The Eventful History of the Mutiny of the Bounty forms
No.. XXV. of the "Family Library." Mr. BARROW has collected and arranged the materials that relate to this very interesting and extraordinary transaction. They are not altogether new, but they are not the worse on that account : they are spread among a variety of• publications, and are scarcely accessible in the mass, except to a_ collector of such publications. Objections have been made to the selection of such a subject for the Family Library, but we cannot. see on what grounds. As long as these works are conducted on no plan except on the loose one of a miscellany, there is no guide but the interest or the instruction inherent in the materials. Where these qualities are to be found in greater store than in the history of this affair, we know not. In all its points it is a wonderful story, whether for the ear of the man or the boy: First, the object of the voyage, to transfer the bread-fruit tree from the romantic islands of Taheite and its neighbours to the West Indies ; next the fearful rise of the crew ; the tyrannical temper of BLIGH, the determined vengeance of CHRISTIAN, the extraordinary adventuresof the Captain in an open boat, which kept the sea in a voyage of upwards of four thousand miles; and then again, the fearful destinations of the mutineers ; the shipwreck of the Pandora, and the cruelty of the ruffian Captain EDWARDS, who let his prisoners drown in their chains ; the melancholy court-martial ; and, subsequently, the very curious discovery of CHRISTIAN'S descendants in Pitcairn Island ; all constitute one of the most remarkable dramas that has ever been acted on that wide and fearful stage the "melancholy main." A new feature has, however, been added to the narrative : it is the private history of the family of the HEY.• WOODS during the trial of the son, PETER Ilitywoon, the midshipman, for his concern in the mutiny. The affectionate and enthusiastic letters of his sister NESSY HEYWOOD, furnish the most charming specimens of female character that have ever been published : they class her in the noble catalogue of heroines. The bearing of the brother is wrathy of her—no man ever bore himself more nobly in circumstances of the bitterest trial. If this most interesting work become known among youthful readers, we will answer for its popularity, and in fact see no end to its circulation.
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