The life and times of George Villiers, duke of Buckingham, Volume 2 (of 3): From original and authentic sourcesThomson, A. T., Mrs.
History
The life and times of George Villiers, duke of Buckingham, Volume 2 (of 3): From original and authentic sources
Thomson, A. T., Mrs.
Buckingham, George Villiers, Duke of, 1592-1628
“A book of travels which in value and sterling interest must take
rank as a landmark in geographical literature. Its coloured
illustrations and wood engravings are of a high order, and add a
great charm to the narrative. Mr. Atkinson has travelled where it is
believed no European has been before. He has seen nature in the
wildest, sublimest, and also the most beautiful aspects the old
world can present. These he has depicted by pen and pencil. He has
done both well. Many a fireside will rejoice in the determination
which converted the artist into an author. Mr. Atkinson is a
thorough Englishman, brave and accomplished, a lover of adventure
and sport of every kind. He knows enough of mineralogy, geology, and
botany to impart a scientific interest to his descriptions and
drawings; possessing a keen sense of humour, he tells many a racy
story. The sportsman and the lover of adventure, whether by flood or
field, will find ample stores in the stirring tales of his
interesting travels.”--_Daily News._
"An animated and intelligent narrative, appreciably enriching the
literature of English travel. Mr. Atkinson’s sketches were made by
express permission of the late Emperor of Russia. Perhaps no English
artist was ever before admitted into this enchanted land of history,
or provided with the talisman and amulet of a general passport; and
well has Mr. Atkinson availed himself of the privilege. Our extracts
will have served to illustrate the originality and variety of Mr.
Atkinson’s observations and adventures during his protracted
wanderings of nearly forty thousand miles. Mr. Atkinson’s pencil was
never idle, and he has certainly brought home with him the forms,
and colours, and other characteristics of a most extraordinary
diversity of groups and scenes. As a sportsman Mr. Atkinson enjoyed
a plenitude of excitement. His narrative is well stored with
incidents of adventure. His ascent of the Bielouka is a chapter of
the most vivid romance of travel, yet it is less attractive than his
relations of wanderings across the Desert of Gobi and up the Tangnou
Chain."--_Athenæum._
"We predict that Mr. Atkinson’s ‘Siberia’ will very often assume the
shape of a Christmas Present or New Year’s Gift, as it possesses, in
an eminent degree, four very precious and suitable qualities for
that purpose,--namely, usefulness, elegance, instruction and
novelty. It is a work of great value, not merely on account of its
splendid illustrations, but for the amount it contains of authentic
and highly interesting intelligence concerning regions which, in all
probability, has never, previous to Mr. Atkinson’s explorations,
been visited by an European. Mr. Atkinson’s adventures are told in a
manly style. The valuable and interesting information the book
contains, gathered at a vast expense, is lucidly arranged, and
altogether the work is one that the author-artist may well be proud
of, and with which those who study it cannot fail to be
delighted."--_John Bull._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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