New-York tribune., 1904-09-25

his history as It is set forth (at perhaps too
great length) by his cousin the reader feels Sim
ply that CoweI destined to scholarship as
other men destined TO the army to the
law and that what would seem arid bookish-
ness I'm most men was In him the exercise OF a
normal and wholesome instinct. He appears In
this book an ideal professor. man well
as a scholar.
He began life under peculiar circumstances.
Family affairs sent him as n young man into
business. instead OF into the scholastic paths I'm
which he belonged. But he had the good luck
TO marry a woman who was not only ambitious
for him. but had the gift OF stimulating him In
Just the right way. They studied Sanscrlt to-
gether. and she spurred him on to take an ex-
traordinary step. by some' says his blogra-
pher. 1T held TO be an act bordering on
insanity for married man TO give up business
and become an undergraduate when he
nearly twenty-five years of age" but under his
wife's urgings Cowell did this thing and
matriculated at oxford. The step once taken, he
never lived the life OF business man again.
but advanced as an OrientalIst from one success
to another. He went from Oxford to Calcutta
TO serve as professor of history and political
economy in the Presidency College there. and
intimate contact with the people and things OF
the East only deepened his enthusiasm for San
scrit and kindred subjects. He stayed in India
elSht years Returning to England In 1864 he
engaged In miscellaneous literary labors until
1867, when he presented himself as q candidate
for the chair of Sanscrit at Cambridge Win
ming that appointment. he held IL until he died
early last year. The salient events OF his life
are fully outlined in the foregoing brief remarks
Ihey stand Tor unceasng effort and great intel
lectual power. The record OF them leaves the
impression OF n man to whom reading was as
the breath OF life. and very rarely do his let
ters contain any suggestive reference to the
affairs of his time Only once when he writes
from Calcutta with the crash of the Mutiny
ringing in his ears does he make us feel that
his eyes are lifted from his books Then. to be
sure he is really interesting as witness the fol-
lowing passage. significant as showing how the
situation struck eyewitness:
1 must tell you what / fear 7 have never
mentioned in any of my late lettcrs-that for the
last three months there has been n mutinous snirtt
1Iphheuihs Iph thIough all the native army of Bengal
nave several times Intended to mention it, but |
nave always forgotten II when / was writing No
Dody seemed to think much OF it. The Sepoys
security. When tell you that the commander In
chiet mas been away shooting for his amuse-
ment In the hills all this hot weather you will
easily see that nobody very anxious about H.
TWO regiments were IisGanded In April at Bar
Tackpoor Tor mutinous conduct. and still no one
took alarm. 1t was known that nearly every regi-
ment was wavering and still things went on as
Napier wrote a letter 10 the government six wears
ago ut now comes out). telling them that the Ben
gal army rotten to the core: but nobody be-
lieved it, and Lord DaIhousie on his retiring, in
his famous minute, expected go little what was
man, fnat ne actually says The state Of the
cckceHenI SO little do even wise men know of the
There signs in human things
To be read by gifted eyeS
! but where are they TO be found7