_TIMES._--‘We never remember to have read anything which more compelled
laughter than these too-few pages. We have a perfect carnival of
American slang.... The line illustrations, which are by the author, are
in some cases admirable; we may say comparable with Mr. Kipling’s.’
_DAILY TELEGRAPH._--‘It is one of the best bits of fooling we have read
for a long time, and is written by one who knows Oxford perfectly, and
has a command of American slang which Mark Twain himself might envy....
This little book, which is cleverly illustrated by the author, deserves
as wide a vogue as its predecessor “Verdant.” Its humour is quite as
irresistible and more subtle.’
_PALL MALL GAZETTE._--‘A delightful skit.... We do not think anyone
has hit off better than Mr. Calderon the extraordinary cocksureness,
volubility, and linguistic exuberance of the typical American, yet he
never allows his humour to get out of hand. The Oxford characters are
marked with the same sureness of touch.’
_GUARDIAN._--‘If one must compare Downy with Verdant, the descendant’s
experiences are the better for being written by an Oxford man, while
Verdant’s were not. The satire is as admirable as the farce; but, on
the whole, Downy as Verdant makes one rather laugh aloud than smile.’
_WORLD._--‘The fun is kept up with an unflagging spirit and ingenuity
that render the skit--which the author has embellished with some
diverting illustrations from his own evidently facile pencil--a by no
means unworthy comparison to “Verdant Green” itself.’
_OXFORD MAGAZINE._--‘Mr. Downy V. Green is an American grandson of the
immortal Verdant, and it is not too much to say that he is fully worthy
of his lineage. From the moment one embarks upon his adventures it
is difficult to lay them down. Mr. Calderon has a biting humour, and
spares neither Oxford nor America.’
_MANCHESTER GUARDIAN._--‘A really capital narrative, in which an
accurate knowledge of Oxford life is combined with a marvellously wide
knowledge of the American language.... Nothing is more admirable than
the fertility which enables him to avoid employing English without
making his substitute for it grow tedious.’
_SPECTATOR._--‘Our readers may take our assurance that the book is
amusing in a high degree.’
_ATHENÆUM._--‘Mr. Calderon has an amazing command of picturesque
slang and metaphor from overseas, and, as befits the son of a late
distinguished artist, has himself provided excellent illustrations of
his ideas.’
_DAILY MAIL._--‘Most excellent fooling.... His sketches possess a
crude, rude vigour that remind the faithful of the immortal pencil of
Michael Angelo Titmarsh. He has it in him to become a humorist of the
first order.’
_VARSITY._--‘The whole book is full of rollicking humour from cover to
cover.’
_GLASGOW HERALD._--‘The book is capitally written, and evidently from
a first-hand knowledge of student life. It is full of humour--American
humour and Oxford humour--and is altogether an excellent book of its
kind.’