“In the construction of the ballad, he has given some notable
examples of what may be wrought of native material by one who
has a tasteful ear and practised hand. If he does not come up
to the standard of the ancient ballad, which is the model, he
has done as well as any of the younger American authors who
have attempted this kind of work, and there is true enjoyment
in all that he has written. Of his other poems, the dramatic
poem, ‘Haydn,’ is finished in form, and has literary value, as
well as literary power.”—_Boston Globe._
“The author has achieved a very unusual success, a success
to which genuine poetic power has not more contributed than
wide reading and extensive preparation. The ballads overflow,
not only with the general, but the very particular, truths of
history.”—_Cincinnati Times._
“It may well find readers in abundance ... for the sake of the
many fine passages which it contains.... ‘Ideals made Real’ has
one point of very high excellence ... we have in the conception
of the character of Edith the work of a genuinely dramatic
poet.... In Edith we have a thoroughly masculine intellect in a
thoroughly feminine soul, not merely by the author’s assertion,
but by actual exhibition. Every word that Edith speaks, every
act that she does, is in accord with this conception.... It
is sufficient, without doubt, to give life to a less worthy
performance, and it proves beyond doubt that Mr. Raymond is
the possessor of a poetic faculty which is worthy of the most
careful and conscientious cultivation.”—_N. Y. Evening Post._
“A very thoughtful study of character ... great knowledge of
... aims and motives.... Such as read this poem will derive
from it a benefit more lasting than the mere pleasure of the
moment.”—_London Spectator._
“Mr. Raymond is a poet emphatically, and not a scribbler in
rhyme.”—_London Literary Churchman._
“His is no mere utterance of dreams and fancies. His poetry
takes hold on life; it enters the arena where its grandest
and purest motives are discussed, and by the vigor and beauty
of the language it holds itself on a level with the highest
themes.... Every thoughtful reader ... will wish that the
poems had been longer or that there had been more of them.
It would be possible to quote passage after passage of rare
beauty.”—_Utica Herald._
“... Rhythmical in its flow and deliciously choice in language
... indicating a deep acquaintance with human nature, while
there is throughout a tone that speaks plainly of a high
realization of the divine purpose in life.... Not the least
charming characteristic is its richness in pen-and-ink pictures
marked by rare beauty and presenting irresistibly that which
the poet saw in his mind’s eye.... We confidently promise that
any one taking it up will enjoy the reading throughout, that
is, if there is any poetry in him.”—_Boston Evening Journal._