The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-23 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

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PICTURESQUE ILLUSTRATIONS OF AN•
CIENT ARCHITECTURE IN HINDU

STAN. By James Fergusson.
As a traveller in the land of Buddism and idolatry,
Mr. Fergusson has done essential service to the untra-
yelled by preserving so vivid a recollection of the rem-
nants of ancient architecture still scattered over Ilin-
dostan. With the assistance of his written descriptions,
and of the beautiful coloured lithographic plates by
which those descriptions are accompanied and embel-
lished, the veriest provincial may in imagination pass
under the gorgeous gateway of Sanchee, lie down by the
mud huts near the great temple at Bobaneswar, watch
the adoration of Jugernaut on the plain of Puri, wander
among the prostrate pillars near the Black Pagoda at
Kanaruc, pluck the herbage that grows around the base
of the temple of Kapila Devi, at Bobaneswar, or observe
the two liindoos like the children in the song of Burns,
tha

" paid'lt i' the burn
Free mornin' sun till dine,"
hard by the Chaori in Mokundra Pass. The illustra-
tions are as bold and picturesque as the companion
letter press is animated. The writer, however, strikes
us as being rather too flippant in his account of the
worship of the idol Jugernaut. To him there may be
something of " sublimity in the earnest act of adoration
on the part of a hundred thousand human beings ' to
" a block of wood about six feet in length and about the
same in girth" carved into the hideous semblance of a
visage and a bust. To us there is something inexpres-
sibly sickening in the mere notion of such a spectacle.
" So much as been written," he says, " about the horrors
of this festival—of the hundreds of dead and dying
pilgrims that strew the road with their bones that whiten
the plains—and of the victims that throw themselves
under the wheels of the car—that I was most agreeably
disappointed to find the pilgrims hurrying to the spot,
talking and laughing like people going to a fair in Eng-
land, which in fact it is." So far from their being any
such bloody sacrifices of human life, the writer says that
a kick or a slap soon aroused *all the prostrate worship-
pers "amidst the laughter and shouts of derision of the
people." That at least is a satisfaction. The car of
Jugernaut is a fable.

EXPERIENCES OF A GAOL CHAPLAIN
comprising Recollections of Ministerial Intercourse with
Criminals, of various classes, with their Confessions.
In 3 vols.
Since the appearance of the " Diary of a
Physicien," no series of Magazine papers has
produced such a sensation as the " Experiences
of a Gaol Chaplain," which have , appeared
from time to time in Bentley's Miscellany.
It is not alone for their vigorous writing, their in-
tense power, their heart-rending pathos, that these
papers are interesting. The suggestions they contain
for the reformation of our criminal code, and of our
prison discipline, are most valuable, as being the
fruits of the experience of one who has deeply studied
the subject, and who, with the feelings of a philan-
thropist, possesses the mind of a philosopher. These
papers are now collected and published separately,
and we augur for them, not merely a temporary
popularity, but a permanent place on the shelves of
the library.

SINGULAR AND FATAL ACCIDENT.—A melancholy
accident occurred at Ticehurst last week, to a young
married man, named George Miller, a blacksmith, who
formerly resided at Ringmer. It appears that, after
deceased had left work, he walked out with his
shopmate, and on their way stopped at the bowling-
alley of the Bell Inn, which adjoins the turnpike-road,
there being only a temporary slab fence for sepa-
ration ; and the party hearing the rattling of pins,
they walked in, but owing to some circumstance the
game was discontinued, and those who were playing
conceived the idea of exhibiting their muscular powers
by seeing who could throw the ball, which weighs about
six pounds and a half, the farthest. One William
Clarke was in the act of throwing the ball, when
his arm became slightly entangled with his round
frock, and the ball, taking an oblique direction, struck
the said George Miller, who was standing about two
yards off talking to another man, violently on the
head, felling him to the ground, where he lay for some
time in a senseless state, bleeding profusely. A surgeon
was soon called, who ordered him to be carried home,
and surgical means were immediately applied, but he
lingered till about five o'clock the following morning,
when he died, leaving a young widow almost distracted.
An inquest was held on the body, and a verdict of
" Accidental death returned.—Brighton paper.
INVERNESS.—The potatoes are everywhere healthy,
strong, and thick. A correspondent from Locbbroom
says—"l am sorry to state that Mr. Adam Scott, of
Tullich, has lost a whole field of potatoes this season.
Mr. Scott had dipped the seed for preservation in a com-
post of soot and lime, but they became affected in a
manner somewhat similar to the disease of last year.
We suspect that the poor are placing too much reliance
on the present potato crop."—lnverness Courier.
THE WEATHER AND CROFS.—We have had warm
and showery weather since our last, and the crops of
every description have made immense progress in the
garden, and in the field. Wheat in the neighbourhood
is almost bursting into ear, and the potatoes never exhi-
bited better promise of abundance. We have just seen a
gentleman from the west coast, who says, that on the shores
of Gairloch, the pot tit° crop is most luxuriant; and, indeed,
we may say, generally, that the corn and other crops in
the Highlands never looked better. The wet has in-
terfered with turnip sowing a little, but a few days of
dry weather will put every thing right. The potato
blight appeared last year in the first week of August,
and the antecedent appearances were very flattering.
While no symptoms of blight has appeared, we must
wait some weeks ere we can pronounce all safe.--
Rosshire Advertiser.
PAINFUL NECESSITY.—During the long drought
of last summer, an American paper says, water became
so scarce in a parish, that the farmers' wives were obliged
to send their milk to town genuine.