The Press.
London, England, 1858-08-14 00:00:00

THE PRESS, AUGUST 14, 1858.

the public service. Dhoondia's overthrow was
chiefly effected through the excellent intelligence
obtained of his movements, and this was accom-
plished by means of liberal guerdons to whoever
brought in reliable information. The man who
made known to the British general Dhoondia's
position in the 9th and 10th of September received
a present of 200 pagodas, and was recommended
for further reward. The same system was pur-
sued by Lord Lake, and there is still a tradition
among► the nations that in " Lik Bahadoor's "
tent there always stood two sacks of money—
the one full of gold pieces, the other of silver—
and into one or the other of these the bearer of
useful tidings was desired to thrust his hands
and carry off as much as he could grasp. In the
last Burmese war, however, a man who perilled
his life to bring in news might consider himself
fortunate if he was presented with a few rupees,
and consequently nothing was ever known of the
enemy's movements or intentions. The same
ill-judged parsimony is producing precisely the
same fruits at the present moment, and the in-
efficiency of the intelligence department is com-
plained of on all hands.
Towards the close of the year 1800, the
Marquis Wellesley determined upon concen-
trating a considerable force at Trincomalee, with
a view to reduce the French islands of Mauritius
and Bourbon, and finally to co-operate with the
English army in Egypt. The command of this
force he originally bestowed upon his brother,
who actually proceeded to Ceylon, but discovered,
to his bitter disappointment, that he had been
superseded by General Baird. The appointment
of Colonel Wellesley to the government of Sering-
apatam had caused much ill-feeling at the time,
and was looked upon as a glaring act of
favouritism. By way of amending the injustice
then shown to Sir David Baird, Lord Wellesley
now perpetrated a second wrong at the expense
of Colonel Wellesley, whose chagrin was evidently
intense at such an open affront. lie had, never-
theless, determined to proceed to Egypt as second
in command—for the Mauritius expedition had
the refusal of Admiral

London:

been abandoned through
Rainier to co-operate—but was prevented by an
attack of fever which caused him to be left at
Bombay. On his recovery he returned to his
old post in the Mysore country, and until the
latter part of 1801 his letters arc dated from
Seringapatam.
The present volume is a valuable addition to
the already voluminous collection of despatches
and memoranda from the Duke's indefatigable pen.
The labours of the editor, however, are of the
humblest character. With the exception of some
half-dozen footnotes conveying the smallest pos-
sible amount of topographical information—and
that apparently borrowed from Thornton's
Gazetteer—not a single line has been contributed
towards the illustration of obscure points. Nor
can it be said that much judgment has been dis-
played in selecting such papers as the fol-
lowing:—
G. 0.

Camp at Sirhitty, Tuesday, 25th July, 1800.
A salute of thirteen guns to be held in readiness to be
fired on Goklah alighting at Colonel ‘Vellesley's tent this
afternoon. A salute of thireen guns to be prepared
immediately, to he fired on Chintomeny Rao alighting at
Colonel Wellesley's tent. ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
G. 0.

19th September, 1800.

Two salutes of thirteen guns each to be in readiness to
be tired this afternoon on the Mahratta Chiefs, Chintomeny
800 anJ Baba Saheb, taking leave of Colonel Wellesley.
ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
TO THE OFFICER CaMMANDINC: AT MANGALORE.

Trincomalee, 12th February, 1801.
Sir,--In case any letters should be sent to you direzted
for me, I request that you will keep them till [ shall have
an opportunity of sending for them.—l have, &c.,
ARTHUR WELLEst.xv.
The frequent allusions to courts-martial on
anonymous offenders might likewise have been
omitted without loss to the public, and certainly
without detriment to the value and interest of
the volume. Allowing for these trifling blemishes,
the present collection is no unacceptable addition
to the military literature of this country. We
had marked several passages for extract, but
have space for no more than one, which
amusingly illustrates the practical good sense so
eminently characteristic of the Duke :

I wish t ) have your opinion upon the subject of two
officers in the 33rd regiment, Lieutenants Hook and Stewart,
who, I understand, are as black as my hat ; at least I am
told so by Lieutenant-Colonel St. John, in whose garrison
of Poonamallee they were quartered for some time. lam
also informed that one of them, Lieutenant Hook, says

775

that be contrived to avoid showing himself at the War
Office or to the Duke of York ; and I am sure he must
have equally avoided Lord Cornwallis. Without having any
prejudice against half caste men, who, I dare say, may be
intrinsically u good as others, I have a strong objection to
a black face in an European corps in this country; and I
think that, if these gentry are of the colour that I hear they
are, it is not proper that they should be allowed to remain
in the 3:ird regiment, at least without the particular orders
of the Commander-in-Chief upon the subject. My present
opinion is, that they ought to be reported to the
Commander in-Chief, and that they ought to be made to
show themselves at the Adjutant-General's office ; and after
this inspection, if the Commander-in• Chief thinks it proper
that they should continue to be officers, it is his affair, and
not ours.

The Ballade of Scotland. Edited by William
oune Aytoun, D.C.L. Two Vols.
Blackwoods.
(Second Notice.)
FURTHER examination of this work confirms us
in the opinions indicated in our former notice.
Southern readers will not place so high a value
on some of these poems as is assigned to them by
their accomplished editor. In ballad literature,
more than in any other kind of letters, local
affection is required to give the charm of associa-
tion ; and those who recollect how rich Scotch
literature is in songs, must feel disappointment
in perusing the mass of these Scotch ballads. We
admit their general value, and we are glad to
have them collected and carefully edited, but
their poetical merit is overrated. We are no
friends to " modern glitter," but our ear demands
more resonance than is to be found here. The
flatness and insipidity of the ballad form are too
frequently perceptible.
For example, we see here the ballad of " Bessie
Bell and Mary Gray," to which is prefixed two
pages of interesting letterpress alluding to the
plague of 1665. Professor Aytoun closes his
introductory note thus :

It was during this pestilence that Bessie Bell and Mary
Gray, daughters of the Lairds of Kinvaid and Lednoch, in
Perthshire, built their bower on a romantic spot by the
banks of the river Almond. Here they were supplied with
their provisions by a young gentleman, a suitor of one or
oth,:r of them; but unhappily he also brought with him the
infection from the town of Perth, and they both died. All
admirers of Scottish song are familiar with the air which
bears their name ; but the words, as usually sung, were com•
posed by Allan Ramsay, and are comparatively modern. The
old ballad now given, which is very sweet and simple, war
recovered by Mr. Sharpe.
The reader wmild from this preface expect
something striking and pathetic. Here is the
ballad :

0 Bessie Bell, and Mary Gray,
Thev were twa bonnie lasses,
They biggit a bower on yon burnside,
And theekit it ower wi rashes.
They theekit it ower wi rashes green,
They theekit it ower wi' heather ;
But the pest cam' free the burrows-roue,
And slew them bsith thegither.
They thought to lie in Methven kirkyard,
Amang their noble kin,
But they maun lie in Dronoch Haugh,
To beek forenent the sun.
Arid Bessie Bell, and Mary Gray,
They were twa bonnie lasses,
They biggit a bower on yon turnside,
And theekit it ower wi' rashes.
Is there one line of poetry, or one spark of
genius, in these flat stanzas ? The subject was a
capital one for a ballad-writer. The two friends
retired to the hillside to live and die together :
they were both young, of the gentle sex: they
chose a romantic spot, and were tended in their
bower of refuge by the lover of one of them.
And the poet, on so suggestive a theme, could do
nought better than the specimen given above. A
more flat and tame attempt at a ballad on a fine
subject we never read.
In this second volume now before us the
accomplished editor gives us three Montrose
ballads,—"The Haugtis of Cromdale,' " The
Battle of Philiphaugh," and " The Gallant Gra-
hams." The last stanza of the first of these
ballads runs :

Of twenty thousand Cromwell's men,
Five hundred fled to Aberdeen,
The rest o' them lies on the plain,
Upon the haugha o' Cromdale.
Professor Aytoun thinks that this ballad can
hardly have been written at the time of the
engagement, as the designation of " ' Cromwell's
" men' was not applicable to the forces under
" the command of Urry." We have no doubt
that the ballad was not written at the time of the
fight commemorated in it, but Cromwell was then
A