The Press.
London, England, 1858-11-27 00:00:00

SUPPLEMENT TO

Perhaps at this moment several, or even many,
laborious compilers are at work to supply, more
or less satisfactorily, this undoubted desideratum.
Possibly a republication in separate form, with
additional information, of the two valuable
epitomes of Indian history, to be found in Sir
Archibald Alison's and Lord Stanhope's Histories,
might not be deemed by the public unacceptable,
for each of these epitomes has superior and
distinct merits. At present, however, one is
already in the field ; and there lies before us
his contribution to national literature, in the
shape of a little foolscap octavo volume of fewer
than three hundred pages, in which will be found
the very cream of the three Histories of India
already referred to—Mill, Elphinstone, and
Thornton. Though called with becoming diffi-
dence " A Sketch," it has real pretensions to be
called a History of India. Its author is a clergy-
man of the Church of England, of no mean literary
pretensions or professional distinction ; and
nearly a ten years' residence in India has given
him great opportunities for. becoming practically
acquainted with his subject. On the Madras
establishment, he was attached to Bangalore, the
largest military station in the south of India, and
capital of the Mysore territory. His duty
brought him into contact with every part of that
extensive district, equalling Ireland in extent,
and containing three millions and a half of
Ilindoo and lahomedan natives, for the use of
whom he founded a mission and built a school.
With a small exception, to which we shall
presently advert, we give our hearty approval of
the little " Sketch " now lying before us. Every
now and then we are given some of the happiest
and most characteristic expressions of the eminent
authorities above referred to, adhering to a
tenacious memory ; but, generally speaking, the
narrative flows freely from his own original and
vigorous pen. The whole, however, is so well
amalgamated that the result is a clear, agreeable,
and impressive panoramic view of the chief
events of Indian history from the earliest period
down to the latest recapture of Lucknow. The
aboriginal settlements, the Hindoo immigration,
the Affghan and Mosul conquests, the Portu-
guese possessions, and the British empire are
traced through their respective phases with suc-
cinctness and no little graphic force. In the
British period, especially, no material event
appears to have been omitted, from the founding
of the factories at Fort St. George and Calcutta,
down to the annexation of Pegu and Oude. Mr.
Trevor here displays a style and power of con-
densation, forming of itself a capital recommen-
dation in a book for the niillion. Brief, again,
as is this little work, it has claims to originality.
Compiling freely from a multitude of authorities,
Mr. Trevor, without surrendering his own judg-
ment, subjects every important transaction to an
impartial and able discrimination. Of the Aff-
ghan invasion he strenuously disapproves, and
our own views on that subject are not unknown
to our readers. Mr. Trevor was at that time in
India, and became thoroughly acquainted with
the current of enlightened opinion there upon
that subject. Decided opinions, in very few
words, are given on the policy of respective
Governors-General, from Clive to Lord Dalhousie,
and his views are generally favourable to the
" imperial policy " of the two Hastings and Lord
Wellesley. We are glad to find him no friend
to the " peace-at-any-price party"; he conceives

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