MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND ART. 677 



the skipper alone at the table, fumbling a Newland in his fist, arid seemin' 

 as shy o' me as I was of Jiim ' Come here, my man/ say he e come 

 here, Thompson you're a very good man/ says he ( take this/ says he, 

 shoving a five-pound Newland into my fist ' take this, and recollect/ says 

 he, ' I give it for preserving so well the Word o' God/ Well, you may be 

 sure after this, the bible sees less daylight nor never and there wasn't a 

 fellow fore-and-aft, even Murdock himself, as didn't bag his book in 

 baize.'" 



AFRICAN SKETCHES. BY THOMAS PRINGLE. LONDON: MOXON. 



WE have received this elegant and welcome volume too late for 

 notice this month ; but without dipping into its pages we may very 

 safely recommend any thing that comes from Mr. Pringle's talented 

 and veteran pen. We shall at some future period draw largely upon 

 the volume. 



LAY SERMONS. BY THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD. LONDON : FRASER. 

 THOSE who looked forward to the publication of these "Sermons" 

 with the hope of enjoying " much damnable laughter" at the Shep- 

 herd's expense and they form a not inconsiderable portion of your 

 reading public will find themselves, doubtless, much disappointed. 

 Those, on the contrary, who, jealous of the fame of this worthy and 

 excellent man, waited with pain for what they deemed would deeply 

 injure his name, will find themselves agreeeably deceived. We are 

 not among the number of those who deem that the worthy Shepherd 

 of Ettrick can write as good an homily as his illustrious brother, the 

 Shepherd of Canterbury, but we maintain that there is much sound 

 theology, much useful advice, and much valuable practical Christianity 

 in these pages. There is, too, an ingredient which has not hitherto 

 found its way into sermons, but which is a very good ingredient for 

 all that much cheerful entertainment and many pleasing appli- 

 cations of the subject. The pious reader will doubtless exclaim, 

 that this is fitter for the pages of a novel than a sermon and perhaps 

 he is right ; but, speaking for ourselves, we cannot perceive that the 

 force of the Shepherd's arguments have been weakened upon our mind 

 by these little te flights." They have rather rivetted them the stronger 

 upon our memory ; and such, we venture to say, will be the im- 

 pression of all those who give the volume (which will richly repay 

 the time) a diligent perusal. 



LAYS AND LEGENDS OF VARIOUS NATIONS. PART III. IRELAND. 

 BY WILLIAM J. THOMS. COWIE. 



WE would not again have raised this harmless production from the 

 sleep into which it is fast falling, were it not that we have been ex- 

 cessively amused at the conceit (to say the least of it others would 

 call it ignorant arrogance) of the complacent editor. We shall give 

 the specimen of the " intense botheration" which has so moved our 

 cachinatory powers. Hear this, all ye ignoramuses who have pre- 

 sumed to lecture on the origin of words ; and chiefly thou, Doctor 



