The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-15 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Glengreggan ; or, A Highland Home in Cantire.
By Cuthbert Bede. Illustrated from the Author's
Drawings. 2 vols. Longman.
It would be strange indeed if among the nume-
rous band of travellers who in the present day
delight in exploring new countries or searching the
annals of old ones, in order to give the public the
result of their labours, any part of our own islands
should be left unvisited. There is no doubt, how-
ever, that the locality which forms the subject of the
volumes before us is as little known and visited by
the generality of tourists as though it were in
another hemisphere. It is to be hoped that Mr.
Bede's pleasant volumes will bring it into notice,
and that when the wanderer wishes to step out of
the beaten track of highroad travelling, instead of
climbing mountains or traversing deserts, he will
content himself with a journey in the fresh and
lovely hills and downs of Can tire. The annual
stream of visitors to the Highlands does not even
pass through it. It lies out of the beaten track,
as tho writer observes, and in these days of rapid
transit when after breakfasting at Glasgow the
tourist can nee Dunbarton, Loch Lomond, Loch
Katrine, the Trossachs and Stirling within the
limits of one summer's day, returning to sleep at
Edinburgh, those who like to do as much as pos-
sible in the shortest space of time and have plenty
to talk of afterwards are likely to avoid a district
which takes three or four days for going and coming
and which is seldom enough a topic of conversation.
Nevertheless Cantire is not without its attractions.
It is a long narrow peninsula on the south-west of
Argyleshire, and will interest the readers of Scott,
from its associations with the warlike Lords of the
Isles. It has charms too for the lovers of Nature, as
the author's illustrations abundantly prove. "The
view from nearly every heathery moor is panoramic
in its extent, and varied and beautiful in its details.
To the west is the great Atlantic, its broad bosom
studded with the Highland gems of the southern
Hebrides ; to the east is Kilbrannan Sound and the
Firth of Clyde, with the torn peaks of the lovely Isle
of Arran. Further north is Loch Fyne, the Isle of
Bute, and a mass of mountains, among which Ben
Lomond is plainly to be discerned. Due north may
be seen Ben More, and the mountains of misty
Mull ; and to the southward lies like a blue cloud
upon the sea, that portion of the northern coast of
Ireland that extends from Fair Head to the Giant's
Causeway. Every way there is a sea-view, diver-
sified for the most part with islands, and when we
combine this with the varied inland scenery we
might apply the words of Milton to this Highland
ground of Cantire." It is the nearest point to Ireland
and as such was subject to invasions in the olden
days; while froth its being one of the territories of
the powerful and turbulent Lords of the Isles, and
containing some of their chief strongholds it was the
scene of perpetual feuds. It is, of course, like all
Scottish lands, rich in history, legend, and tradition,
and the frequent citation of these gives life and
interest to the work. Cantire was the original
seat of the Scottish Monarchy, and its chief town
was the capital of the Scottish kingdom centuries
before Edinburgh existed. It was also the first
part of western Scotland where Christianity
flourished, and legends of St. Columba and his com-
panions abound. The Mull of Cantire is the extreme
southernmost point of the Peninsula, and was noted,
it is said, in the time of the Romans for its adverse
tides. " The coast. is peculiarly hazardous, and off
the Mull there is a great peculiarity in the tides. At
the distance of three miles from the shore a depth
of twelve fathoms is sometimes found. The spring
tides run-at six miles an hour; the neap tides at
about three. Within a mile and a half of the pro-
montory there runs an eddy tide like a whirlpool,
and much stronger than that which runs in the
channel ; as when the tide runs to the westward,
this eddy tide runs to the eastward along shore,
and vessels have often been driven on shore from
ignorance of this pecularity. So powerful is
the tide that rolls round the Mull that it throws
up the sand and gravel at Carskay Bay, so
as to make an embankment which has turned
to the westward the stream that flows
down Glen Breckry." The sea at this spot
is never tranquil owing to the conflicting tides, and,
as may easily be imagined in stormy weather, the
danger is very great. In order to avoid it boats
were frequently dragged across the neck of the
peninsula at Tarbert. The readers of "The Lord
of the Isles" will remember that Bruce's barque
was dragged across in this manner to avoid the
enemy, and that the consequent fulfilment of an
old prophecy encouraged his followers. It is not
surprising that at such a spot shipwrecks have
been reckoned by hundreds, and the long needed
lifeboat station has at last been supplied owing to
the liberality of a Scottish lady. The lighthouse,
which stands on the Mull, is the most southern of
those " Northern Lights" to which we are indebted,
says the author, fur a poem and a novel. It was
in his capacity as Commissioner of Northern Lights
that Sir Walter Scott paid those visits to the He-
brides, the Orkneys, and Shetland that gave him
the materials for " The Pirate" and " The Lord of
the Isles." Frequent allulion is made to his writ-
ings. and the author remarks upon the singular
felicity and justness of his epithets and adjectives,
" Verdant Islay," " jura's rugged coast," &c.
Glengreggan, which gives its name to the
book, is an estate a little beyond Barr.
The house is situated on high ground,
and possesses a magnificent view. " The draw-
ing-room windows command an uninterrupted
view from left to right of nearly one hundred miles,
beginning on the left with the Irish coast and
terminating in the misty distance in the island of
Mull." The "collie dogs" are of course among
the Scottish wonders, and tales of their marvellous
sagacity are told. The habits of the people
and the kelp manufacture are described at
length, and, as we have stated, the volumes
are enriched by copious anecdote. The work
might without injury have been considerably
condensed; but as the author was entering ground
hitherto untrodden in description and narrative, he
found it probably difficult to restrict himself. We
must not forget to mention the valuable contribu-
tions of the author's busy pencil, which add so
much to the attractions of the work, whether he
makes us smile at the contrast presented by a
Highland milkmaid in real life to the Hebe of his
imagination, or whether he refreshes us amid
London smoke and dust with a peep at the fresh
blue waves and verdant slopes of Cantire.

Manordean. A Novel. By Herbert Steele,
Newby.

This is a romantic little tale that may prove at-
tractive to those who wish for exciting incidents.
The character of Amy is very well drawn, and she
is almost the only pleasing person met with in its
pages. She was placed in very trying circum-
stances by the conduct of her father. He was en-
gaged is a smuggling transaction and was arrested.
Fortunately for her feelings, he escaped and con-
trived to get abroad. Amy was obliged to
work for her living for some time. Her sister
Mary was very selfish, and left Amy to attend to
her father, while she remained with a rich aunt
from whom she expected to get some money. This
expectation was afterwards disappointed, for Mr.
Rochford, the father, had contrived to keep the
money that his sister-in-law had given him to invest.
The poor old lady died of the disappointment, and
thus the misled man had anoher murder on his con-
science to take with him into foreign lands.
Forsythe, to whom Amy was married, was not
worthy of her, he was deceitful and strange in his
conduct. It is, however, satisfactory to find that
this unfortunate maiden has the prospect of lead-
ing a happier life than she had done for so many
years, and that she was removed from the neces-
sity of toiling for her living, for which she was not
fitted, either in stresgth or spirits. The descrip-
tions of some of " Manordean" is very pleasing, and
a delightful account is given of the early home of
Amy. The river was its chief charm and the
thoughts of it lingered in the memory
of the unhappy outcast when forced to take up her
abode in city dust and smoke. " The Spirit of the
Mountain, the genius of Hendon-hill, a rich and
generous giver, gave to it the flowing Eskill, loved
by old and young. Who did not love the little
Eskill ? By how many cottage chambers did it not
murmur in the evening ? As the poor widow heard
it sing its evening carol unconsciously, it brought
peace to her—it seemed like his voice—for long ago
the well-loved tones had mingled with this gentle
music, and to other hearts it came like a pastoral
poem recited in the dusk by the same voice linger-
ing on the words. And to others—toilworn and
fair t-hearted—jt came like a promise of a world
where rest is not sin, nor lovingness a curse. But
the blessings of that little stream were innumer-
able."

Tilbury Rog° ; or Passages in the Life of an
Unsuccessful Alan. By the author of " Rigby
Grand." Chapman and Hall.
popular
This is not the first appearance of Mr. Nogo
before the public, but a republication of his adven-
tures, or rather misadventures, among Messrs.
. but it
Chapman and Hall's standard edition of
authors. It requires some tact in an author to keep
the interest of the reader throughout the whole
up
oilf, uattn of a
int the t
ifiorus
st
length of his narrative, even when deeds of clarifies.
and romantic adventure are rsueccocueendteedd
quires far more talent on his part to keepadmirabrle;
distinction, fascination when his hero is a .... up the
water, vet Mr. Melville has
in pourtraying the character
his character
but weak man,_ who desires
results from all his
incapacitated by the indecision 0
from obtainingfrarnyy\svahtstfaheetory. yet who is
other, and the gregtst compli-
endeavours.
from some C4llso orwill, he is sure to fail

ment we can Pay the author is that we feel continu-
ally inclined to cast his work from us disappointed
at the stupidity of his hero, and again to take it up,
just to see if in the next chapter it was possible
for Mr. Nogo to do worse. Many of the secondary
characters introduced are well delineated; and,
in many parts, the advice given to our hero by
some sensible friend would prove beneficial to many
who in some points resemble Mr. Nogo too closely.
The worst feature of his character is that of allow
ing his intimate friend to marry the daughter of a
card sharper and swindler, from whose tender
mercies he has himself recently escaped, the result
of such a union is, of course, misery. He himself
marries a sleep-walking window, who, after the
bridal day, wears the continuations. Years roll by
after marriage, his wife is a confirmed invalid at
Bath, and himself an older, if not a wiser, man ; he
thus reflects upon his past life :
Like many a wiser and better man, I have been the vic-
tim of an unworthy ambition—not the noble infirmity
which urges the aspirer to be great—not the heaven-born
sentiment which impels him to be good ; but the paltry and
unmanly thirst for frivolous distinction, which, originating
in vanity, finds its end in disappointment and disgust, Not
satisfied to take the sports and amusements of life as I found
them, it has been u.y desire to raise for myself a kind of
spurious fame for proficiency in pursuits which, after all,
deserve but to be the pastime of an idle hour ; and even
this worthless distinction I have failed to attain. When
the man who had spent a lifetime in learning to balance
peas on the point of a, needle was brought before Alexander,
the conqueror of the world ordered him the appropriate re-
compense of a packet of needles and a bushel of peas.
Alas I my proficiency has not even deserved the Macedo-
nian's sarcastic guerdon. Money, time, and perseverance
have been wasted, and I cannot balance the pea on the
needle after all. In vain have my stud eaten their heads
off at Melton, and I myself gone to the height of personal
inconvenience, not to say bodily peril, to achieve a first-
flight character on the grass. Can I lay my hand on my
heart, and tax my memory with one single instance on
which, after hounds had been running hard for ten minutes,
I was present in the same field with them ? I have ridden
a two-hundred guinea hunter, and been pounded by
young Graceless on a forty-pound hack ! I have placed
my horse's head at Lord Rapid's tail, and vowing to
stick to him throughout the day, have lost him in three
fields. No I High Leicestershire was no arena for my
prowess; and hopeless as was my success in the pas-
tures, the turf was even worse. What availed at to,
elbow my way ,into the waving mass which constitutes
the Ring at Epsom; or to swagger, with open betting-
book, and pencil daintily fitted between my front
teeth, down the sunny slopes at Ascot ? The " mak•e-
and-shape " backer jumped at the odds I offored
against his favourite, and showed his judgment by the form
in which his selection swept past the goal an easy winner,
and " the only horse I stood to lose by in the race ;" or the
better-informed leg, with his liberal investment against the
Flyer that broke dcwn this morning, gave me another op-
portunity of what is playfully termed " paying and looking
pleasant. Shooting, deer-stalking, sparring, cricket, hare.-
hunting, rowing, fishing, etc., not forgetting my first and
only appearance as a jockey at Weatherley—l have had a
turn at them all—and if this be what is meant by "sowing
wild oats," I can only say that in my case the crop has failed
to pay the expenses of cultivation. My trip into the west,
of England, though in itself the accident of an accident—
the consequence of a fracas in which I had no business to
be concerned—was in its effect not the least important of my
vagaries; and that, too, originating in my ambition to ob-
tain a certain share of fame as a sportsman in that out-of-
the-way locality. Of my visit to Squire Topthorne, I
confess there did spring some very decided consequences ;
but with my conviction that, in the words of Shakspeare,
"your marriage comes by destiny," I forbear to make any
reflections on that unavoidable catastrophe. And what
has been the result of thus wasting the golden, the irre-
trievable years of early manhood—that important period in
which alone can be laid the foundations for a future super-
structure of utility and self-content, if not of distinction
andp ur s ruei nt
so w
ofig-fee ns
heodui
lfidc eb
et obwu
thai es ht
hs ue cccaersysi
ni ng twh
he
ime
ho rdeect roirflaitnz
its pillars, the ornamental work which softens the severer
grandeur of the whole ?
A brief period of hollow excitement, constantly embittered
by dissatisfaction and disappointment; a consciousness of
time misspent and opportunities thrown away ; something
very nearly akin to remorse for the irremediable past ; and
above all, the degrading conviction that though age is
steadily and surely stealing on, wisdom is still as far distant
as ever, and the experience which makes " even fools wise"
has in my own case been entirely thrown away.
The descriptions of the hunting field, the race
course, and other sporting scenes, are; described
with the ability of a sportsman.

The Book of Good Counsels. From the Sanscrit of
the Hitopadesa. )3y Edwin Arnold, M.A.
Smith and Elder.

This little volume can certainly boast the merit
of novelty. It is a translation of Indian moral
saws and fables. Mr. Arnold informs us that the
chief object in presenting this translation to the
public is to excite in the minds of the people of
England a desire to explore the literature of India.
He says that although no one listens now to the
precipitate ignorance which would set aside as
heathenish the rncient civilisation of this great race,
justice is not yet done to their past development
and present capacities. Many of the fables are
curious, and are proofs of the sagacity and fertility
of imagination of a people who boasted a high civi"
lisation long before the Christian era, and when
the greater portion of Europe was a wilderness
peopled by savages.

Bohu's Illustrated Library.
The second volume of the " Poetical Works of
John Milton is now published, and it contains much
to engross the reader. "Paradise Regained,"
" Comus," minor poems, containing "
"Il Penseroso," " Lycidas,'' etc. There are the
Latin Poems also in this volume, the Odes, Sonnets,
and Translations. It is an admirable book on the
whole, and will form an elegant addition to the
libraries of all who desire standard books at a.
moderate price. This new edition contains an
Index Verborunt to the whole of Milton's Poems.
It is also ornamented with engravings by several
artists of eminence, and a memoir by J. Mont-
gomery, with critical remarks on the genius and
writings of Milton. This forms a very complete
work altogether, and will be sure to be appre-
ciated as belonging to a series so useful and
elegant as that of the illustrated library of Bohn
which has furnished so many first-rate production
at a reduced cost, while they are brought out in a
handsome form.

Something for Everybody and a Garland for the
I' ear. By John Timbs, F.S.A. Lockwood and
Co.

Mr. Timbs does not claim the merit of originality
in this volume, but rather that of collecting useful
and agreeable information from the works of others,
and certainly in this respect he deserves great credit.
It would be quite impossible to give a description
of the various subjects treated of in this compendious
collection, which embraces dyeing of hair, the Trans-
figuration, St. Valentine's Day, whitebait, the
classic history of the rose, curiosities of bees, and
many other topics too numerous to mention.
Some useful information is to bei gathered under
the head of "Prompt Remedies and Small Services,"
and whether as a means of passing an odd five
minutes in waiting for a wife to put a bonnet on or
a husband to change his boots, or obtaining prac-
tical information, this work is equally to be recom-
mended.

The Handbook of Angling for Scotland and the
Border counties. By John Robertson. Houlston
and Wright.
This is not Mr. Robertson's first appearance in
print, and the present little volume is a republi-
cation of the " Trout Fisher's Manual" in a re-
vised and extended form. In the former work he
took Edinburgh as a centre or starting point ; but
in this volume great additions regarding convey-
ance, accommodation, and routes are made. Gene-
ral instructions to the young angler are given, but
the author wisely remarks that the science Of
angling has now reached such a height of perfec-
tion that but little instruction is needed by
the matured angler, and that all the additional
notions to be acquired mast result from expe-
rience. Ho says that if he added another sentence
it would be his conviction that careful observation
and experience at the water-side were worth all the
rules that ever were penned.

A Week, at the Land's End. By J. T. Blight,

Longman.
Although the extent of country herein described
is of but small dimensions, it nevertheless contains
many points of interest. The area comprised in the
map appended extends from the Bay of St. Ives on
the N.E. to Whitstable Bay and the Land's-End on
the
ancient Yhistory of the pic-
turesquethe S.W., and Mount's Bay on the S.F.S. The
various superstitions and traditions of the primitive
out-of-the-way
district have been
carefully inhabitants
rocks and cliffs to be
Ci
collected,
this
o found all round this
rugged coast, and the accidents
and tragedies to
bThe
work they owe their names are interesting.
work is illustrated with
many woodcuts, and the
variety of proves detail pr
waste time during
his
es that the author did not
short sray at the Land's-End

The Foot mid its
Coverina • with Dr. Camper's
rkonthe
Best Form of Shoe. By Janus
Dowie. Robert Hardwicke. •
The sterner sex have always found fault wititi
the ladies for tight lacing, but many young and
certain elderly gentlemen might with advantage
look at home and down at their feet, and correct
their own failing in regard to tight boots. Mr.
Dowie has taken much pains to explain the injury
caused to the human foot by ill-fitting shoes. The
construction of the foot and its various peculiarities
are considered and illustrated with several diagrams,
and those who desire to walk according to rule,
and to bring the pressure equally upon all parts of
the foot, may attain their object by a careful per-
usal of these pages.

OXFORD, July 13.-UNIVERSITY COUNSEL.--'
The Char.eellor has appointed Mr. Roundel' Palmer, M.A.,
0 Magdalen College (her Majesty's Solicitor-General),
counsel to the university, in the room of Sir Richard
Dotitell, advanced to the peerage,