Notices of New Works [pp. 235-240]

1860.1 Notices of A
great rewardi." It would smtil in(ldeed to
haveobeen so in thle case cited in the following paragraph
" Not long ago, Sir Rodlerick Mi\tre ltison
discovered at Thlurso, in the ftr north of
Scotland(, a probfounl geologist in tlie pSrson of a baker thlere, nanme(l Robert Dick.
When Sir Roddrick called l)upon hi-t- at tilhe
bakelhouse in which lie baked( and earned
his bread, Robert Dick delitieaited( to liniil,
by means of flour upion a boar,$ the geograpliical phlenomen)a of his native county,
poiiting out the imnperfections in the existing mraps, which he had ascertained by
travelling over the country in his leisure
llours. On firtlher iinquiry, Sir Roderick
ascertained that the liumible i(ndivi(dual before lIiti was lnot only a caepital bakler ard
geologist, but a first-rate botanist.'I
found.' said the Director-General of the
Geographical Society,'to my greatt hliiimiliatiori, that this baker knew more of
botanical science, ay, ten timnes imore, than
I did; and that there were only some
twenty or thirty specirimens of flowvers
which hlie had not collected(l. Some lih
had obtainedl as presents, some hlie had
purchased. but the greater portion hlie had
accumutlatedc by his intdustry, itn his native
county of Caithness; arid the specimens
were aill arranged in the itiost b)eautiful order, with their scientific lnamres affixed."
Not often, indeed(l, (lo we see mnen thus
consistently cultivating the mindi for the
mere sake of the highl and pure gratification thus afforded them. The instance is
as beautiful as it is strikinig, and( the following example of the value of promptness and energy in critical tit-ies is scareely less remarkable
'-In 1793, thIe stagnation produced by
the wvar led to an unusuasl number of
banlkruptcies, and matiy of the first houses
of Manchlester an(d Glasgow were tottering,, not so mIuchl fromn want of property,
but because the usual sources of trade atid
credit were for the time closed tp. A p)eriod of intense distress among the labouring classes seemed immiinent, whenl Sir
Joltii Sinclair urged in Parliamerit that
exchequer notes to the amount of five
millions should be issuet! i }-iedliately,
as a loan to such merlchalnts as coild( give
se(curity. The suggestion was adopte(d,
anld hso ert car ou his oe to c arry out i pl, in coi11 -
junction with certain members inamned by
him, was also accepted. The vote was
passed late at night, an(i early next morning Sir John, anticipating tile delays of
officialism au(n red tape, proceeded to
bankers in the city and borrowed of them
on his own personal security, the sum of
seventy thousand pounds, which he dis
~ew Works. 239
o
-iatcle(l the same evening to,those mnierchlants who were in the iniost urgent need
of aissistance. o Pitt meeting Sir John in
the House, expressed hik great regret that
the pressing xwnts of Manchester and
Glasgow couldl(l t be supplied so soon as
wvas desirable, a(l(itig,'Tlhe inotiey cannot be raise(d tfr somie d(lays.''It is alreadly gone! it left London by to-nighit'b
imail!' wa.s Sir Jolhn's triumphant reply
and in afterward( relating thle anecdlote,
le added, with a smile of pleasure,' Pitt
was as much startled as if I had stabbed(
him.''
We hlave lborroweiI enough.from thii,
volrume to give our read(ers an ass-urance
of its real merits. These are so great that
the itunustial circumlstance of its having
been brotiglit out by two American pulblishing houses of the highest ralnk, is not
to be regretted. Both will be abundantly
rewar(ldedt in thle sale of their respective
editions, andl tle invaluable tea6hinigs of
Mr. Smilies will have thereby a more ex'etended( circulation.
RECOLLECTIONS AND PRIVATE M-EMOIRS OF
WASITINGTON, By his adopted.Son, George
Washi,ngton. Parke C-ustis, with (a MIemoir
of the.dithor, By his Daughter; and 11 lustrtlive and Explan(tory Notes, By B.
J. LOSSING. with Illustrations. New
York: Published by Derby & Jackson.
1860. [Fromn West & Johnston, 145)
Main Street.
There are few readers of American
newslpapers whlo do not remeimber the deliglltful memoraonda of Washington, published friom timie to title, through a loing
series of years, in thle columrnns of tle VtNational litelligenlerr, b)y George Watsliingtotl
Parke Custisof..krlington. The wholeseries is here collected in a volume. antd enrihed nrot only by a nile-moir of the auitholr.
but l)y col)ious antd valuable notes from
tile lhaln(d of B. J. Lossing, well known for
his admitirable Field Book of the Revolution. We have not rea(d a more charming
volume for itiany a daity. Washitg,ton appears in these pages not in his military or official costulmne, but in his or(dinary
Iress, as Iet al)peare(i at Mount Vernon
an(d in the dining-roomy a(nd parlour of tlhe
Executive Manlsioti. Nowv and then we
see hifn mounted on Blueskin, and dashing
across the country after thle hotnds, on
suchl occasions itt ]hutsnan's attire, and
again, in reception toilet, bttt always
as the private gentleman rather tha n as
General or President. The details of his
mansion, his servants, equipages, hounds,
horses, and the minutie ciis daily life —