New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-09-30

tally satiricsl Roman. II he could return =.
earth write Of English attempts to write Latiii.
Necessity compels us to use the language VI ou5
foreign masters Our instructors in scnooI anu
college set before US such models as Dr- JONI
son and Lord Macaulay, writer's whose mai
nerisms are easily exaggerated by even ETelsh
innitators; and thus in English we show
tendency verbosity which Is not thlhk.
characteristic of our vernacular style. but
surely some allowance should be made for for
eigners using a strange speech. and one whose
rich vocabulary perhaps tends to eXuperahCe
of speech. Such allowance is not always want
ed The first Bengal Ba boo who wrote Eng
lish. less than a hundred years ago. was the
well known Rajah Ram NOLAN Ray. Jeremy
Bentham was not perhaps an unpFeJudlceu
critic. but he at least an eminent man or
letters. Writing 10 Ram NOLAN about the year
1870 he said: Your works are made known
TO me- by a book in which | read a style which.
but for the OF A HindOo. should certainly
have ascribed TO the pen Of superiority lsicI
educated and instructed Engiishman." And IN
another place. after some words Of praise OF
James Nils History of British India. ne
adds: Though. as to style. / wish could
with truth and sincerity pronounce It equaI 10
yours"
In truth. EngIishmeu. however henevolently
disposed toward us Bengalese. do not seem l"
realize how recent is our start. how rapid our
progress in letters So lately as ll"n no work
had been written in Bengal prose our
literature entirely composed OF songs
stories. epics, all compose in primitive rnEInr-
In 1890 Ra jah Ram Mohsn Ray wrote his nm
dudiger Pauttalik Dharmapranal. or dlsquls'-
ton on Hindoo idolatry. A hundred years ago
ment. and did not know that We could Wrlte
prose, even in language 1t was the
study of English literature which opened ou'
eyes to the possibilities OF our own speech KAN
NOLAN Ray was an innovator. ard his at'ehP,
was not very successful. But since then W.
have had the exquisite prose style. as charm
ingly naive and artleSs a = that Of your own
Goldsmith of Iswar Chandra. the richly modu-
lated blank verse OF Madhu Sudhan. The PCT
ureSque and rapid prose of Banklm thanGFd'
to say nothing Of the works of many others
whose names would he unfamiliar To English
men. In English literature can hardly nope
TO find place. though many Of your readers
must have admired Miss Truro Quits Ancient
Ballads and Legends of Hindostan-' Let me IN
passing. quote one verse as sample OF her HFN-
trous of your language:
Still barred thy doors, The Far East glows.
The morning wind blows fresh and free
Should not the hour that wakes the rose
Wake also thee2"
That is pretty we'll for d Bengal girl OF seV-
enteen. who could write even better than that
in French. Mr.. RomeSh Chunder Dutt writes
with equal ia Bengal; and English, and
many of journalists and lawyers are what
few English are. biglOt beings. who can ENJOY
two literatures, and write, not without as
tincton. in two languages. Only hundred
years ago our literature not Yet at the
stage yours reached when ChauCer and Cover
wrote. Perhaps have Of the draw
backs Of precocity and too rapid intellectual
growth. But at least are your pupils. and.
as Mr.. AnsteY's fun shows. apt pupils
We shall do better yet wish Mr.. Anstey could
read-I am sure he would enioy-Bankim Chan
Clra's amusing ''Lokra ha sya." He would there
sense of good natured fun keen as his own
Unfortunately. Englishmen judge Us by our
prentice attempts to master their difficult IAN
guage We cannot invite them to taste the
masterpieces Of our tongue-masterpjcces in
spired by Milton and Macaulay and Walter
Scott