A LITERARY CORNER

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7865, 29 July 1911, Page 12

A LITERARY CORNER

BOOKS OF THE DAY (BY "LIBER.”) A LADY’S LETTERS FROiE INDIA .Many Louks on India have we had of laH. But uw -moro uilorctfliii" Uiau Lady WlEouV “ Lt-Hcrs from In.dia' (London.; John Murray). The autln a* is ■a dau^riiU-r ,ui Uu* kite Ur Norman Mao kuxl, and lias evidently mhnnlcd much t;T her I’amuiis luihcr’s li.leniry talent. Witlo of. an cmiirtvnfc (dviiia.n. ohudal. Lady WiLcm has .spent many yearn in India, ami her husbands oliici.ul [.-osilion hns.j'ivcu her opportunities of ol>- .. serving tho many facets of Indian life, opporl.unities, ns will be admitted By uli who • nad her book, which she Ims put to very "pod purpose. The Jailor.-:, Which wt*i-e not writtwi with a v>w to publication, and which cover u period of ,about twenty yi-ar.-s aro dated from various .parts of the Indian continent, arid reflect the ever-varying experionow of the author. Thus we June pioture-j of city life, 'and camp life, JH'c on Hus torridly hot plains, life on the coni, and in winter, terribly ould NorUiVVestewi. frontier. There ore lively scones of official Anglo-Indian gaieties, ©cones in famine limes, .scenes wherein ’native religions beliefs and miperstition I>hiy / a leading part; historical memories, such us those of the Khyber ma.s.?ucro, and .Nicholson's exploits at JATn'i; glowing descriptions of gopgoou« temples and jm'iaccs; folk stories, animal tdorics. stories of, Indian sorvants and their ways. Meetings with native risers ami eminmt Anglo-Indian tiddlers and oliiclals also find a place—in fact, Lady ’Wilson's epistolary panorama is ever changing iu ■subject though never ceasing to be of interest. The stylo is easy without being familiar* au«l evidences wkfo. reading, acute i>owors of observation, and a kindly, gonial, tolerant philosophy on every page. It is a very pleasant impression, of tlie Hindu people ►—the people, not the princes and priests *—that omo gains from Lady Wilson's pages. Almost indignantly decs the author combat tho all too 'prcvuJc.at idea that the averagio Hindu peasant is a eoid-blooded sort of eroature. Tho in- *' ■ stances sho quotes of Hindu charity and kindness—in cases where theiro could bo oo hope of official approval or ulterior reward —are ‘sometimes as pint hello as ■, rfchey aro •convincing. -Vs to tho average Anglo-lncUan oJlicial, Lady Wilson is necessarily but not unduly reticent, but sho makes it clear to all who -caro to fead her interesting letters that whatever tho a flic nil may have -been, in tho days of John ’Company, ho as to-day, tor tho most part—there are always and must alway. 3bo exceptions—a wol'lmearning, and desperately hard-working fellow. Upon tho ticklish subject of In»diun disaffection sho> touches but gingerly. These letters are private Homo letters and not a coiTcction of formal essays an Indian life and institutions, . and to deal with 'matters semi-political is foreign to their general schemes. But in ono Jotter, towards the tend of the book. Lady Wilson refers to the plea of the Nationalists that what Japan lias done in ridding herself of all foreign domination. India can do. I make -poo du>:t extract only: Imitations are seldom successful when the circumstances are diametrically different. Iu Japan the people are of on.o race and religion. They are a people, not peoples disunited by caste, by multiplied creeds, by factions, fends, and racial / hatreds. They arc not possessed by a frenzy to get at each jotbe-r'e throats. The Japs are, moreover, ' - educated. In India, SO per cent, of ■; ) the population are unable to read and write, and even amongst those who have -passed through .our colleges and schools too large a proportion with all their ability just fail to have common-sense, and. with ail their quick brains are yet not clever enough to grasp that not even an advanced political party can bind together so many conflicting elements, or wise enough to have realised amongst their many ideals the oao ideal of honesty ,of purpose between man and man. which alone can U* the foimda- • . tion of a sound and efficient government. . Olio's hopes for the future of India rest on patriots o-f a very difforent type, patriots whom to knjow is to . love. Great men who, because they are true to their pwa high ideals, can. appeal to their countrymen to ’follow* their lead and look to their inner equipment. Men. _ who have worked not-for mere political power nor for, lucrative ipo*t3, but for rfhe spread of sound education amongst the ignorant masses; for the elevation of the -status of women, for the abolition of cruel and degrading customs, for the -social improvement and £ood of their country. If more power is to be given to Indians, it should bo entrusted to the men who have been faithful over - a few things, who have been slowly and surely trained in the service of tho State and are fit to be trusted ./ with authority .over their* fellows. • it is they who most intimately know their country’s needs and the remedies they demand- Good 'luck to them and their efforts. Xs is only natural in a book written by a woman, the position of Indian women receives much attention, in Lady Wilson's chapters. It is a very attractive picture that the author paints of tho average Indian wife, loyol to> her _Jhusband, a tenderly loving mother, a patient bearer of sorrow. Of tho Mem Sahibs, too. Lady Wilson lias much to say that is to the point. Particularly does sho emphasise that .terrible trial to Anglo-Indian mothers, the enforced separation from their children? Lady "Wilson's book is one* which makes very pleasant reading throughout. It is fresh and bright in style, it deals with everyday life and its incidents, but it is nevertheless never banal, and throughout its pages runs a vein of kindly humour. I have but one fault, to find with tho book—it lacks an index. A summary of its contents, it is true, is given on the publisher's slip in which the volume is en- ’ closed, but this, of course, is valueless t-o anyone, who, like myself, wishes to reread many of the author's agreeable chapters. Tho price of the book is 7s Gd.