THE RANDALL FAMILY 2/
In the "North American Review" for October, 1856, Article XIII. , Mr. Abbot reviewed the "Consolations of Solitude" at somewhat greater length, giving a variety of illustrative extracts. Some passages from this review may be properly added to the foregoing notice : —
"The copyright of the volume of poems bearing this unpretending title is secured to John W. Randall, of Bos- ton, who from that circumstance, and from internal evi- dence, may be presumed to be the author. Dr. Randall is known to the public as the writer of several valuable papers on subjects of natural history, and as having been at one time a member of the scientific corps attached to the United States Antarctic Exploring Expedition, under the command of Lieut. Wilkes. The internal evidence to which we refer is the acquaintance with natural history incidentally shown in several of the poems, and, especially, in the admirable notes to ' The Mountain Journey.' These notes, and some of the poems, could have been written only by one whose mind was imbued with a strong love of the beautiful, and at the same time trained by scientific study to be observant of nature, not merely in its more prominent features, but in its minute forms and evanes- cent traits.
"The epithet thougJitful applied to the book in these lines [To the Reader] is aptly descriptive of one of its leading characteristics. A deep thoughtfulness, called into vigorous action by whatever subject arrests his attention, and embodying itself in language always simple and per- spicuous, often singularly strong, terse, and elegant, seems to be a predominant feature of the author's mind. In these and other respects, the volume offers a striking con- trast to the inanity, affectation, and obscure and strained
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