No apology is required for the republication of these
tales. Their own merit is sufficient justification for their
reappearance in the present handy form. They were originally published
in two volumes in 1838 and 1843, and, at the time, excited great
interest in the literary world from the highly characteristic and
original features they contained, and from the general interest felt in
the noble-minded and highly-gifted authors. Copies of the original
volumes are now rarely to be met with, and when they do turn up, it is
at a price which practically puts them beyond the reach of the ordinary
reader. This has been so for many years, and the wonder is that they
have not been reproduced ere now in a suitable form, and at a moderate
cost. Most of the tales are written by Alexander, a few by John, whom,
however, we associate with his elder brother in the biographical sketch,
as their life-pursuits, tastes, and interests, were so interwoven as
almost to be identical. They were also authors of much miscellaneous
literature, including poetry and biography, which appeared in the
periodical literature of the day. These contributions, however, the
publisher does not consider as coming within the scope of the present
volume. Regarding the tales, they are not only good in themselves, but
they assist in preserving and illustrating in a popular form the
manners, habits, and local customs of the Scottish peasantry during the
first quarter of the present century. And in
addition, they possess to an unusually high degree the more excellent
and nobler qualities of simplicity, and of being true to nature, with a
distinct and ever present, but not obtrusive tendency to teach some high
moral purpose, or to give expression to some healthy, soul touching
sentiment, which the heart loves to cherish.
