Extracts from the Literary Notices of the earlier editions:—
"The reader who shall purchase this book,—and he may safely purchase it for its intrinsic powers of amusement,— will be surprised at the tone of thought and general elegance of style. Alexander Bethune, had he published anonymously, might have passed for a regular litterateur." —Spectator.
"It is the perfect propriety of his taste, no less than the thorough intimacy with the unobtrusive subjects he treats of, which gives Mr. Bethune's little book a great charm in our eyes." —Athenæum.
"These tales are written by a man who has spent his life among the sort of people and amidst the scenes he has described. They will be popular, not only with the peasantry of Scotland, but those who know and love their character and ways." —Tait's Magazine.
"The author is an excellent example of the sturdy indomitable race of Scottish peasants. The tales, for the most part, pertain to the class to which the writer belongs, and with which he is, of course, most familiar. They display a minute acquaintance with Scottish character, and convey an admirable delineation of the scenes of humble life." —Glasgow Argus.
"The pictures of rural life and character appear to us remarkably true, as well as pleasing." —Chambers' Journal.
"Mr. Bethune's manner of writing is pure and unaffected, and beautifully adapted to the spirit of his narratives." —Fife Herald.
"Of these productions we can speak in terms of unqualified praise."—Edinburgh Evening Post.
"The style and composition, both in prose and poetry, are of a superior order, and the tales are interesting."—Edinburgh Observer.
"The work is quite a literary phenomenon." —Fifeshire Journal.
"The author has taken the best way to rivet the attention, and to interest the heart, of his readers. His unvarnished tales unfold the life and character of the Scottish peasantry; tales drawn from his own observation and from truth, devoid of all improbability, of mawkish sentimentalism, and over-wrought character or incident."— Edinburgh Weekly Chronicle.
"These tales do credit alike to the head and heart of their author."
—Aberdeen Herald.
"We were quite struck with the superiority of thought and style in these tales. As a painter of Scottish manners, he may claim a place in the same niche with the authors of Halloween and Glenburnie."—Edinburgh Advertiser.
