traced by him
Who sung the banished man of Ardebeil,
Or to the eye of Fancy held by her,
Who among Women left no equal mind
When from the world she passed; and I could weep
To think that _She_ is to the grave gone down!"

The "Annual Register" for 1796 honored the "Letters" by publishing in its
columns a long extract from them containing a description of the
Norwegian character. The "Monthly Magazine" for July of the same year
concluded that the book, "though not written with studied elegance,
interests the reader in an uncommon degree by a philosophical turn of
thought, by bold sketches of nature and manners, and above all by strong
expressions of delicate sensibility." The verdict of the "Analytical
Review" was as follows:--

"A vigorous and cultivated intellect easily accommodates itself to
new occupations. The notion that individual genius can only excel
in one thing is a vulgar error. A mind endued by nature with strong
powers and quick sensibility, and by culture furnished in an
uncommon degree with habits of attention and reflection, wherever
it is placed will find itself employment, and whatever it
undertakes will execute it well. After the repeated proofs which
the ingenious and justly admired writer of these letters has given
the public, that her talents are far above the ordinary level, it
will not be thought surprising that she could excel in different
kinds of writing; that the qualifications which have enabled her to
instruct young people by moral lessons and tales, and to furnish
the philosopher with original and important speculations, should
also empower her to entertain and interest the public in a manner
peculiarly her own by writing a book of travels.

"We have no hesitation in assuring our readers that Mrs.
Wollstonecraft has done this in the present volume."

The qualities most desirable in a writer of travels are quickness of
perception, active interest in the places and people described,
appreciation of local color, a nice sense of discrimination, and a
pleasant, simple style. It is true that occasionally affected and
involved phrases occur in Mary's letters from the North, and that the
tone of many passages is a trifle too sombre. But the former defects are
much less glaring and fewer in number than those of her earlier writings;
while, when it is remembered that during her journey her