Not that it Matters

It is an essay book. Edwin was the name of the shepherd- swain. 'And yet poor Edwin was no vulgar boy', we are told a little further on in a line that should live. Well, having satisfied you that Beattie was really a poet, I can now return to my argument that an eleven-inch Byron cannot stand next to a four-inch Beattie, and be followed by an eight-inch Cowper, without making the shelf look silly. Yet how can I discard Beattie-- Beattie who wrote:--'And now the downy cheek and deepened voice Gave dignity to Edwin's blooming prime'. You see the difficulty. If you arrange your books according to their contents you are sure to get an untidy shelf. If you arrange your books according to their size and colour you get an effective wall, but the poetically inclined visitor may lose sight of Beattie altogether.