Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Critical Notices Of The Literature Of The Last Three Months,
they visited , the idols they saw , and thc light sketches of such Chinese society as a foreigner is now permitted a sight of , are amusing enough , and the style in which the whole is written is too simple , easy , and unaffected , to make the book otherwise than pleasant reading . Mrs . Colin Mackenzie ' s " Six Years in India , " * is a work of greater pretensions . The ladyfrom her husband ' s positionhad ample
opportu-, , nities of collecting information , of which she has unsparingly availed herself ; and the consequence is , three volumes of entertaining matter , abounding in anecdotes of Anglo-Indian life , of Lord Gough , Lord Dalhousie , and Sir Charles Napier . Moreover , we have a good deal of Avhat every book on India is full of , namely , strange tales of administrative neglect , and military incapacity ; while , with hardly the semblance of an attempt to hide the eognito of living personsthe conduct of many
, is freely questioned . The picture of social life among the Company ' s servants says as little for them as it does for the mode in which the Company ' s patronage is distributed , while the absence of those little courtesies of society , in Avhich both sexes in India are apparently so deficient , does not give a very favourable idea of the state of education , even amongst the higher ranks . Here is an instance : —
" On Lady Dalhousie ' s arrival Lord Hardinge gave a ball in her honour , in order to introduce her to the ladies of Calcutta . Instead of the company rising to receive her , as common politeness dictated , every one kept her seat ; not one came forward to receive or welcome her ; and , consequently , she very naturally declined having them presented to her . Again , at a ball here , a sofa had been retained for her . She arrived late ; every seat was occupied . Colonel Grant led her up to the sofa , which was occupied by three ' Simla women , ' who never moved : after looking them full in the face , he said with a loud voice , ' I
think , Lady Dalhousie , we must look for a seat elsewhere . ' Again they paraded the whole length of the room , not a lady having the politeness to rise : until at last she found a seat by Mrs . Mountain . No wonder , indeed , that she was not very cordial afterwards . On one occasion dining at Lord Gough ' s , the news came that Sir Charles Napier had arrived , and instantly taken upon himself the duties of Commander-in-Chief . It was the very day fixed for returning public thanks for those victories which had rendered his arrival unnecessary . The old chief felt most keenly this supersession ; which , however , was warranted by the terms of the commission , and softened by a handsome letter-, which subsequently arrived from his successor . 'How merciful HE has been to me personally , ' said Lord Gough , ' in enabling me to win that battle ( Chillianwala ) before my successor arrived '"
As mi ght be supposed , the contest on the banks of the Danube has drawn several tourists into Russia and to Constantinople , and amongst these Mr . Oliphantf is entitled , by precedence , to our attention . Having already had to thank him for an interesting account of a " Journey to Nepaul , " his visit to the " Bussian Shores of the Black Soa , with a Voyage down the Volga , and a Turn into the Country of the Don Cossacks , " is welcome . The volume is really a valuable contribution to this class of
literature , being full ole lively narrative , besides affording us an insight into the material power and resources of Bussia , a matter of no small importance at the present moment . These , Mr . Oliphant does not value very highly , believing them to exist more in shadow than in actual sub-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Critical Notices Of The Literature Of The Last Three Months,
they visited , the idols they saw , and thc light sketches of such Chinese society as a foreigner is now permitted a sight of , are amusing enough , and the style in which the whole is written is too simple , easy , and unaffected , to make the book otherwise than pleasant reading . Mrs . Colin Mackenzie ' s " Six Years in India , " * is a work of greater pretensions . The ladyfrom her husband ' s positionhad ample
opportu-, , nities of collecting information , of which she has unsparingly availed herself ; and the consequence is , three volumes of entertaining matter , abounding in anecdotes of Anglo-Indian life , of Lord Gough , Lord Dalhousie , and Sir Charles Napier . Moreover , we have a good deal of Avhat every book on India is full of , namely , strange tales of administrative neglect , and military incapacity ; while , with hardly the semblance of an attempt to hide the eognito of living personsthe conduct of many
, is freely questioned . The picture of social life among the Company ' s servants says as little for them as it does for the mode in which the Company ' s patronage is distributed , while the absence of those little courtesies of society , in Avhich both sexes in India are apparently so deficient , does not give a very favourable idea of the state of education , even amongst the higher ranks . Here is an instance : —
" On Lady Dalhousie ' s arrival Lord Hardinge gave a ball in her honour , in order to introduce her to the ladies of Calcutta . Instead of the company rising to receive her , as common politeness dictated , every one kept her seat ; not one came forward to receive or welcome her ; and , consequently , she very naturally declined having them presented to her . Again , at a ball here , a sofa had been retained for her . She arrived late ; every seat was occupied . Colonel Grant led her up to the sofa , which was occupied by three ' Simla women , ' who never moved : after looking them full in the face , he said with a loud voice , ' I
think , Lady Dalhousie , we must look for a seat elsewhere . ' Again they paraded the whole length of the room , not a lady having the politeness to rise : until at last she found a seat by Mrs . Mountain . No wonder , indeed , that she was not very cordial afterwards . On one occasion dining at Lord Gough ' s , the news came that Sir Charles Napier had arrived , and instantly taken upon himself the duties of Commander-in-Chief . It was the very day fixed for returning public thanks for those victories which had rendered his arrival unnecessary . The old chief felt most keenly this supersession ; which , however , was warranted by the terms of the commission , and softened by a handsome letter-, which subsequently arrived from his successor . 'How merciful HE has been to me personally , ' said Lord Gough , ' in enabling me to win that battle ( Chillianwala ) before my successor arrived '"
As mi ght be supposed , the contest on the banks of the Danube has drawn several tourists into Russia and to Constantinople , and amongst these Mr . Oliphantf is entitled , by precedence , to our attention . Having already had to thank him for an interesting account of a " Journey to Nepaul , " his visit to the " Bussian Shores of the Black Soa , with a Voyage down the Volga , and a Turn into the Country of the Don Cossacks , " is welcome . The volume is really a valuable contribution to this class of
literature , being full ole lively narrative , besides affording us an insight into the material power and resources of Bussia , a matter of no small importance at the present moment . These , Mr . Oliphant does not value very highly , believing them to exist more in shadow than in actual sub-