Far Away ; or, Sketches of Scenery and Society an
Mauritius. By Charles John Boyle. (Chapman and Hall.)—The first piece of informa- tion we gain from Mr. Boyle is that we are wrong is speaking of the Mauritius. But we learn much more than this, and though his book is written too diffusely, and tho style needs pruning as well as weeding, we find much to interest us. Sketches of street and house life at Port Louis, of the scenery of the island, of its animal and vegetable products, carry the reader on pleasantly enough, and there are descriptive passages of considerable merit, though they aro embedded in a good deal of needless writing. Mr•. Boyle's list of the prices charged in Mauritius reminds us of those given in Theodore Hook's letters home. His description of the domestic economy of one of the finest houses in the place, where the blotting-book was an old newspaper and the inkstand a retired pomatum-pot, is almost worthy of the same author. But though we might suspect Mr. Boyle of having modelled his style on Theodore Hook, and having sacrificed unnecessarily to the genius of comic writing, the bits of natural scenery he gives us are inspired by a different school. The picture of the brilliant-coloured fish, which look like detached pieces of coral or turquoise floating about in translucent water, is exquisite, and if it stood alone in Mr. Boyle's volume would be worthy of being embalmed in a future collection of "Elegant Extracts." But it does not stand alone, though it is supreme. The forest scenery of the stag hunt is also painted in glowing hues, and the process of sugar-making affords a good opening, of which Mr. Boyle has availed himself, for practical description.
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