25 FEBRUARY 1928, Page 28

TRAVELS OF FRAY SEBASTIEN MANRIQUE. (Vol. I. Quaritch. 37s. 6d.)—The

'late_ Colonel C. E. Luard has translated and edited these papers for the -Hakluyt Society. Manrique, though a Portuguese, wrote in " disastrous Spanish " (desastroso castellano) an account of Lower Bengal and of a journey undertaken between 1628 and 1637 from near Chitta- gong to Arakan in Burma over a stretch of country which is still little known. Historically not of great importance, the writings of the " burnt padre " furnish a picturesque account of life and times in Lower Burmatimes when the hearts of 6,000 human beings were distilled" at a coronation feast. Manrique, too, tells the story of why the White Elephant is honoured in Further India. When he is relating personal experience, the Father is generally reliable; but scarcely so when he describes a Burmese nautch being daneed in " dia- phanous garments." The map on p. 80 is, in part, inconsistent with the text: