Abstract
WE have first a sketch of the life and work of James Shaw; but the bulk of the book is occupied with reprints of some of his more characteristic literary productions. These are upon a great variety of subjects, mostly connected with natural history. The early years of James Shaw's life were spent as a pattern designer and calico printer, and it was not till he was over thirty years of age that he became the schoolmaster at Tynron, a country parish in Dumfriesshire. He continued there for thirty-four years. In the early part of his career his tastes were chiefly literary, and he acquired considerable power as a writer both of prose and verse. After he became a country schoolmaster he devoted himself entirely to natural history and archæology. His papers collected in the present volume are of real interest, and charmingly written. After looking through them we feel the justice of his friend's remark: ”Shaw was a large man, fated to play out his life-drama on a small and dimly-lighted stage.”
A Country Schoolmaster, James Shaw, of Tynron, Dumfriesshire.
Edited by Robert Wallace. Pp. xcvi + 392. (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., Ltd., 1899.)
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A Country Schoolmaster, James Shaw, of Tynron, Dumfriesshire. Nature 60, 341 (1899). https://doi.org/10.1038/060341c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/060341c0