A Sailor's Life under Four Sover admiral of the Fleet the fon. Sir Keppel, G.CB., D.O.L. (Moe milan nid Ca, 30s.)
Sir Horny Keppel's Life is long in more senses than The gallant old seaman, who is now in his ninety-first year, hearty, we wre glut to world his autobiography in a work of three volumes, each as ong ax a threrdecked novel, which from a literary, and probably from a service, point of view is long enough in all conscience. Ie could not well have been longer had Sir Henry been all the Admirals of the Fleet who have flourished since the time of Netson rolled into one. Frankly, it is too long, made xo in great measure by such trivialities, as 1 these, of which there are whole chapters, extracted from his sea log-book and shore Visited old Michel Qui gallop with Synge. Dined Sir Henry Pottinger and the ral meeting there, Slow with "On board to see Chads off, A good fellow." 'Mount with scratch pack of harriers." "'To forenoon church, sley performing." And as every item, though it consists only of three words, is a separate paragraph, they run into a yood deal of "copy," as a' Fleet Street word-spinner would say; yet to do the Admiral justice, he is no word-spinner, going straight to his point, and firing away jas ithe were in action, with a disregard for grammar, and a confusion of relative pronouns which is often amusing, and ocean ionally mysterious. Yet, despite its faults (which, had the author taken counsel with amon of letters, might hav: been avoided), the uuvk is distinctly interesting, und has ing frankly self-revealling The impression it vives is that of a naval officer endowed with all the characteristics of those hernes of the main who in times past have defended the integrity and upheld the hon ur of the Empire. None "of them, it is safe to affirm, excelled him for his calling devotion to duty, in danger. Had Henry Keppel come into the world thirty years earlier he would certainly, with fair luck, have taken high rank among the paladins of the great war. During the Crimean War he gave
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