The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-02 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Pirate and the Three Cutters. By Captain
Marryatt, R.N. H. G. Bohn.
The celebrity of Captain Marryatt as a novel
writer is too notorious to require any comment.
It were hard to decide which is his best production.
There are many writers who succeed in one
particular work which all their subsequent endea-
vours fail to equal, and are known as the author
of such and such a book. But Captain Marryatt
has gained the high position of the first nautical
writer of his age, whether at home or abroad, and
in all his works he has maintained it. On other
subjects many are judged deserving of the
palm ; on the sea he is unrivalled, notwithstanding
that there is no dearth of competitors for distinction.
His long service in all parts of i he globe has enabled
him to study character in all its varieties, and the
reader always meets with' something fresh and
entertaining, whether it be the cool impudence of
Mr. Midshipman Easy or the absurd mistakes of
Peter Simple. All his writings are so well known
to the public that it would be superfluous to make
any remark on the present work, but that since its
first publication another generation of readers has
come into existence,and furthermore that Mr, Boh n's
cheap editions of our best authors enables those
of small resources to obtain books which have
hitherto been beyond their reach. " The Pirate"
varies much from Capt. Marryatt's other works. It
contains three heroes and only one heroine, and the
story relates principally to the doings of Captain
Cain, a notorious pirate. The tale opens with the
loss of an American trader, on board of which are
a widow, and her infant twins, who are proceeding
to England. The shipwreck, and ultimate aban-
donment of the ship, is described with the author's
usual ability. The crew take to the boats ; the
mother and one of the infants enter the last boat,
when the ship lurches heavily, and the crew, think-
ing that she is going down, push off, leaving the
other infant and its nurse on board. Finding out
their mistake, however, they endeavour to regain
the ship, but the heavy sea and wind prevent
them; and so the brothels part, not to meet again
for a quarter of a century. The one left on the
wreck (which had been prematurely deserted by
her crew, became waterlogged, but from the nature
of her cargo did not sink) was rescued by an Eng-
lish frigate. An African slaver picked up the boat
in which the mother and other infant were. All its
crew died except the mother and child. The captain
of the slaver compelled the former to become
his mistress, and shortly afterwards changing his
profession to that of a pirate; in a moment of pas-
sion, on his mistress remonstrating with him on the
course of life he was leading, he struck her a blow
which resulted in her death. In remorse for the
deed, which was done in anger, he swore to the
dying woman, whom he really loved, that he would
protect her son, which promise he kept after his
own fashion, in remembrance of the mother, and he
loved the boy. Having thus far introduced the
'reader to the principal actors, we may pass over
some years and take up the thread of the story,
when Edward Templemore (the child saved by the
frigate), now a lieutenant in the navy, is in com-
mand of a schooner, and is in search of the pirate
schooner which contains his brother. The two
schooners are exactly alike, and Edward Temple-
more, while cruising among the West Indian
Islands, happens to meet with the daughter of the
Spanish Governor ofPortoßico. He falls in love with
her, and signals are arranged between them so that
when he passes Porto Rico (which the wind or other
causes obliges him to do frequently) they may meet
on the beach. Now it so happens that the pirate calls
at the exact spot of meeting in search of water, and
the lady, mistaking his vessel for that of her lover,
falls into the hands of the pirates, who detain
her, intending to exact a high ransom from her
father. Francisco (the brother on board the pirate)
protects her from insult, and •s‘ hen the pirate
schooner is lost, the indignant Edward finds his
beloved with his supposed rival resting in her arms.
Matters are ultimately explained, and all ends well.
Such is the outline of the tale. A great part of the
narrative is devoted to the exploits of the pirates,
and some fearful scenes of cruelty are depicted.
The second story is what may be called, in thea-
trical language, a farce. It is short, but highly
laughable. We are introduced to three cutters of
a very different stamp. The one, a yacht in Ply-
mouth Sound; the second, a revenue cutter in
Portsmouth harbour; and the third, a smuggler at
St. Malo. All three meet off Portland early one
morning. Lord B—, the owner of the yacht,
endeavours to assist the revenue cruiser to
capture the smuggler, but catches a Tartar, being
sent adrift by her captain with a pair of paddles
only in his boat (his oars having been taken
from him), while the smuggler captain seizes
the yacht in a fog which comes on, and transfers
the gentlemen on board of her (having previously
exchanged clothes with them) to his own craft,
together with three sailors who had been left in the
yacht, shifts his cargo, and orders those of his crew
who remain in charge of the smuggler to run to the
French coast, while he proceeds unsuspected to land
his goods at his leisure. The ladies are in terror at
first, but the smuggler, who goes by the euphonious
name of Pickersgill, is a gentleman, and they soon
become great friends, and he ultimately marries one
of the party. The discomfiture of his lordship and
his friends, the indignation of a spinster aunt who
is on board, the terror of the steward and cook, and
lastly, the delight of the ladies, is capital. All's
well that ends well, and Lord B-- admits that he
has been rightly served, and shakes hands heartily
with the smuggler at parting, to the great disgust
of his sister, the aforesaid spinster aunt, and all are
satisfied. The volume is illustrated with 20 steel
engravings, well executed, which greatly enhance
the value of the work, each scene of interest being
depicted in the various plates.

The Life of Nelson. By Robert Southey. New
Edition. With additional notes and plates, and
a general index. Bohn's Illustrated Library.
We are glad to see this standard work included
in Mr. Bohn's admirable series. Southey ranks
beside of Boswell in this branch of literature, and
whatever may be the reader's opinion of his merits
as a poet, none can hesitate to assign him a place
in the very first class of biographers. His work has
long outstripped the comments of critics, and taken
its place high among the standard volumes of our
national literature. It only remains for us to no-
tice the excellence of this new edition, where type,
paper, and plates are all worthy of the text. The
number and beauty of the illustrations will delight
the reader ; while the additional notes and the com-
pendious index cannot fail to be serviceable. Among
the most interesting features of the book is Nelson's
own memoir of his services, which is not included
in all the other editions. No one who values rightly
the achievements of his countrymen should fail to
place this volume on the shelves of his library.

Elements of Experimental and Natural Philosophy.
Illustrated with nearly 400 woodcuts. By Jabez
Hogg, F.L.S., M.R.C.S. Bohn's Scientific
Library.
The fact of an edition of ten thousand copies of
this work having been already sold, is a sufficient
testimony to its merits, while every purchaser of
Mr. Bohn's editions must be aware of their general
excellence and character; the chief difference be-
tween the second and first editions being an altera-
tion in the form and size to render it uniform with
the other volumes in this series, and the addition
of new engravings. The text has been carefully
revised and much new matter added so as to bring
down the work to the latest discoveries. To those
who are not already acquainted with this able work
it may suffice to say that it is an introduc-
tion to the physical sciences, divesting them
of the terrors which obscure phraseology and
elaborate technicalities present to the inexpe-
rienced reader. It includes in its contents treatisEs
on animal magnetism, pneumatics, hydrostatics,
hydraulics, acoustics, optics, electricity, voltaism,
and magnetism. We could scarcely find a more
useful work to put into the hands of the youthful
reader who desires to learn something of those
great mysteries of nature which afford so interesting
a study. Between three and four hundred wood-
cuts illustrate the text, and assist the compre-
hension of the reader.

?.he a •ations Cy"
Demosthenes. Translated by
Charles Rahn Kennedy. H. G. Bohn.
These orations, which form the fourth volume of
the works of Demosthenes, have been translated with
consk earble care by Mr. Kennedy. There is no
attempt to alter the style of the author, but the
translation is as nearly literal as is compatible with
good English. This series of the works of celebrated
Greek authors will prove useful to the student who
Is unaided by the assistance of a professor, and like-
wise to many who, although unacquqinted with the
classics, may yet be desirous to read the writings
and orations of the celebrities of antiquity.

says :—" A letter in Sunday's Observer from
DOCKS FOR THE IRON NAVY.--A writer in a
e'
°An tie Ima mP °pr sa rt
Yi
r e Reader' deserves the serious attention of her
Majesty's Government.. Lepe,' the place alluded to as
being eminently fitted for docks for the iron navy,' is
situated on ' the Blackwater,' a small stream flowing into
the Beaulieu River; this stream runs through a marsh of
great extent, and easy of excavation, prenouneed by en-
gineers to be admirably suited to the formation of docks.
Men-of •war were formerly built at Buckler's Bald, on the
Beaulieu River ; this fact speaks for the depth of water.
L'pe is opposite Gimlet Bay, in the Isle of Wight, defended
consequently on the west by Burst Castle end on the east
by Portsmouth. The enormous extent of brick earth of the
first quality on the spot is of itself a most important feature
in the ease,"