The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-06 00:00:00

LIT EI?ATURE.

Gazetteer of the Territories under the Govern-
ment of the East India Company, and of the
Native States on, the Continent of India. By
Edward Thornton, Esq., author of the History
of " The British Empire in India." William H.
Allen and Co.
A Gazetteer of India ! It is impossible to take
up these four volumes without a feeling of unusual
interest, or to lay them down without some
degree of emotion. The vast barbaric Ind, the
dazzling region of boyish romance actually sub-
jected to the links and scale of the geographer; the
groping researches and the patient investigations
of the naturalist ; the relentless inquisition of the
political economist, and the rack of the historian.
India ! associated with all that is gorgeous in
pomp, wild and grand in dim distant obscurity,
and terrible in rapine, perfidy and bloodshed.
India ! world of enchantment, conjuring to the
youthful imagination dreams more fanciful and
glowing than any recorded in the Arabian
Nights. India ! far off land, overhung by a ceru-
lean canopy of the rarest azure, lit by the unshorn
radiance of a meridian sun, streaming a celestial
glory on verdant plains, crystal waters, wide-spreadbanians, graceful palm forests garbed in glo-
rious green, and mountains stretching upward to
the very rack of Heaven. India ! region of the
elephant, ponderous and docile, now swaying hi-
heath the burden of princes in howdahs, castellated
and golden, and anon the fatal minister of their
wrath ; home of the lion, tawny and deep-throated,
calling in thunder to his mate—of the tiger, striped
and insidious—the leopard, spotted and crafty,
and all incarnations of subtlety and force. India !
laud of moguls, nizams, nabobs, rajahs, and obse-
quious courtiers, sweltering in processional march
'neath the glittering load of priceless gems ; arena
and market of mailed horsemen, turbaned and sci-
mitared hosts and long-suffering,
but subtle andre-
vengeful, Hindoos; land of the Veda, of Brahminical
temples and priests, of Juggernaut, the Suttee, and
the invidious and unalterable law of caste, of
palaces, black holes, palanquins, western nabobs,
and every species of the genus adventurer Europe
could supply. India, forsooth, "put into" base "cir-
cumscription and confine" by a Gazetteer ! Age of
boyish illusion surely it is fled never more to return!
It is true—we live in a pleading, matter-of-fact age;
a truce, therefore, to rhapsody! though the agency
by which the volumes before us were compiled
is sufficiently in keeping with the romance evoked
by the subject to tempt further indulgence. That
such a Gazetteer of India as this should be the
fruit of one man's labours is really surprising.
The care, study, and patient research required to
achieve such a result must have been immense, and
at the first blush it would seem well for the com-
piler that his previous reputation for a profound
acquaintance with the history and condition
of this vast territory is at hand to stand
sponsor for the correctness of hie work.
True, it is not the first which has appeared with a
similar object ; but, thanks to the liberality of the
East India Company, his own conscientious-
ness and good fortune, the author has been
enabled to avail himself of a vast mass of
official information, to which none before him, it
would appear, had asked for, or been permitted to
have access. And of this he has made such ample
yet discreet use, that the work is almost as new
as it is valuable and judiciously ample and concise.
The authorities which are invariably given in the
margin, for reference, and as a test of accuracy,
not only add a new feature of great value to the
work, but from their number supply a tolerably
correct idea of the vast amount of labour expended
over it, and call to one's recollection the labours
of our national lexicographer, Dr. Johnson, who,
unaided and alone, compiled his great work, while
a commission of the principal literati across the
Channel was there deemed necessary to accomplish
a corresponding task.
Turning carefully over the pages of the " Ga-
zetteer,''and tasking to the utmost our recollection
of important places in India, whether in territories
under the immediate or indirect sway of the East
India Company, or ruled by native potentates, we are
unable to discover any omission. Each and all aro
described with a fullness or a brevity proportioned
to their rank. The past history of the states
absorbed in our Indian empiro--the succession of
events—the conflicts and tho agencies by which
one after another they fell into the reluctant hands
of the Company, is told with an historic fidelity.
In appropriate pages will be found the early history
of the East India Company, its struggles and re-
verses, and the utter ruin apparently impending
over it some century ago, when the genius of Clive,
bursting through the trammels of official routine
and indolence, rose in its might, and, overturning
all before it, laid on, we trust, indestructible

foundations, the basis of that mighty empire,
to the consolidation and stability of which
the a,lministrative genius and commanding talents
of Warren Hastings, Wellesley, and more modern
statesmen, have so effectively contributed. The
successors of the little baud of merchant adven-
turors, who probably would have been content with
toleration in their scattered settlements along the
coast, aro shown at the present day to be the
governors or suzerains of by far the greater part of
India, and the arbiters, possibly, of her future
destiny. Nearly one half of the country, we are
told, is strictly British. The greatness of our In-
dian dominion will b© appreciated if we look at the
boundless resources of that portion of Southern
Asia. Already some hundred and seven millions
of people, scattered over an area of 695,905 square
miles, patiently bear our yoke, and some fifty-four
millions in addition more or less directly own or
stand in awe of our authority. With such a popu-
lation, with immense tracts of waste or ill-culti-
vated country, susceptible in many parts of the
highest degree of cultivation, and capable of pro-
ducing all the cotton, coffee, tobacco, indigo,
flax, hemp, rice, sugar, spices, Sze., We can
consume what is mainly needed for the
development of India's greatness is the con-
struction of roads, bridges, and other aids
and appliances of agriculture and commerce,
the education of the people, and the placing on a
satisfactory basis of the relation between the com-
pany and the holders or tillers of the soil—in one
word, capital and good government. While speak-
ing of the capitalists of India, it may not be out
of place to quote from the article " Bombay."
The area of this territory, exclusive of Scindo and
the territories administered by or on behalf of
Native Princes, is 67,945 miles, and its sea coast
extending from south to north, a distance of 480
miles, besides, a sea coast along the western side
of the Gulf of Cambay of 80 mires, offers numerous
havens, the principal of which, and the safest, is
Bombay. Here we are told several line-of-battle
ships have been built, and it is stated on authority
two ships of the line, or ono ship and two frigates,
can now be produced to the British navy every
eighteen months, while the existing docks are
capable of holding ships of any size—both con-
siderations of importance at the present time, and
in connection with the future. Strange to tell,
while it is calculated that every ship in the navy
of Great Britain is renewed every twelve years, the
teakwood ships built here and elsewhere are known
to last fifty years. Bombay, it is gratifying to add,
is in an adequate condition effectually to resist
attack from any quarter. Nor is this the case
with Bombay alone. It may be well to add that
under present arrangements the existing military
resources of the Native Princes of India
comprise a force of little less than 400,000
men, an amount exceeding by nearly
100,000 the numerical strength of the
British army in India, inclusive of the contingent
troops commanded by British officers. Consider-
able portions of the troops of Native States, how-
ever, are described in the official returns as fitted
rather for police purposes than for regular military
duties.
Considerable efforts, it would appear, indeed it
is well known, aro being made to promoto educa-
tion in India. Railways, roads, and bridges too
are on the increase, and there is every probability
of most of our staple articles of commerce both for
household and manufacturing purposes being before
low, produced in
profusion, so renderasinctioependnet o
us
wholly,
China, Russia, and America. In fact, so varied is
nllay,, or in a great measure,
the climate of India and the character of the soil,
that there is scarcely any produce peculiar to either
zone that may not be obtained from it.
The romance of India is for over dissipated, but
we aro mistaken if the future reality proves
not confessedly more magnificent and glorious.
For her we believe is reserved a great destiny.
stories of blue-coated and brass-buttoned nabobs,
shivering in nankeens, and the consciousness of ill-
gotten wealth, and partly imaginary details of bar-
baric
pomp and splendour may no longer fascinate
the fancy of youth with awe or wonder. Clive
may be regarded as a myth, and Hastin,,,, as one
of old, but her steps will still be onward. 'We have
been, or are, sowing justice over her broad plains
—scantily, it is true, but not vainly, for ere long
we shall see the fruit. Hugo stumbling-blocks to
improvements have already been removed—anti-
quated prejudices have boon dispersed by the breath
of reason—party has nat rowed its exclusiveness,
and we dwell now more than we used to do on the
future. We can both work and wait. Already
the scheme of that astute statesman, Fox, which in
his day set the nation about his ears, is being practi-
cally adopted. The patronage of East India di-
rectors, est snort, talent and character, are the
highways to preferment in India. The result
needs no unusual inspiration to predict that there
will be a healthy infusion of energy and honesty
irate it, CiZokfi AbIMIS Win sot hePeasittO

the old lease of life. The press will be appitaled
to, and the interest thus excited will increase
as the middle classes more and more contrilaste to
the official staff in India. Our rule will be more
and more firmly established the deeper we base it
in justice. It may be our destiny to supplant the
Veda and the Koran with the Bible—to Chris.
tianise India's dusky tribes ; at all events, good
government cannot but add stability to our rule, and.
aid in frustrating the ambitious designs of Russia,
against which we will do well to be perpetually on
our guard. A useful map, showing the purely
British, the protected, and the independent States,
with the dates of each accession of territory, and
other particulars, is given in the first volume, and
an abundance of statistical information is scattered
throughout the work. Here and there the opi-
nions advanced savour a little of Leadenhall-
street, but, despite a few defects, the " Gazetteer"
is highly creditable both to the author's industry,
good sense, and judgment, and deserves, what we
trust it will have, an extensive circulation.

Miscellaneous Poems. By J. T. B. Edward

West.

The outpourings of a sensitive and religiously.
disposed mind, resorting in the desolation of
blighted prospects, bereavement, and penury, to
" verse making" fur consolation, are ever regarded
in this country with more or less interest and re-
spect. The author of these poems possesses such a
mind, has been unfortunate in worldly matters,
awl has had to mourn over the " shattering of his
household gods." His unpretending poems, there-
fore, have a presumptive claim to attention—a claim
which their modest merit tends to strengthen.
They are not productions of a high order—their
main value, in fact, consisting in the natural and
mostly plaintive expression of feelings and senti-
ments with which the cares and vicissitudes of life
have rendered the majority of us in some degree
familiar ; while, however, a melancholy vein runs
through a large portion of them, several of the poems
are of a cheerful and hopeful nature. The greater
part, we are told, were preserved for the amusement
of the author's children, and among them, un-
doubtedly, are some which young people will read
with pleasure, as well as old, and feel disposed to
get off by heart— a sure proof of the author's sue-
(Jess. The poems are divided into " Sacred*
(mainly metrical paraphrases of psalms), " Do-
mestic and Miscellaneous," " Fables," and
" Songs." Some of the latter are pitched in
the true lyric key, and will be read with
pleasure. So will the pieces from the French.
Need we commend this unpretending volume,
which, by the way, is very tastefnlls got up, to
the patronage of the benevolent and. sympathising I

Lectures on Respiration. By Thomas Hopley.

John Churchill.

The author, a zealous sanitarian, has, he informs
us, for some years been engaged iu preparing for
delivery in London a series of plain and simple lec-
tures on the education of man—his object being :
First, to urge upon the serious consideration of
the upper and middle classes the fearful. effects of
certain errors (and these susceptible of eradiCation)
in the systems under which their children are for
the most part trained ; and, secondly, to point out
the deplorable physica and moral condition.ef the
national poor, aid the absolute necessity of the
cordial co-operation of large bodies of philanthropic
men and women to rescue them from the sin and
misery which have been forced on them. The lec-
ture before us is the sixth of the course (none of
which, somewhat strange to say, have been deli-
vered), and the reason why it has been published
first is the paramount importance of the subject.
For proof of ,which Mr. Hopley quotes Sir James
Clark. "Nothing," says that eminent authority,
" contributes more effectually to strengthen the
constitution and render it capable of bearing the
vicissitudes of climate than the constant respira-
tion of pure air. On the other hand, nothing
tends more certainly to weaken and relax the sys-
tem and render it susceptible of the impression of
a cold and humid atmosphere than breathing im-
pure air." In dealing with this vital subject the
authorexhibits most of the qualificationsof a popular
lecturer. His style is unusually forcible and lucid,
the matter is well arranged, he is thoroughly versed
in his subject, and he is unmistakeably in earnest.
The important part the lungs play in the vital eco-
nomy, the quantity of air they inspire, the neces-
sity of its being pure in order to revivify the
" dead blood" traversing their network, the need.
of perfect ventilation in the school-room and the
dormitory, the evils resulting from overcrowding,
the helpless condition of the poor in relation to
sanitary matters, and the steps already taken and
which ought to be taken to improve their condi-
tion—these subjects and others are dwelt on with
groat ability and vigour. It is stated on
authority that ono hundred thousand persons
die annually in this country of preventible
diseases—i.e., diseases engendered by neglect !
and that, though the existing ventilation of courts
and alleys prevents the pestilential gases having
their origin there from being immediately fatal,
those gases are mingled with the atmosphere,
which, thus loaded, is breathed by the Queen
upon her throne as well as by her meanest sub-
jseocAte.,
toD ettheermiinnieladbittoandtrsiNo'ef t
thili3etruthls
tl-leonmde
0,
fi f
Lpoons--
don„ he demands—

Why in your families do you see such pallid faces 2!
Wily even in your healthiest districts is the rose of
health unkricm n I Why do you rarely behold in your
town-nursed children that gushing overflow of life, so
beautiful to notice in the innocent, healthy, happy
young 1 I address myself to anxious and judicious
parents. You have taken care that your children should
constantly obey the laws of exercise and diet ; you have
clothed them judiciously ; you have thought on the
importance of cleanliness ; you have sent them early to
rest, have taught them to rise early, have ventilated
their dormitories and schoolrooms, and in every Way
have studied their health and happiness. Then, why
are they so pale? why so easily affected by morbific in-
fluences ? why so liable to headaches, stomach pains,
and other causes of unhappiness ? Look for your answer
to the atmosphere. Look to the various plague-spots
of the metropolis. Look to the neighbourhoods hills-
bited by your poor. Think that God is just, as well as
wise and loving ; and will not have his poor the only
sufferers, but bids his laws to spread the poisons gene-
rated in vile districts, even into parks and palaces.
Look, then, to your atmosphere for the cause of pallid
faces. Think of the foggy vapours constantly arising
from this vast ill-drained, cesspooled area. Think that
every particle of floating moisture is capable of holding
in suspension many times its own volume of gaseous
poison, and see the cause of paleness and general debi-
lity in the forced infringement of the law of respiration."
The lecture is enriched by valuable statistical
information, and the reader will not be surprised
to learn has reached a second edition. Mr. Hop-
ley promises to be a more than usually effective
lecturer. We sincerely wish him God-speed.

The Young Lady's First French Book. By R.
Alva. Hope and Co.

One of the best, if not the best Elementary
French Book for young ladies. We have seen the
object of the author, which is to make the rules,
idiom, and pronunciation of the French language
readily intelligible, interesting, and easy to be
acquired by the learner, being achieved to admira-
tion by a method at once natural and ingenious, if
not wholly new. The method, in fact, is precisely
that by which, as the author remarks, "little chil-
dren have since the beginning of creation learned.
how to speak ; the same through which the children
of many eminent families, by being planed under
French nurses, can speak French uncommonly well
before they are able to read English." In brief, it
may be described as one which substitutes careful
but not over-exacting viva vine tuition ; the ex-
ample of the young
ady's fellow-pupils, and les-
sons judiciously adapted to her comprehension for
wearying routine and a practically unintelligible
jargon- By this plan it is hardly possible for lady-
pupils to fail in acquiring what so few hitherto
have acquired from before the times of Chaucer
oven to the present day—viz., a
correct knowledge
of the idiom of the " language," and a pure pro-
nunciation, as well as a ready flow of words and a
graceful utterance. A vocabulary of the French
and English, and of the English and French of all
the words used in the book is appended.

Helps Towards the Physical, Intellectual, and
Moral Elevation of all Classes of Society. By
Thomas Hopley. John Churchill.
These consist mainly of extracts from the pre-
ceding lecture, and arc designed for general circula-
tion, being printed on thin paper, to go by post,
and published at a cheap rate.

BANQUET IN HONOUR or THE MARQUIS OF WEST-
MINSTER.—A public banquet in honour of the Marquis
of Westminster, and in celebration of the erection of
the New Market-house, Shaftesbury, which has been
erected entirely at his lordship's expense, took
place on Thursday last, in the building referred
to. Upwards of two hundred and sixty persons sat
down to dinner, comprising all the leading agriculturists
of the district, and many connected by trade and profess
sion with the town of Shaftesbury. The chair was taken
by J. J. Fgrquliarst,n, Esq., of Langton-house. On his
ril..ullßßouaklaevr;
gsagli
Het le..evii.t h.
IT. Boucher,
elyarlrogeuurishEeo s, 7;01,
loh7fi.
Glyn, Robert
,raves Esq. ; and on his left the Hon. W. H. B. Port-
man,'l id P., Sir John D'Oyley, the Rev. H. F. Yeats
man, John Floyer, P
Rev. Harry Bower, 3d.P , John Hussey, Esq.,
m u
tNhire.
nßoabtlteonn,l3Evisuqi.s, &w—ca.:(l" of
Rey. a li;alargekUrnhaor.:47l,JE. sHq..,Lifyo.
Lyon,
bridge, Esq.,
proposed Aft e r th
and
dinnernd
drunk th o healthwith
ch
enthusiasm, and the proceedings generally were of a
very friendly and harmonious character,--Satigoury
igi7/141! •