LETTERS FROM THE EAST.
Letters from the East. By Henry James Ross. (J. M. Dent and Co. 12s. 6d. net.)—Many of the letters which amuse the world were announced as never intended for publication, but sometimes one is inclined to think that the writer had some idea at the back of his mind that they were likely to be read by a larger circle than his solitary correspondent. Such a doubt would never occur to the reader of these letters, they are so unaffected, there are so few adjectives. They are a simple account of Mr. Ross's many adven- tures without any attempt at fine writing, although the subject would lend itself readily to the picturesque ; such, for instance, as his visit to the scene of the massacre of the Nestorian Christians and the attack of the Kurds on the party. The account is so graphic that we wish we had space to quote it. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the description of Sebastopol in the midst of the Crimean War, and of our misfortunes and blunders, —misfortunes and blunders which remind us too painfully of the recent past. Mr. Rose thoroughly enjoyed his adventurous life; he could speak to the natives of most of the Eastern lands in which he travelled in their own tongue, and entered with understanding into their lives and modes of thought. He married in 1860 the daughter of Lady Duff Gordon, whose charming letters from Egypt are noticed above. Mrs. Ross adds greatly to the interest of this volume by her introduction and careful editing ; and there is s delightful account of the last years of her uncle by Lina Duff Gordon, now Mrs. Waterfield.
Previous page
