86 



Beview of Reviews, II Si IS, 



NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE MONTH. 



AN INDIAN RULER IN EUROPE. 



Travel Pictures. By Sir Bhawani Singh. (Long- 

 mans. 6s. net.) 



The Raj Rana Bahadur of Jhalawar, 

 one of the Rajputani States, paid a visit 

 to Eng^land in 1904, and kept a diary 

 during that time, primarily for the 

 benefit of his people, whose ideas of 

 European civilisation are, of course, 

 vague. The Raj Bahadur did not pub- 

 lish- his diary until after the Corona- 

 tion Durbar, when he submitted it to 

 King George, who accepted the dedica- 

 tion of the volume. 



CARDS FOR HIGH AND LOW. 



It is very amusing as well as interest- 

 ing to travel through various places 

 Avith this brilliant Indian ruler, for 

 being a very observant man, numbers 

 of little details which to us are com- 

 monplaces attracted his attention, and 

 he carefully described them for the 

 pleasure of his people. Thus, for in- 

 stance, passing through Madrid, he 

 visited the great public library there, 

 and was very much pleased with the 

 way it was arranged, and the fashion 

 of filing the name-cards. When, how- 

 ever, later on he visited Sutton's, of 

 Reading, and was taken through the 

 seed-rooms, he noted that the Sutton 

 files are kept exactly in the same way. 



PLOUGHS AND ELECTRIC LIGHTS. 



Sitting at tea on the terrace of the 

 House of Commons, he tells of a say- 

 ing that one can never look at West- 

 minster Bridge without seeing a white 

 horse pass. Passing through Portugal, 

 he remarked that the peasants use simi- 

 lar ploughs to those in use in India, and 

 drawn by bullocks or mules in the same 

 way. He attends a Drawing Room, 

 shakes hands with Her Majesty, de- 

 lights in the beautiful ladies, notices 

 that there are twenty-one brilliant elec- 

 tric lights hanging from the ceiling, and 

 that the arrangements for summoning 

 carriages are excellent. 



A SHOCKED POTENTATE. 

 He is taken to a ladies' club, and in 

 the smoking-room sees the ladies in- 

 dulging in cigarettes. This does not 

 seem to him at all proper, and must 

 lessen their charm. A placard bearing 

 the word " Silence " is in the writing- 

 room, and he thinks it is a great pity 

 if the fair sex should become as re- 

 served as menfolk, because society will 

 be dull and lifeless, whilst at present 

 one sees ladies chatting all day without 

 being tired. He solemnly asks whether 

 the secretary is a lady, and finding a 

 man holds the post, is able to have a 

 little joke. In a similar way we go on 

 through the whole volume, for natur- 

 ally everyone is eager to show him 

 everything possible and every sort of 

 attention. While scientific lectures, the 

 Whitechapel Hospital, theatres, all in- 

 terest him, the crowning joy seems to 

 have been the Crystal Palace, and the 

 worst fatigue occurred when he as- 

 cended to the ball of St. Paul's. 



THROUGH EUROPE HOME. 



So we can travel with the Bahadur 

 through Scotland and the Emerald 

 Isle, where he notices that the Dublin 

 Tramcar Company delivers parcels for 

 2d. each. Back in England, he thinks 

 Chatsworth is a splendid palace, and 

 describes it for his people, frequently 

 dwelling upon the necessity of educa- 

 tion. Day after day is filled up during 

 his stay, so that, as he sa)s. he really 

 only sees the bedroom in his hotel. Re- 

 turning home, he visits Hamburg and 

 Copenhagen, and notices in passing that 

 Germany made a bad bargain when she 

 exchanged Zanzibar for Heligoland, 

 which will very soon be washed awa\'. 

 At Marienbad, he takes the water cure. 

 From thence through Vienna, Budapest, 

 Munich, retracing his steps for a stay in 

 Paris, w'here he is much amused by a 

 barber shaving a poodle. Italy, Turkey, 

 Egypt, all bring their quota of amuse- 

 ment. The book is well and profusely 

 illustrated. 



