A Yacht Voyage Round England

This is a most remarkable book, copiously illustrated with interesting engravings. A young boy and his brother are sent home early from their boarding-school, because of illness among the pupils. Their father is a retired captain in the Royal Navy, who has had a beautiful yacht built. He suggests that the family should spend this lengthened summer holiday sailing round England. This means sailing round the southern part of Scotland, passing through the Caledonian Canal. The boys were instructed to keep journals, in which they were to note everything that took their interest. This is Kingston's vehicle for delivering to us an excellent story, full of comments on the places they visited or passed by. Your reviewer has sailed much of the same route, and can vouch for the intrinsic truth of the descriptions, after making allowance for the hundred years between our voyages. According to Wikipedia: "William Henry Giles Kingston (28 February 1814 - 5 August 1880), writer of tales for boys, was born in London, but spent much of his youth in Oporto, where his father was a merchant. His first book, The Circassian Chief, appeared in 1844. His first book for boys, Peter the Whaler, was published in 1851, and had such success that he retired from business and devoted himself entirely to the production of this kind of literature, in which his popularity was deservedly great; and during 30 years he wrote upwards of 130 tales, including The Three Midshipmen (1862), The Three Lieutenants (1874), The Three Commanders (1875), The Three Admirals (1877), Digby Heathcote, etc. He also conducted various papers, including The Colonist, and Colonial Magazine and East India Review. He was also interested in emigration, volunteering, and various philanthropic schemes. For services in negotiating a commercial treaty with Portugal he received a Portuguese knighthood, and for his literary labours a Government pension."