• CURRENT LITERATURE.
Old and New Edinburgh. By James Grant. Vol. I. (Cassell, Petter, Galpin, and Co.)—Although it may be truly said that there is no end of books about the picturesque capital of Scotland, this fresh account of it; which is being published by Messrs. Cassell and Co., as a sequel to their "Old and New London," would not be unwel- come, even if it had nothing but its illustrations to recommend it. Here we have views of all parts of Edinburgh, at all stages of its history. There is not an eminent person who has resided in it, or has been connected with it, even for a short time, but lives again in his portrait ; and the same thing is true of houses and streets. The letterpress is contributed by Mr. Grant, the well-known novelist, whose enthusiasm for Edinburgh has been manifested in almost countless works of fiction, of which "The Black Dragoon" limy be taken as a specimen ; and he has evidently been at enormous pains in collecting his materials. At the same time, his style is. not without its defects. It is florid to a fault, and personal panegyrics are bestowed with a prodigality that is truly paro- chial. Mr. Grant does not always conceal his special historical likes and dislikes,—thus he is almost as severe here upon the first Marquis of .Argyll, the friend of Cromwell and enemy of Montrose, as in his "Black Dragoon." Further, he has not a due regard for historical proportion, otherwise he would not have thought it worth while to print in full the playbill of the performances on the last night on which the old Edinburgh Theatre Royal was utiel. Finally, Mr. Grant, in his desire to make no mistake in ealogium, frequently falls into ludicrous vagueness, as when he tells us that" Simpson the good, the wise, and the gentle, made his discovery concerning chloro- form." Still, such enthusiasm and such industry as are displayed in this work cover a multitude of literary peccadilloes.
Previous page
