of asking what fame said of the daughter of Boodh Sing. His reply was an insulting innuendo, leading to doubts as to the purity of her blood. The cocoa-nut was returned to Boondi, an insult never to be forgiven by a Rajpoot. In A. D. 1757, Omeda went to pay his devotions at the shrine of Beeja-seni Mata (the mother of victory). Being in the vicinity of Indergurh, he invited its chief to join the assembled vassals with their families, and, though dissuaded, Becja Sing obeyed, accompanied by his son and grandson. All were cut off at one fell swoop, and the line of the traitor was extinct. As if the air of Heaven should not be contaminated by the smoke of their ashes, Omeda commanded that the bodies of the calumnious traitor and his issue should be thrown into the lake. Indergurh was given to his brother."-"Fifteen years elapsed, during which the continual scenes of disorder around him furnished ample occupation for his thoughts. Yet, in the midst of all, would intrude the remembrance of this single act— though no voice was lifted up against the deed, thongli he had a moral conviction that a traitor's death was the due of Deo Sing, his soul, generous as it was brave, revolted at the crime, however sanetified by custom, which confounds the innocent with the guilty. To appease his conscience, he determined to abdicate the throne, and pass the rest of his days in penitential rites, and traversing, in the pilgrim's garb, the vast regions of India, to visit the sacred shrines of his faith.” — p. 945. "In 1771, this extraordinary man resigned in favor of his son, and, retiring to a sacred valley, one of his amusements was to cultivate and naturalize the plants of foreign lands. "It is curious," says his historian, "even to him who is ignorant of the moral vicissitudes which produced it, to see the pine of Thibet, the cane of Malacca, and other exotics, planted by the hand of the princely ascetic, flourishing around his hermitage, in spite of the intense heats of this rock-bound abode."-"When Omeda resigned the sceptre of the Haras, it was from the conviction that a life of meditation alone could yield the consolation, and obtain the forgiveness, which he found necessary to his repose. But in assuming the pilgrim's staff, he did not lay aside any feeling becoming his rank or his birth. There was no pusillanimous prostration of intellect, but the same lofty mind which redeemed his birthright, accompanied him wherever he bent his steps, to seek knowledge in the society of devout and holy men." — p. 496. "He visited all the holy places celebrated in the religious legends and classical epics of his country. The picture drawn of him setting out on this tour, is such as can hardly be paralleled since the days of the Crusades, or of the flower of Spanish chivalry. "In this determination," says Colonel Tod, "he was perhaps somewhat influenced by that love of adventure in which he had been nurtured, and it was a balm to his mind when he found that arms and religion were not only compatible, but that his pious resolution to force a way through the difficulties which beset the pilgrim's path, enhanced the merit of his devotion. Accordingly, the royal ascetic went forth on his pilgrimage, not habited in the hermit's garb, but armed at all points. Even in this there was penance, not ostentation, and he carried or buckled on his person one of every species of offensive or defensive weapons then in use — a load which would oppress any two Rajpoots in these degenerate times. He wore a quilted tunic, which would resist a sabre-cut; besides a matchlock, a lance, a sword, a dagger, and their appurtenances of knives, pouches, and priming-horn, he had a battle-axe, a javelin, a tomahawk, a discus, bow, and quiver of arrows; and it is affirmed that such was his muscular power, even when threescore and ten years had blanched his beard in wandering to and fro thus accoutred, that he could place the whole of this panoply within his shield, and, with one arm, not only raise it, but hold it for some seconds extended." ―p. 496. "During a series of years, he continued to traverse India in every direction, attended by a small escort of his gallant tribe. "And whenever he revisited his paternal domains, his return was greeted, not only by his own tribe, but by every prince and Rajpoot of Rajwarra, who deemed his abode hallowed if the princely pilgrim halted there on his route. He was regarded as an oracle, while the treasures of knowledge which his observation had accumulated, caused his conversation to be courted, and every word to be recorded. The admiration paid to him while living cannot be better ascertained, than by the reverence manifested by every Hara to his memory. To them his word was a law, and every relic of him continues to be held in veneration. Almost his last journey was to the extremity of his nation."-"As he returned by Dwarica he was beset by a band of Kabas, a plundering race, infesting those regions. But the veteran, uniting the arm of flesh to that of faith, valiantly defended himself, and gained a complete victory, making prisoner their leader, who, as the price of his ransom, took an oath never again to molest the pilgrims to Dwarica."- p. 497. "The death of his son, who, like himself, was involved in the guilt of murder, engaged him for a moment in the politics of Boondi. Having arranged the affairs of his infant grandson, he continued his wanderings until within a few years of his death, when the feebleness of age confined him to his hermitage. All the self-denial of Omeda could not, however, secure him from that jealousy with which every prince, who has abdicated the throne, has been regarded by his successor. The venerable warrior became an object of distrust to his grandchild, whose advisers persuaded him to send a message to Omeda, prohibiting his return to Boondi, and recommending to him to eat sweetmeats and tell his beads at Benares'; the messenger adding, that his ashes should not mingle with those of his fathers. The news was received with indignation by the surrounding princes, who sent the venerable exile the most earnest invitations, offering to replace him on his throne. This he decidedly refused. The Raja of Amber negotiated a meeting between the parties. "It was," says our author, "such as might have been expected between an ill-advised youth and the venerable chief who had renounced all feelings of this world but affection for his offspring. It drew tears from all eyes. My child,' said the pilgrim-warrior, presenting his sword, 'take this, apply it yourself, if you think I can have any bad intentions towards you; but let not the base defame me.' The young Rao wept aloud as he entreated forgiveness. Omeda refused, however, to enter the halls of Boondi during the remainder of his life, which ended about eight years after this event, when his grandchild entreated 'he would close his eyes within the walls of his fathers.' A remnant of that feeling, inseparable from humanity, made the dying Omeda offer no objection, and he was re ་ moved in a litter to the palace, where he breathed his last. Thus,' con- We Our limits allow us only to give further some of the general estimates expressed of Colonel Tod's work. The following are from the Quarterly Review. "In the costly and beautifully embellished volumes of the 'His'tory of Rajasthan,' Colonel Tod has given ample evidence of his reciprocal love for this remarkable people. With the most enthusiastic ardor, he has labored to bestow an European immortality on the glory of their royal races.' The size of his quartos will no doubt appal the degenerate race of modern readers; and it must be acknowledged, however striking many of the incidents, however curious the general character of the people, the feuds of the mountain chieftains of the Arivulli, and the raids of the borderers of the Boondi and Marwar, connot but exhaust the wearied and distracted attention. Some reasons may, however, be suggested, besides the almost national zeal of the author for the brethren of his adoption, to account for the interminable length into which he has drawn out their annals. The materials of the work are such as could not have been collected under any circumstances, except those under which Col. Tod was placed; every year, at least every generation, a considerable portion would have disappeared. Since, then, few historical facts are not worthy of preservation, and it is impossible to calculate how far the most minute incidents, or even the floating traditions of different races, may be of value to the future historian of India, Colonel Tod has acted not unwisely in thus placing the annals of Rajast'han, however barbarous and perplexed with the wars and conflicting politics of so many petty tribes, upon record, as it were, among the treasures of European knowledge; in securing all of their story which he could collect from that utter oblivion, into which the affairs even of some of the more distinguished Asiatic monarchies have for ever fallen." "The reader will have discovered from our copious extracts, not only that Colonel Tod deserves the praise of a most diligent and industrious collector of materials for history, but that his own narrative style in many passages displays great freedom, vigor, and perspicuity. Though not always correct, and occasionally stiff and formal, it is not seldom highly animated and picturesque. The faults of his work are inseparable from its nature it would have been almost impossible to mould up into one continuous history the distinct and separate annals of the various Rajpoot races. The patience of the reader is therefore unavoidably put to a severe trial in having to reascend to the origin, and again to trace downward the parallel annals, of some new tribe, sometimes interwoven with, sometimes entirely distinct from, those which have gone before. But, on the whole, as no one but Colonel Tod could have gathered the materials for such a work, there are not many who could have used them so well. No candid reader can arise from its perusal without a very high sense of the personal character of the author, no scholar, most certainly, without respect for his attainments, and gratitude for the service which he has rendered to a branch of literature, if far from popular, by no means to be estimated, as to its real importance, by the extent to which it may command the favor of an age of duodecimos." The Edinburgh Reviewer says: "Colonel Tod may be charged with occasional diffusion of language and defect of arrangement; but when men employed in active life communicate their researches to the public, and enrich our literature by a large addition of new and valuable matter, which they alone have had the means of collecting, we are not much disposed to quarrel with them as to the manner; especially where the style has so many spirited and characteristic traits as in the work before us. We would always rather see the thoughts of such persons in their original dress, than cut and fashioned, and perhaps distorted by a professional bookmaker. In this instance, the whole is evidently a labor of love.' Colonel Tod is partial to the Rajpoots, and has a high idea of their character and their capabilities. Well might Dr. Smith tell Bishop Heber on the spot, that Colonel Tod 'loved the people of 'this country.' The spirit of affection breathes in every page of his work, and nothing less could have produced the warm and undiminished attachment and regret with which he, on his part, is still regarded by every native of Rajast' han. Perhaps such partiality was necessary to induce him to devote so large a portion of his time and fortune to the valuable and laborious work which he has now brought to a close; and which we recommend to public notice, as filling up a large blank in the history and geography of India; as full of interesting sketches both of scenery and manners; and as the only source that we know from which an acquaintance with the varied relations of the British interests and policy in the northwest of India can be drawn." "* Heber's Narrative, Vol. 11. p. 456, 8vo. edit.” [From "The Westminster Review, No 34."] [Of the work of Mrs. Gore, which is the subject of the following article, it is said in "The New Monthly Magazine"; "These volumes consist of a number of Tales illustrative of the situations, follies, and vices of high life. The author has attained much popularity as a fashionable novelist, yet we are tempted to regret that she persists in still wearing what has now become almost a threadbare garment. Until some miraculous revolution produces a total change in the beau monde, there can be nothing new to say about it. And, indeed, as it is at present constituted, the less that is said of it the better. While, however, we thus slight the class of works to which they belong, we are willing to render due homage not only to the industry and the talent displayed in these volumes, but also to the object by which they are principally rendered attractive, and which gives to them a character of far higher value than that of mere fashionable historiettes. The grace, ease, and pleasantness of the author's style are sufficiently known and appreciated. We desire again to peruse an historic novel from her pen. The Thuilleries,' although it had some glaring faults, afforded ample proof of what she is capable in another and a higher literary walk."] ART. II.— The Fair of May Fair; or the Miseries of Marriage. By the Authoress of " Mothers and Daughters." 3 Vols. post Svo. London. Colburn and Bentley. 1832. THE Honorable Mrs. Gore is evidently bent upon undermining the House of Lords; that august body could not have had a more dangerous enemy. Under the guise of a fashionable novel there is scarcely an aspect under which she has not made the peerage ridiculous. If she wants a pompous bore, he is always coronetted; if a roué, he is either a peer or a peer's son; if a gross epicure, he is a gouty member of the House of incurables; in short Mrs. Gore's standing ludibrium or social scarecrow, is a noble lord or his eldest son; as for the younger ones they are game not worth powder and shot, they are called in when an inferior person is required either for lisping absurdly, talking slang disgracefully, or otherwise acting the buffoon. Nay such a traitor is she against the very idea of privileged orders, that she has aimed at the very distinctions themselves, which, as all the world knows, so widely separate the nobility from the mobility. Speaking of a naval captain disgusted with the ill success of an attempt upon the heart of a young lady of rank who has studied the whole art of love in Debrett's Peerage, she says; "An application to the Admiralty, backed by the interest of his father, secured him one of the finest frigates in the service, and the Indian station; and could a more remote command have furthered his desire to absent himself from England, he would have sought it with eagerness. Already he exulted in the prospect of reaching those islands of the Indian main, those palmy shores and wild savannahs, where lordships and ladyships, hoops and plumes, are baubles still undeveloped by the progress of civilization; where the dignity of the order is somewhat invalidated by the tattooed aspect of the peerage; - where sovereigns, like the swinish multitude of England, wear rings through their noses, while their grooms |