My Circular Notes. Extracts from Journals, Letters sent home, Geological and other Notes, written while Travelling Westwards round the World, from July 6, 1874, to July 6, 1875

Abstract

ALL who are acquainted with the undoubted merits of Mr. Campbell's earlier work—merits to which not even the most serious and glaring defects in style, matter, and arrangement can render us insensible—will hail with pleasure the appearance of this latest production of his ever lively pen and amusing pencil. We cannot but think that in this, his second venture, the author has greatly profited by some of the severe but not unfriendly criticisms which were elicited by the publication of his first work. Mr. Campbell has, in “My Circular Notes,” avoided the grave mistake of mingling together in wild confusion humorously-written notes of travel and sober arguments on difficult scientific questions; and he has exercisedj as we think, a very wise discretion in relegating to an appendix the discussion of that important geological problem, the hope of solving which seems to have been his main incitement to undertaking this journey round the world. In perusing this scientific portion of his book, with which of course the readers of NATURE are principally concerned, we are happy to find far fewer examples of that looseness and inaccuracy of language and to miss that dogmatic tone and redundancy of illustration which were the conspicuous blemishes of the author's earlier work, And all these improvements have we think been effected, without any sacrifice of his really graphic and vigorous style of writing upon scientific questions.

My Circular Notes. Extracts from Journals, Letters sent home, Geological and other Notes, written while Travelling Westwards round the World, from July 6, 1874, to July 6, 1875.

By J. F. Campbell, Author of “Frost and Fire.” 2 vols. (London: Macmillan and Co., 1876.)