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INTRODUCTION
rhyme to come. A ballad, of which the main point is to tell a story metrically, is not bound to strictness in rhyme; for the mind is made more attentive than the ear. Mrs. Dora Sigerson Shorter has the gift of metrical narrative. Her gentle sincerity holds her to the story. Even when her emotions are not roused, the art of compression and progression, as in “The Dean of Santiago,” is shown. Among the minor pieces “The Vagrant Heart” will strike an echo in many a woman's breast. Further work, especially ballads, is to be expected from her, Irish or other. Her country supplies one of the richest of fields.
