen will wish by this time that Sabrina had been left at the bottom of the Severn. It is presumed that one who understands the allusions will be so far better qualified for enjoying the melody. We could wish to be more sure that he will begin by his enjoyment, and not regard the poem as a mass of pegs on which to hang questions. We are told that English youths ought to study English literature. That is undeniable; but there is a way of compelling them to study it which will make them loathe the subject for the rest of their days. 'Does anybody,' we once heard a young gentleman ask, after cramming Hamlet for such purposes, 'does anybody ever read Shakespeare for pleasure?'
