The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-15 00:00:00

prorni,?d by party passions and the dangers to which
pow,,r w:, exposed."

The work is written without undue bitterness or
pail. spirit, and fills a vacancy in historical litera-
ture. The historic documents at the conclusion
are v*liiable and important, and will be referred to
with interest. To all who look beyond the fleeting
changes of the hour, who sock to read the problems
of the present in the past, and to watch the ad-
vancemeut of civilisation and enlightenment over
all the obstacles that prejudice and tyranny throw
before them, to learn where a great people have
erred in their progress, where wise, and conscien-
tious rulers have tailed, to all who wish to gain a
thorough knowledge of the events of their own time
—such works as this are full of interest. It will n o
doubt take its place, not among the ephemeral Pro -
ductions of the day, but among the standard re-
cords in which able and eminent men have made
their confessions to posterity, have sough,, with
that eager desire for an honourable memory which
basso much power over those who are raised abcy•
their fellows, to show how they have laboured in
the public service, how they have had to contend
with opponents, with ditliculqi s, and dangers, and.
to prove that, whatever their shortcomings, their
errors, or their passions, th. 337 have left their im-
press on the history of reir time.

Tke Crisis in the Panjab. By Frodaric 000por,
C.S., Deputy-Comtoissioilor of Umritiur. Smith
and Eder.

•Thi3 work gives us a succinct narrative of the
occurrences in the Punjab eluting the revolt, from
tl;e 1011 of May until the flll cf Delhi. .It traces
the struggle from its earliest symptom; and dwells
especially upon the prompt and vigorous measuies
which were taken by the authorities. Sir IL M.
Lawrence, who has added fie-h glory to an hon-
our al•le name, is spoken of with the admiration and
r,i•pect due to the great qualities he d splayed in
a time of unpreceieuted trial. The author justly
ohseiv. s dist had s'an been tranquil the
evew a in the Pulij:ib would have marked an era ' -
but " in the presence of iliudosnn einvulsed, and
anarchy sing, the calamities of the Punjab, though
individually t rrib!e, its trials, though a'in'st pre- •
t.:rlunian, seem sbs' lutely &vatted." The gene-
ral position of affairs at the ou break of the rebel-
lion are thus vividly described :
On the morning of tha 11th of May, the first intelligence
of the revolt at Meerut and the massacre at Delhi wiie
flashed to the seat of the. Punka) Government at the
ancient capital of Lahore. Notwithst.mling the vague
foreshadowings of disaster with which the events at Bar-
ham pore and at Barrackpore, the successive fires at various
military stations, and other rapid and unmistakeable symp-
toms of wide-spread disaffection had clouded the public
mind, there caa be no-doubt that the seizure of Delhi and
its concomitant tragedies burst upon Anglo-Indian Society
like athunder clap.

Under the full force of the first shock of so stupendous a
crisis, something akin to a panic was produced. The least
reflecting required no Daniel to interpret the dread
symbols. The hot weather had set in. Territorial expan-
sion and aggrandizement had reached its extreme limits,
while the force of European troops had dwindled to its ex-
treme minimum. India was weaker by two cavalry and
four infantry European regiments. Cholera had decimated
European troops last year, and their vacancies had not
been filled up. In Bombay, the European force was not
nearly up to the ordinary peace establishment. The first
layer of civilization had hardly been spread over Oude ; in
the capital of which was but one single European regi-
ment. The Bombay army was half composed of Poor•
beahs. The Persian treaty had scarcely been ratified,
while the inflammatory proclamation of the Shah, calling
on all the faithful to oust the treacherous tribe of the
British, was fresh in the memory of every Mahomedan in
India. Delicate negotiations were still pending with Dost
Mahomed at Kabul ; and the lives of the gallant Lumsden
and his party seemed hanging upon a straw. From Delhi
to Calcutta lay a clear field for mutiny and insurrection.
The sepey army had been intoxicated, with their sense of
power. Every heart prayed, though few dared hope, for
the Christians scattered over that boundless area. Every
one anticipated the enormities that might occur. The
silence which followed from the abrupt stoppage of elec-
tric telegraph communication, was even more oppressive
than the after budgets of dismal tidings, and added to the
gloomy forebodings. The vagueness, the immensity, the
cloPeuess of the peril, exaggerated alarm. Such were the
feelings at Lahora.

The tidings from Delhi occupy a prominent place,
and the difficulties of the besiegers are represented
as formidable. The treachery of the natives
employed is shown to have been a source of
great perplex ty and disappointment. The bril-
liant exploits of the British army, and the cheerful
courage displayed by officers and men under all
disheartening delays and privations, are spoken of
merrily. The promptitude and decision of the
measures adopted by the authorities in the Pun-
jab are shown to have been, under Providence,
the means of preventing a long catalogue of crimes
and misfortunes, such as were too fiequent where
weak or fearful har.ds held the reins of govern-
ment. The work professes to be nothing more
than a fai 41111 description of the troubles of the
time in one parcionlar locality, and to show how
they were dealt with. It was. written, we are told,
in the spare half-hours efleisure snatched from the
pressure of official duties, and the various facts
which have been placed at the disposal of the
writer constitute its chief merit. From the cir-
cumstances of its composition, and from the plain
and straightforward manner in which it was writ-
ten, it will prove a valuable assistant is all who are
desirous of acquiring an authentic' knowledge of
the recent events in India.

The Ballads of Scotland. Edited by William Ed-
nionq Aytoun, D.C.L., author of "Lays of
Ole Scottish Cavaliers." 2 vols. Blackwood,
Edinburgh and London.

If anything could enhance the delight with which
lovers of their country's minstrelsy will regard the
work before us, it would assuredly be the fact of
its introduction to the public under the auspices of
so able and efficient an editor. Professor Aytouu
could scarcely have chosen a subject more congenial
to his tastes, or more consonant with his literary
acquirements. In the introduction to these
volumes, a clear and comprehensive account is
given of the design of the editor, and of the man-
ner in which he has put that design into execu-
tion. He explains fully and fairly the progress
made by previous collectors iu the task he here
undertakes ; he renders a willing tribute of acknow-
ledgment to those who " have lent him their aid,
or supplied him with information during the pro-
gress of this work ;" and therefore the most con-
so= ions can hardly find cause to cavil at the result
of his labours. This will prove a valuable addi-
tion, in the form of a staudird wurk, to the coin-
pilation of any library.

7.‘.'ezt; Triottis. A Tale for Children. By the author
of "Julian and his Playfellows." Parker.
This is a most desirable little book for young
persons, who meet with a pleasing tale to amuse
them, while the moral it conveys cannot fail to be
beneficial. It is written in a simple style, and at
the Fame time an interesting manner, and the
author does IL commit the mistake which is pre-
valent in this class of stories, of representing one
child as a piece of perfeo:ion, and another bad in
everything. George Lewis, with all his faults, pos-
sessed some estimable qualities, which, und.ir fos-
tering inflnence, might at last lead to the forma-
tion of a flag character. Frelerioa is also well
drawn as an overconfident and kzelf-sufficient child,
who thought herself better than the rest of her
playmates. It is a satisfaction to meet with so
attractive a production dedicated to the service of
the young, on whom to bestow a word in season
can never be ',blur thrown away.