A History of Peeblesshire. By W. Chambers, of Glenormiston, F.G.S.,
F.R.S.E. (W. and R. Chambers.)—Mr. Chambers has done the public good service in producing this very handsome volume. A good county history, where no such work was previously in existence, as in this case, is a mine of valuable information, and though upper Tweed- dale is rather a barren subject Mr. Chambers has made the most of it. The interval which separates it from the Border prevented its lesser lairds from engaging much in the predatory raids the traditions of which give an interest to every ruin in Selkirk shire and Berwick ; and the scenery though pleasing and sylvan is not bold in its outline or pic- turesque. The fact, too, that its only great landed proprietor, Lord Wemyss and March, is non-resident, and that the seat of the family, Neidpath Castle, has been suffered to become a mere ruin, has left the county without even the interest which always attaches more or less to the family history of a great magnate. Perhaps the most interesting of the county mansions is Traquair House, the seat of the extinct Earls of Traquair, and the original of Tully Veolen, so elaborately described in " Waverley." The gateway with the two bears crowning the pillars is still in existence. The account of local antiquities is full without being tedious, and the maps and wood engravings with which the work is profusely illustrated are worthy of the type and paper. The interest of the book is of course chiefly local, nor can it be recommended to the general reader for the reasons above stated. But it is a thoroughly well executed work of its class, and will prove very satisfactory to those who consult it, or take a special interest in the subject.
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