The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-11-05
SOME NEW HOOKS.


Wonuef at inc QUICK recognition OF tho merits
OF the author Of the abode Of Snoio by Nr. joins
BLACKwOOD, who is himself the editor Of tho
well-known magazine that bears hts name. II
Is unusual to Gnd in preface 50 W rm tribute
to his publisher as Mr.. wiisonpa, to Mr.. Black
wood, still mole unusual IN these daysto find
an author modcstly Ignoring his own inertia.
and ONLY completing one Of the Ecst w rk ~
modern travel and adventure under tho constant
announcement Of his publisher. Tho result ia
one which cannot fail to reflect credit on BON.
with tho execution " Mr.. Clarence King'a
Mountaineering in the Sierra Nev d." work
which we think has never been sufficiently AZ
prcciatcd. there has appeared no hook " travels
to compare with the Abode Of Snow" sine
the days Of Bothon. We have hsd works
by explorers and travellers VINO were NOS
literary men, and the tedious pages of
- rtb, spcke, and Livingstone testify 10 The fact
that great physical endurance aud powers "
observation do not neces sarlly accompany litor-
ary can city. The productions " Burton and
Sir Samuel Baker are certainly moro readable.
but on tie whole. II Is question whether II
docs not require almost mucl fortltude to
rea about these travels ne to make them. We
anticipate with feeling akin to dread, thcinnic-
ton II having on some future day to y ruse the
cirusion with which. II he IL spared. the pIbrc
will be favored from the vulgr pen Of Mr..
Henry Stanley
Az in, we have literary men who try to
be travellers. Mr. Anthony rrollope IL notl-
hle instance Of failure in this direction,
and the happy conjunction Of the daring
explorer with the accomplished man Of letters
Is the more agreeable because IL Ia 50 uncom-
mon. For MIR. wilson IL not mere traveller;
and II he has not made any actu | dis
covery, his book Is valuable contribution
TO geographical knowledge, since though posi-
bly, stray sportsman or MOravian missionary
may have troddcn the mountain wilderness
which this book describes before Mr. Wilson
tragersed u, he has not given the res ,lt ~
his experiences aud observations To the world.
II was reserved for an invalid in search Of a
brrcing climate to give w those marvellous pic
lures Of the most stupendous scenery In the
world with which Mr.. wilson's book al ounds;
To rivct our interest to those snowy sohtudes,
and TO carry us with him, without moments
WEAKNESS. over dtenry masses and treachcrous
Glaciers, across torrents spanned by swinging
bridges Of twig ropes, aud SO into the lawless
communities OF Ihibet and fierce tribes of
Afchanistan.
Nothing can be more graphic than his FIRST
plunge into these wiids through the "v llov
OF the sh dow of DEATH" where his travels
in this world seemed about to he prcma-
turely terminated, and the perpexity arose as
W hnAiiE "a Il'At "a tTbhHu IT, 'niNId -
bury him in; from winch ne at last musters
strength 10 cf.wl To confront the wild villagers
of smlki. the lr-t village II that mysterious
and secluded region which policy Of japanese
exclusion has sealed from foreign nvestigatiun.
In VAIN did our indomitablo invalid knock at
the portals Of Thibct. The very women Of the
VILLAGE rose M IN arms against him, and he
could only look with tantalixcd gaze over the
most interesting spot on the worlds surface
which st,ll remains closed TO geographical and
scientific Investigation. II is true that a cen
fury ago MIR. Boyle and Cant. Turner visited
Lassa. and more recently Nessrs. Hue ami CADET
have given Ms very untrustworthy accounts of
their journeyings in Thihet; but practically we
know absolutely nothing of the country. and
there ia no tara btcogntd which promises so
rich a harvest to the explorer
Here in the Thibetnn Kailas may vet be dts
covered the highest mountain in the world. Its
solitudes are reported to be the original habitat
Of the camel, where that aniu al exists still in
its wild state. IL Is the oldest part gpp rentv
OF the earth's surface. An the indications,
lead TO the conjecture that it was the cradle
OF the human race, and vestiges OF man pos.
slbly lie concealed here which may some day
throw "a new light ON his early history. But II IL
the headquarters OF the Buddhist religion
that Thibet claims its chief interest, and
III tnls respect IL possesses n moral aspect
no less worthy Of Investigation than are
its physical features. In Burmah, Ceylon,
ii m, China and Japan, buddhism exists
under conditions differing IN each country,
but nowhere presenting tho intensely mar
row, bigotcd character with which u Is invested
IN the s.cred country Of the Grand Lama him
SELF. Of all the nations u the earth Mr.. Wilson
tells us that the 1h,bctans are the most PRAYING.
Here We have praying stones. praying pyra-
mids. PRAYING fals dying over every house. pray
ins wheels turned by water, praying mills, and
the universal PRAYER. "Om mani pad mo haun."
90 God, the jewel IN the lotus. AmenO
Is mover out ot their mouths. Here we have
mOnasterics perched more fantusticallv amid
the rocky cracs OF the Iiimalayas than are TO he
found Ia the most romantic Of Catholic coun-
tries. monks more dissolutc than are recorded
els, where, AMI nuns VINO actually live In the
moBastories Of the monks. Here are to tie
found al the vices prevalent among the most
| degraded forms Of Christianity. with a strange
similarity of religious ceremonial, Of ,heulOgl-
cal superstition, aud Of daily conduct on the
| part OF the professors.
II may be that when we nnally break through
the jealous barrier which prevents orr pcnetra-
ting into the country we shall be Disappointed
in nnding that the effects Of their creeds arc ~
similar IN their results TO the effects Of other
cFc'dh IN more owned countries; but never
thecss we hone that the British Government
may abandon the policy witch now vlrtu Nv
| closes the only really pr.cucaUle passes into
| Tibet through Nepal, Bhootan, aud skim. in
weak compliance with the wishes Of the guas /
| INDEPENDENT rulers Of those provinces. In
the countries travorscd by Mr.. Wilson he gives
no account Of any Intercourse or M tual inter
change Of products with Thibct; but We have
ourselves seen droves OF sheep, which are used
as beasts Of burden there heavily laden with
the produce Of Tibet, winding through the
streets If khatmandhu, and merchants who
arrive a brisk trade between tie two countries.
| Here Is the true entrance TO ihbet, aud not the
pass Of shipki attempted by Mr.. Wilson.
Our author enters learncdly into the nature
aud origin Of the p0lyandric custom prevalent
among the tribes he visited, hut fails among
| the many reasons by which he endonvors to ao-
court Tor the practice, TO give the one which
seems the most evident, that Of not dividing an
inheritance. So far as We know. polyandIy is
invariably confined to the marriage Of one
woman with all the brothers Of one family, and
never takes place unless there X tie Of pIop-
erty among the men, though even this does not