19 JULY 1913, Page 26

From a Punjaub Pomegranate Grove. By C. C. Dyson. (Mills

and Boon 10s. Gd. net.)—Miss Dyson has republished a

number of letters written from India which describe in a

pleasant way some of the less hackneyed parts of the Depen- dency. We find, for instance, pictures of some of the native States as well as of the pomegranate grove at Hariana, in the Punjaub, which gives its name to the book. An interesting

account is also given of the work done by a lady doctor among the women and children in a remote district, and of the diffi- culty which she found in competing with the native quacks. One of the latter is said to have fixed the following notice on his door :— "I most humbly beg to inform the public that if anybody might be-suffering from demon, magic, or fury, or any sort of patient who cannot be cured by any sort of medical treatment, that they should attend at my house in Abdul Rahman Street. All the patients will be cure by pronouncing some words, blowing upon water, spitting and amulet, by the grace of the Almighty Creator."

Miss Dyson adds some account of King George's visit to Calcutta, and of the excellent effect which it produced among the Bengalis. Subsequent events, however, lend a sinister interest to a remark made to the author at the time of the visit by a prominent Bengali, who denied that the personal success of the King implied that there was no widespread dis- loyalty. "In India," he went on, "a king is looked upon as a sacred, almost divine personage. King George was safe enough, but it does not follow that we shall not shoot some more of his servants if the wrong sort are sent out here to govern and guide us."