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our author has told in an excellent manner-clearly, boldly and truthfully, though the share of the blame deserved by Lord Auckland himself is rather minimized. The story is very opportune in the present year, when the same "Forward Policy" is being again advocated and pursued, notwithstanding the warning voices of numerous able and experienced men; and when young politicals eager for distinction and ignorantly earnest for the security of our North-western Frontier, are again being allowed to meddle and muddle, and to worry and harry on our extreme frontiers in that direction, while the Amir of Afghanistan is being needlessly interfered with and abused. Among some other defects of Captain Trotter's book, we note his having taken, at full value, Broadfoot's Career of Major George Broadfoot, which thrusts the latter gentleman into an undeserved prominence. We would recommend the reading of Sir A. Lyall's just strictures on that work and his remarks on the proved character of its hero. The attempt to damage the reputation of Sale should not have found a place in this account of the Afghan war.

5. Lord Clive, by COL. G. B. MALLESON, C.S.I. (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1893; 2s. 6d.). This other volume of the Rulers of India Series, more than maintains the high character of its predecessors; and nothing less could be expected from the talented author, who is so thoroughly at home in every part of Indian History. He throws new light on Clive's history from some documents lately published by Dr. Forrest. The account of the battle of Plassey is of deep interest: Col. Malleson shows clearly how little of real fighting settled the already arranged fate of the betrayed ruler of Bengal; and how, for once in his life, Clive, utterly unnerved, simply drifted into safety on a tide of events over which, after he had started them, he was unable to exercise any control. Other parts of the book are equally well done. But the defect, which we have pointed out in other volumes of the series is not absent from this; we see Clive beautifully delineated as the dashing soldier, the daring leader, the inflexible governor, and the prudent reformer; but of Clive as a husband, a father, a friend, as a man in one word, little or nothing is given except what one may read between the lines of the history. His private domestic life remains so much under a veil, that Lady Clive is barely mentioned; and here at least we have no hint how many children they had, when she died, and how they lived together. There are some blemishes of diction. One cannot gather who murdered Chanda Sahib (p. 73), or what was "the insidious disease which rarely left him" (p. 142), what it was he proposed to do with his jaghir, nor how the Clive fund in 1858 came to Clive's descendants (p. 178). There are some peculiar and faulty constructions as at pp. 40, 65, 153. The "stiver" at p. 173 may pass ; but a grove cannot be correctly described as diagonal to a river (p. 95) nor a man as "resolving to act in petto," (p. 66); and to sue in forma pauperis (p. 118) is quite a different thing from being merely a humble suppliant. Surely it was not the Subahdar but the Subah which was put up for sale (p. 162). There are misprints as 111 for 113 (page 87), Doh for Dah at p. 118, India Office for India House, several times. But what becomes of Sir W. Hunter's transliteration, when Shah 'Alam (King of the World) is changed passim,

into Shah Alim (Learned King); and the Mogul Emperor, well known as Aurungzebe becomes Aurungzib under Col. Malleson's pen and Aurungzib under that of Captain Trotter. These are, however, minor defects, which we point out rather for the sake of correction by the gifted author in subsequent editions of the book, which are sure to be called for, as new documents are unearthed. We have to thank Col. Malleson for a book as delightful to read as it is correct and exact.

6. Aurungzib, by STANLEY LANE POOLE, B.A. (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1893; 2s. 6d.). In this work, another of the Rulers of India Series, the author gives us an excellent portrait of the great Imperial bigot, who though not the greatest of the Mogul Emperors reigned over a larger extent of Indian territory than did any of his race. Yet amid the glory of his surroundings and the amount of his revenues, the star of Mogul domination had already passed the zenith. Our author believes in the entire sincerity of Aurungzib's bigotry and religiousness, and he certainly presents strong arguments for it; but they are not absolutely convincing, and we still feel that a certain amount of hypocrisy was not absent from the character of the "Namázi" as Dara called him. The word-portrait of the man and ruler given us by our author is as excellent as the engraving from an Indian artist's pencil which forms the frontispiece of the volume. There is an opportune disquisition at p. 120 proving that the Rupee of Aurungzib's time was fully from 2s. 3d. to 2s. 6d. Not only the Emperor himself, but the circumstances of his times and the changes then taking place in India are clearly given, making the whole a very readable volume of this excellent series. We object, however, to the by no means proved charge of immorality against Jehanara Begum, whose loyal filial devotion during her unfortunate father's captivity ought to have ensured the veiling of this irrelevant scandal. The mention, too, of bhang (p. 49 and elsewhere) in connexion with deeds of Rajput valour is historically incorrect and calumnious. Rajput chivalry needs no stimulant beyond its own high sense of honour, and to say that they need intoxicants is as untrue as the assertion that the French charge on Champagne, or the British resist to the death on Whisky or Beer. But the most serious blot in Mr. Poole's work is his description of Delhi and of the Mogul's palace, where, while professing to follow the generally accurate Bernier, there is no excuse for his placing the Chandni Chauk (Silver Street) inside the Fort, any more than for placing on the wrong walls the "Agar firdous bar ru-i zamin ast, Hamin ast, o hamin ast, o hamin ast." It would be well for Mr. Poole to correct his pages of description of the great Imperial city with the help of some— and there are still a few alive-who knew Delhi and especially the Imperial palace before the time of the Indian mutiny.

7. Lord Wellesley, by the REV. W. A. HUTTON, M.A. (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1893; 2s. 6d.). This-the last issued volume of the Rulers of India Series-is superior to several of its companions in giving us a better biography of its hero, and thus placing before the reader not only Wellesley the Ruler, but also Wellesley the man. Mr. Hutton had to contend not with the want but with the exuberance of the materials for his work; but the selections already published-and these he candidly

acknowledges—placed valuable matter ready to his hands, and he has used it skilfully and ably. Wellesley's great qualities are impartially noted with all his little foibles; his accomplished services and his proposed reforms--especially for the eduction of officers-are well shown; the circumstances of the times are carefully delineated, their difficulties clearly stated, and the vexatious action of the Court of Directors, hampering him as they hampered others both before and after him, are duly dwelt upon. That Wellesley did really found the British Indian Empire and thus did an inestimable service to England, and by no means a less one for India itself, is an admitted fact; the justification of his predetermined scheme of aggrandizement at the expense of Indian states is by no means an easy task. It may be said that if he had not founded the British Indian Empire someone else would have established a French one, may make his action politically justifiable; but we must distinguish between his case and that of some of his compeers who acted under the necessity of self-preservation, whereas he deliberately planned and perseveringly executed an aggressive system of extension, which, whatever its innate worth and resulting benefits, began and ended with many acts of questionable justice :— e.g. his action towards the Nizam. But apart from this consideration, which is not inopportune amid the present craze for another "Forward Policy," he certainly was a great man, who achieved a great work, and left to his followers, despite themselves, the task of consolidating and extending it. It logically resulted in the present developed state of this great dependency of the British Empire. Lord Wellesley and his work have found a good historian in Mr. Hutton. We must, however, note, as usual, a few defects. The dates at p. 44 are incorrect and confused; Madhava Rao becomes Mahadaji and Nana is used as a name instead of being a title, at p. 83; we have Jadhpur at p. 98; and Omdal ul Onirah for Omdat ul Omrah in several places. We hope to see these and similar blemishes eliminated in future editions; for one of the services rendered by this Rulers of India Series is the stimulating of a taste for Indian literature which is proved by the call for successive editions of most of the volumes of the series, already published.

8. The Book of Enoch, by R. H. CHARLES, M.A. (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1893; 16s.). Mr. Charles has given us a most valuable work, the knowledge of which is necessary to all students of the Bible; for the ideas in it must have existed in the minds of the writers of the New Testament, and of both Jewish and Christian writers down to the fourth century. Our translator has been preceded by several and notably by Professor Dillmann, whose learned and exhaustive work, indispensable to all who succeed him, Mr. Charles has mainly followed, supplementing it by the many discoveries since made. Mr. Charles gives the text of Dillmann's translation, adding, in notes, his own corrections from the Æthiopian MS. discovered by him in the British Museum. This modest plan is by no means good, and we should have preferred Mr. Charles' continuous translation from the British Museum MS., with Dillmann's variations in the notes; and we hope this will be done in any future editions that may be called for. Fragments of the Greek and Latin versions, also recently discovered,

have helped to make the result of Mr. Charles' learned labours more satisfactory; and his book is a complete exposition of all that we yet know regarding the Book of Enoch. His introductions, general and special, his notes and critical apparatus, his excursus and appendices are all valuable contributions both to philology and Exegesis; and we recommend it warmly to our readers. A very interesting study is that of the origin of evil spirits from the souls of the slaughtered giants, the descendants of the angels and of the daughters of men-which seems to constitute a link between demons, Jinns and Devs.

9. The Story of Abibal the Tsourian, by Val C. PRINSEP, A.R.A. (London: Smith Elder and Co., 1893; 2s. 6d.), has eighty pages of an insipid story of the imaginary find by the pretended translator of the false papyrus of a pointless story of Abibal; a Phoenician supposed to be shipwrecked and offered as a sacrifice to the gods in ancient Britain. There is nothing novel or interesting in either the plots or the results of the two stories, or parts of one story. Historical fiction is all right, when the author avows his literary offspring; but the statements of giving pretended translations from imaginary ancient documents goes beyond fiction; and as it may misguide the general reader, it approaches dangerously near becoming a falsehood.

10. The Life and Enterprise of Ferdinand de Lesseps, by G. BARNETT SMITH (London: W. H. Allen and Co., 1893; 7s. 6d.). The sad darkness enveloping the evening of the life of this truly grand Frenchman gives to this book a deep and melancholy interest. The author begins with an account of the distinguished family of which Ferdinand has been the most distinguished. He then relates Ferdinand's successful and brilliant diplomatic career, in which his tact, energy, honesty and kind-heartedness are conspicuous in a remarkable degree. That career closed with an undeserved censure by a Ministerial Court who were really the parties meriting blame. It drove Ferdinand to the great work of his life—the Suez Canal; and we are told, at length, the single-handed firmness of purpose, the indefatigable labours, the undaunted perseverance, and the unconquerable energy which accomplished that enterprise in the teeth of the senseless resistance of England. Next follows, in equal detail, the unfortunate Panama Canal scheme. That it was undertaken imprudently— especially as regards the inevitable loss of life in that terrible climate-is now an acknowledged fact. But beyond that, Ferdinand de Lesseps himself seems to be clear of blame, on whomsoever that may ultimately Among the causes of failure, sufficient prominence is not given to the great earthquake of September 1882 (p. 271). The late trial and its results are given at great length; with touching scenes of the present childlike condition of the Great Engineer: what the French deserve for their action against Ferdinand personally, no words can say. The book is well written, occasionally a little prolix, but full of interest. There are some easily rectified mistakes-as Ciceronaccio for Ciceruacchio the Roman demagogue, and a hopelessly confused sentence at p. 17; and sufficient credit is not given to Lord Beaconsfield's statesmanly purchase of the Canal Shares in 1875 (pp. 177 et seq.). The book, however, will be read

with a sad pleasure by all. The text of the treaty of Paris in 1888, which fixes the international status of the Suez Canal is of permanent value.

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11. Persian Literature, Ancient and Modern, by ELIZABETH A. REED (Chicago: S. G. Griggs and Co., 1893; $2.50). As a popular compilation of much information, this book does a service to the general reader by placing before him in a condensed form-with occasional inaccuracieswhat he would otherwise have to seek in many and not easily accessible books. The authoress deals with Cuneiform, Pahlavi, and Persian, including goodness only knows why-the Qurán. There is a good deal of the style known in America as "High falutin" which often degenerates into sounding nonsense. The authoress continually speaks of the "feet" of mountains, but does not specify how many each has; and trips in her mythology, and, of course, in her Oriental words. Canopus, she says, was a star": what it has become now who may tell. At p. 224 she condescends to call the Shah Nameh " a valuable Persian Classic," and that "in the Persian tongue it exists only in manuscript form," evidently ignorant of the book's true place in Persian literature, its peculiar purity of style, and the fact of its having been, long ago, printed in France and in India, not to mention other countries. We wish, nevertheless, to compliment her on her diligence and perseverance. She gives us frequent extracts from Persian books, and thus presents to her readers specimens of some of the gems of oriental thought and language. The book is utterly useless to orientalists, as wanting both in depth and accuracy; but it will benefit the general reader, because in generally following approved authors-e.g., Sayce and Rawlinson-our authoress is not often astray.

12. Canadian Poems and Lays, edited by W. D. LIGHTHALL, M.A., of Montreal (London: Walter Scott, 1893; 1s.). A dainty little volume of selected poetry by Canadian authors, arranged under nine distinct heads, illustrative of Canadian national life and aspirations, Canadian history and scenery, Canadian sports and seasons. The versification throughout is as correct, varied and charming as the subject matter. The beautiful ballad form lies side by side with lordly Spenserian stanzas and the nervous long measure rendered familiar in Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. The double nationality with its double history is well and justly reflected, as is also the blending of the two together in the new spirit of the united nation, loyal and true to British Imperialism. At pages 8 and 9 is a stirring popular song, of which we quote the concluding verse:

"O triune kingdom of the brave,
O Sea-girt Island of the free,
O Empire of the land and wave,

Our hearts, our hands are all for thee.

Stand, Canadians, firmly stand

Round the flag of Fatherland."

Our readers will appreciate the poetic spirit and sentiment of this little

gem from p. 120:

"O light canoe! where dost thou glide?

Below thee gleams no silvered tide,

But concave heaven's chiefest pride.

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