1830.] [ 577 ] 



MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. 



The Picture of India, Geographical, His- 

 torical, and Descriptive, 2vols. 12mo. 1830. 

 Of the multitudinous subjects of public 

 concernment, extending over every quarter of 

 the world, the greater part depend almost 

 wholly upon accident for the revival of any 

 interest about them ; while some few, from 

 special causes, contain in themselves a se- 

 curity against oblivion, by periodically re- 

 calling attention, with the certainty of a fixed 

 festival. The question of India is of this 

 kind. Every twenty years the Company's 

 Charter must be reviewed and renewed, and 

 the renewal never doubtful, nor will it be 

 for a few more twenties of years stirs up a 

 commotion, not only among those who de- 

 sire to shake or share the monopoly, but 

 among the thousands who have no earthly 

 concern or regard for the matter but to talk 

 and speculate. But every body, at the periods 

 of "approaching discussion, is expected to 

 know all about India ; and to talk even at a 

 dinner table, or at a conversazione with any 

 effect, some acquaintance with facts some 

 specific information on the subject, is really 

 almost indispensable. Hence arises the ne- 

 cessity for new books with the newest intel- 

 ligence, written down to the last hour; and 

 the Picture of India presents itself at the 

 critical moment to meet the sure demand. 

 Though got up avowedly to meet this sure 

 but temporary demand, it must be allowed 

 to be well got up by some one familiar with 

 the subject in every branch of it with phi- 

 losophy enough to detect the bearings of par- 

 ticular facts upon general conclusions, and 

 with wisdom enough of the practical kind to 

 turn them into the channels which lead to 

 the decision of a question of great political 

 importance. The Picture of India will sur- 

 vive the immediate occasion which prompted 

 its production, and take its place as a book 

 of valuable information among works of per- 

 manent interest. The work is very neatly 

 printed, and handsomely illustrated by wood- 

 cuts of views, peculiar ceremonies, animals, 

 &c. &c, 



Travels in Peru, and a Residence at Po- 

 tosi, by Edm. Temple, Knight of the royal 

 and distinguished Order of Charles III., '2 

 vols., Svo.~ Among the Companies which 

 sprung up, mushroom-like, in 1825, none 

 was more magnificent in promise or splen- 

 did in outfit than the Potosi Association. 

 Generals and barons, foreigners of course, 

 were among its commissioners ; and Mr. Tern- 

 pie, himself a captain of cavalry in the Pen- 

 insular war, and a Spanish knight, figured 

 as secretary with 500/. a year and corre- 

 sponding appointments. Not a moment was 

 lost : the whole party, with servants and dogs, 

 a fashionable carriage which proved of no 

 use, and packets of gingerbread and pepper- 



M.M. New Series VOL. IX. No. 53. 



mint drops, which unluckily got wetted and 

 melted before they had occasion for these 

 especial comforts in crossing the Pampas, cm- 

 barked in a post-office ten-gun brig, landed 

 at Buenos Ayres, scudded along the said 

 Pampas, flew through Cordova, Tucuman, 

 Salta, Tupitza, and rested not till Potosi 

 itself received them, panting and melting, 

 within its gold and silver embraces. At the 

 port of Arica, a vessel laden with stores to 

 the tune of 20,OOOJ. was to arrive almost as 

 soon as themselves ; and accordingly the ge- 

 neral rode forward to welcome it, and take 

 charge of its treasures ; and in the meantime 

 the baron set out to examine and buy up 

 mines, and Mr. Secretary opened his books 

 and spread out his papers. Scarcely had 

 operations actually commenced at Potosi, 

 when intelligence arrived that the Company 

 had split, and the cargo at Arica had been 

 seized on the part of the seceding directors. 

 No money was forthcoming : the secretary 

 suspended the works, discharged the labour- 

 ers; and broke up the establishment. Hisoccu- 

 pation was gone : he despatched an indignant 

 letter of resignation, and scampered back to 

 England with as much celerity, but with 

 less hilarity, than he went. Not that he lost 

 his good spirits : he is of a buoyant temper- 

 ament, with an elasticity of feeling proof 

 against any ordinary pressure. Though nei- 

 ther abounding in incident, nor very instruc- 

 tive in facts, the manner of the book is lively 

 and dashing, and not unattractive: the narra- 

 tion is strictly a personal one ; and the author 

 makes the most of his little adventures by 

 sea and by land, with an eye to the ludicrous. 

 Captain Temple talks, of course, of mines ; 

 but of them we have already had enough ; 

 and his line of march is, moreover, familiar 

 ' household words,' or as the quotation itself. 

 He finds the towns every where suffering 

 under neglect, the Spaniards every where in- 

 dolent, and the Indians, amiable and culti- 

 vable, every where oppressed. The capabi- 

 lities of the country are every where incalcu- 

 lable ; and his predictions are as sanguine as 

 his belief is fixed, that South America has 

 gained by independence. When he passed 

 through Tucuman, a Colonel Somebody, 

 with a few marauders in the garb of soldiers, 

 had just expelled the governor, and taken his 

 place ; and was himself, a few months after- 

 wards, it appeared, pushed from his stool 

 with as little ceremony by another predatory 

 Colonel. 



Captain Temple describes graphically and 

 amusingly: for instance the balsa, in crossing 

 the Santiago river. 



The boats were constructed in a much shorter 

 time than I require to describe them, although their 

 description may be given in a few words, thus: 

 Take a dried bullock's hide, pinch up each of the 

 four corners, put a stitch with a thorn to keep those 

 4E 



