The Press.
London, England, 1857-06-13 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

A new edition of Mr. Kaye's popular work,
" rho War in Afghanistan " (2), requires only
to be mentioned. It is an excellent and ac •
curate history of one of the most momentous
periods of our Indian empire. It is curious at this
moment, when we have just concluded a war with
Persia, and commenced intrigues with Post Moham-
med—the very cause of the catastrophe Mr. Kaye
is relating in these volumes—to read Sir Alexander
Burnes's opinions upon the proper policy to be pur-
sued towards Afghanistan
I am necessarily ignorant of the Governor• General's
views on what his lordship considers the best mode of
hereafter managing Afghanistan. It has been notified to
me in various despatches, that this end may best be gained
by using one small State to balance another, to keep all
at peace, and thus prevent any great Mahomedan power
growing up beyond the Indus, which might cause future
inconvenience. It is with every respect that I differ ; but
these are not my sentiments, and though in theory nothing
may appear more just and beueticial, I doubt the possibility
of putting the theory into practice, and more than doubt
the practice producing the benefit expected from it; for
while you were trying to bring it about, another power
steps in, paves the way for destroying the chiefahips in
detail, and the policy along with it. Our fears of a powerful
Mahomedan neighbour are quickened by what we read of
Ahmed Shah's wars in India, and the alarms spread even
by Shah Zemaun, so late as the days of Lord Wellesley ;
but our knowledge of these countries has wonderously
improved since that time; and though the noble marquis,
in his splendid administration, made the Afghans feel our
weight through Persia, and arrested the evil, we should
have had none of these present vexations if we had dealt
with the Afghans themselves. We then counteracted
them through Persia. We now wish to do it through the
Sikhs. But as things stand, I maintain it is the hest of
all policy to snake Cabul in itself as strong as we can
make it, and not weaken it by divided power ; it has already
been too long divided. Cabul owned its strength in bygone
days to the tribute of Cashmere and Sindh. Both are
irrevocably gone ; and while we do all we can to keep up
the Sikhs as a power east of the Indus during the Maha•
rajah's life, or afterwards, we should consolidate Afghan
power west of the Indus. and have a king and not a
collection of chiefs. Divide et impera is a temporising
creed at any time; and if the Afghans are united, we and,
they bid defiance to Persia, and instead of distant relations
we have everything under our eye, and a steadily progress-
ing influence all along the Indus.
These are words of wisdom, and, though no man is
a prophet in his own country, yet each event in the
history of our frontier policy in India testifies to the
soundness of I3nrnes's views.

In the two H indbooks to the Aquarium and to
Greenhouse Botany (3, 4), we recognise an addition
to those excellent elementary works suitable to the
popular tastes and studies of the day. In both the
arrangement of detail is simple, lucid, and easily
comprehensible, while both works are handsomely
illustrated by numerous exquisitely-coloured engra-
vings. We can recommend each volume as a plea-
sant and popular guide to the care and comprehension
of the aquarium or the greenhouse.
Mr. Martin Doyle's " Common Things of Every-
day Life" (5) is a practical little book, the intention
of which is fully explained by its title. It remains
only for us to add that it contains much useful infor-
mation within a small compass.
"The Engli3h Bread-book " (6) is written by Miss
Acton, the well-known authoress of "Modern
Cookery," with a view of showing how simple is the
art of breadmaking, by way of inducing most people
to make their own bread, and to make it well, whole-
some, and without waste. Hood, in one of his
poems, asks—

Who has not eaten home-made bread—
That heavy compound of putty and lead ?

Miss Acton's instructions, it need not be said, if fol-
lowed, will vindicate the character of the compound.
She quotas Dr. Ure for chemical analysis and Dr.
Challis for the evils of adulteration, while Cosmos
is brought in to prove that, though the progress of
civilisation has been undeniably rapid, the art of
breadmaking remains barbarous ; and then, in the
plain and ample terms compilers of cookery books
have always at hand, delivers a series of most useful
instructions upon the art of making every sort of
bread, from the "Turkish roll" to the "frugal
" housekeeper's brown loaf." The book is eminently
practical, and to be read by and recommended to
nousekeepers.

An excellent handbook for the trout•Bsher is Mr.
Stewart's " Practical Angler" t 7). Every detail
upon angling with fly, worm, or minnow, appears to
be given here, and upon good authority, too, for
the book is the result of fifteen years' accumulated
information upon, and practical experience of, the