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65 
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HE late appearance of the Pirate at 
: the close of the last mouth, precluded 
us from presenting our readers with au ear- 
fier account of its contents. Very opposite 
opinions have been expressed upon its me- 
rits ; but few, we apprehend, wiil coincide 
with some very fastidious critics, whe, we 
are credibly informed, have returned it as 
unreadable, upon their booksellers’ hands. 
Flatness and stupidity, at all events, are 
never the faults of this writer. After the 
vast field which he has already traversed, 
if would not be surprising if he betrayed 
some symptoms of exhaustion ; and we are 
not disposed to deny that there exist in this 
work certain resemblances and repetitions 
of characters and events. But over all these 
there is thrown an air of originality which 
amply redeems the novelist fromthe charge 
of copying even from himself; and these 
volumes, in our judgment, although not 
eqnal to the best of his former works, suf- 
ficiently susiain the high reputation he en- 
joys. Thescene of action is laid in the 
Zetland aud Orkney isles, whose wild 
scenery affords occasion for much grand 
aud picturesque description ; andacurious 
and minute portrait is drawn of the primi- 
tive manners of their inhabitants, finished 
with all the effect which the keen observa. 
tion and antiquarian knowiedge of the au- 
thor so well enable him to give. The ro- 
mantic superstitions of the North a-e 
brought into full play, and finely developed 
in the character of Norna, theReim-kesuar, 
or Prophetess, from whose supernatural 
pretensions every advantage is drawn, 
without passing the bounds of probability. 
tn this particular, the author has shewn 
great skill, as well as in the conduct of his 
fable, which is wound up with more than 
his usual judgment and dexterity. The in- 
terest of the story increases as it advances, 
and the last volume is decidedly the best. 
The two fair sisters, Minna and Brerda, 
are beautiful creations, imagined with the 
utmost clearness and delicacy; and the 
Montuty Maa, No, 364. 
sisterly intercourse between them, and the 
fluctuation of their feclings, are described 
with a degree of tenderness and truth which 
would have doue no discredit to Richard- 
son. Out of no very promising materials, 
a fascinating romancé bas been construct- 
ed; andoverwhelmed as we are, by these 
multiplied re-productions of fancy, it would 
be quite vain to conjecture what will be 
the termination of this author’s singular 
and unexampled career. We have now no ° 
hesitation in ascribing the whole to the pro- 
lifie pen of Sir WALTER Scotr. , 
We have read De Renzey, or the Man 
of Sorrcw, with more satisfaction than 
usually attends the perusal of works of 
this class, and may assign it a respect- 
able place on the shelf of the circulating 
library. The scene is laid principaily in 
Ireland, during the late rebellion, and 
some of the persons and occurrences cou- 
nected with that period are brought for- 
ward with cleverness and spirit. “The sor- 
row of the hero arisés from the loss of his 
wife, from whom he is separated by cir- 
cumstances which fix upon her conduct 
the appearance of an elopement, and the 
grief occasioned by this mistake, throws 
her into adecline. There is not much in- 
terest worked out of this; and the best 
parts of the novel must be looked for in 
the detail of the disturbances befoie al- 
luded to. 
The Tour of Africa, by CATHERINE 
HuTTOoN, is constructed on an agreeable 
and ingenious idea, which has been car- 
ried into effect with great industry, talent 
and judgment. In the person of a single 
tourist, the writer has embodied the vari- 
ous travels and narrations relating to the 
different parts of Africa, and has thus 
formed a consistent and authentic whole, 
which comprehends the information for- 
merly scattered over many various volumes. 
Theselections haye been made fromthe best 
authors, and afford a coucise account of 
all the countries in that quarter of the globe 
hitherto 
