JAN. — MAR. 1857.] 



Oriental Literature, 



£73 



so able a hand to its own service. The large panoramic view of 

 Ootacamund is a picture that well deserves a handsome frame and 

 is worth the price of the book itself. Then there is a capital fron- 

 tispiece with a view of Sispara on the Neilgherries drawn from 

 nature by Captain Francis and transferred to stone by Mr. Fraser 3 

 and there are four other separate sketches which with the large pa- 

 noramic view of Ootacamund are enclosed in a tin case. The illus- 

 trations are all tinted lithographs and all exhibit an artist's taste 

 and skill. Indeed such artistical productions in the way of book 

 embellishments have never been published before in this country. 

 In a land like this where health and even life itself are so precarious, 

 every information regarding the climate of particular localities 

 ought to be received with eagerness not only by the community but 

 by a " paternal government." The Government of Madras, we 

 hear, has subscribed largely to the work before us, by way of en- 

 couraging all attempts on the part of individuals to make the com- 

 munity acquainted with the character of the country and its resources. 

 Such a sanatarium as the Neilgherries furnish us is a blessing that 

 cannot be too highly appreciated. Many a valuable servant may 

 be saved to the State, by having so near us a climate so admirably 

 adapted to the restoration of individuals. Dr. A. Grant, who was 

 the personal surgeon of the Marquis of Dalhousie and accompanied 

 his Lordship to the Neilgherries in 1855 remarks that " it is sur- 

 prising the advantages of the Blue Mountains should have been so 

 long overlooked, in a country where European health is so preca- 

 rious and the necessity of a change to a cool climate is so frequently 

 and urgently called for. In Bengal they have scarcely attracted 

 any attention, otherwise, how many invalids might have been saved 

 a trip to Australia, or the Cape or even to England." Dr. Grant 

 recommends that in Bronchitis, or incipient consumption, or when 

 the liver is affected the patient should first go to Coonoor, " a plea- 

 sant, retired, and pretty summer residence," well sheltered and 

 easily accessible, and when he has gained strength he should go, he 

 says, to Ootacamund, the air of which is more bracing. In a very 

 few days an invalid could pass comfortably from Calcutta to Oota- 

 camund. The climate of the Neilgherries is delightful and the sce- 

 nery is singularly varied and picturesque, as may be seen from the 



