Hugh Miller. By W. Keith Leask. (Oliphant, Anderson, and Ferrier.)—Mr.
Leask has lost, or, to put the matter as gently as possible, has failed to improve, a great opportunity. The announcement in the preface that "to treat Hugh Miller apart from his surroundings of Church and State would be as impossible as it would be unjust," gave us some alarm, but we were not pre- pared for the reality. Mr. Leask is very strong indeed for what he calls, not very happily, the "unhesitating and undeviating traditions of Scotland." (Imagine a tradition hesitating and deviating!) Let it be so ; but was it necessary to bring in James I, and the English clergy and the sycophancy of the "preface" to the Authorised Version? (Mr. Leask means the dedica- tion; the true preface is an admirable document.) We do not in the least wish that the polemical side of Hugh Miller's career had been ignored. But there was no need to bring in the story of the Scottish Reformation and the quarrel between "Moderates" and " High-flyers." These things might have been taken for granted. Mr. Leask has seized the opportunity of airing his own views. We care nothing about them, but we do want to hear all we can about Hugh Miller. Every page taken from him and given to unnecessary polemics is a grievance. A reprint of "My Schools
and Schoolmasters" would have been a more valuable addition to the "Famous Scots" series than this volume.
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