EPISODES IN A LIFE OF ADVENTURE.* In the pages of

this delightful book, Mr. Oliphant has the fancy to present himself as a rolling stone that, contrary to the proverb, has gathered much moss. Proverbs, after all, are no more than half-truths, and there is hardly one that may not be met by a converse statement of equal value in the proverbial philosophy. If it be true that " a rolling stone gathers no moss," it is equally true that, as Shakespeare puts it, " Home-staying youths have ever homely wits."

And the question whether moss is or is not an advantageous accretion, from the stone's point of view, is at least open to dis- cussion ; although, in the present case, there can be but one ver- dict from the outside world. Mr. Oliphant has not only gathered a large quantity of moss, but his collection is of a rare quality. He may be said to have brought the art of rolling to perfection, for he has managed either to appear on the scene as an observer or an actor when events of an important nature were occurring, or he has been lucky enough to visit remote parts that were shortly to become the theatre of stirring acts and deeds, which made his previous knowledge valuable. For example, it was his good fortune to roam all over the Crimea, at that time almost an unknown region to England, and actually to have been inside the walls of Sebastopol shortly before the Russian War broke out. When the Crimean Campaign was decided upon, he was sent for to the Horse Guards, and summoned to tell all he knew.

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Henze he came in contact with the chiefs of the expedition, which he was most anxious to join. Lord Elgin, however, proposed that he should accompany him on a special diplomatic mission to Washington, with the object of negotiating a treaty of reciprocity between Canada and the United States ; and this' difficult business Lord Elgin carried through in a brilliant and dashing manner in a fortnight, although for seven years it had been under discussion. The party arrived at Washington on the very day that the famous Nebraska Bill, which, by opening a large territory to slavery, helped to pave the way towards the civil war, was carried in Congress, amid intense excitement. Mr. Oliphant says :—

" I shall never forget the scene presented by the House. The galleries were crammed with spectators, largely composed of ladies, and the vacant spaces on the floor of the House crowded with visitors. The final vote was taken amid great enthusiasm, a hundred guns being fired in celebration of an event which, to those endowed with foresight, would not be called auspicious. I remember a few nights afterwards meeting a certain Senator Tombs at a large dinner given by one of the most prominent Members of Congress—who has since filled the office of Secretary of State—in Lord Elgin's honour. It was a grand banquet, at which all the guests were men, with the exception of the wife of our host. He himself belonged to the Republican, or, as it was then more generally called, the Whig Party. Notwithstanding the divergence of political opinion among many of those present, the merits of the all.abeorbing measure, and its probable effects upon the destinies of the nation, were being discussed freely. Senator Tombs, a violent Democrat, was a large, pompons man, with a tendency, not uncommon among American politicians, to orate' rather than to converse in society. He waited for a pause in the discussion, and then, addressing Lord Elgin in stentorian tones, remarked, a propos of the engrossing topic,—' Yes, my Lord, we are about to relume the torch of liberty upon the altar of slavery.' Upon which our hostess, with a winning smile, and in the most silvery accents imaginable, said, ' Oh, I am so glad to hear you say that again, Senator ; for I told my husband you had made use of exactly the same expression to me yesterday, and he said you would not have talked such nonsense to anybody but a woman ! ' The shout of laughter which greeted this sally abashed even the worthy Senator, which was the more gratifying to those present, as to do so was an achievement not easily accomplished."

From the States, Mr. Oliphant went into Canada, where he met with some novel and interesting experiences as Super-

intendent-General of Indian Affairs, a department then under Imperial control.

On his return to Europe, Mr. Oliphant hurried off to the seat of war, and arrived in the Crimea a fortnight or so before the fail of Sebaetopol took place. He had been anxious to undertake a mission to Schamyl, to conceit some scheme of combined action between that chieftain and the Turks, with the object of relieving Kars, and wresting from Russia all her Transcaucasian provinces, but the idea was not carried out. Mr. Oliphant writes very strongly on the action of the French Government and General Mager, in refusing to allow the Turkish force of 30,000 men in the Crimea to advance into the Tranecaucasue, and he says z-

" Had this force been allowed to leave the Crimea while we were there, the event proved that they would have been in plenty of time to have saved Kars, which did not cepitnlete for three months after this. A month later, the Turkish Army was still kicking its heels in front of Sebastopol, to the great discomfort of the three other armies, who bad difficulty enough in finding camping.grouods and supplies. Sebastopol had fallen a fortnight before At last, a week later, this consent [that of the French Government and General Pilissier] was reluctantly extracted. And the record of the campaign of the Turkish Army in the Caucasus, in which I took part, proved that it was given three weeks too late. Had the Turkish Army been released even the day after Sebastopol fell, it would have been in. Tiflis before Kars surrendered, and Mouravieff would have been com- pelled to raise the siege of that fortress. As it was, we had arrived at a point 130 miles from Tiflis, or ten days' easy marching, with nothing to oppose oar advance bat a Russian force scarce a third of our own number, which had already suffered one serious defeat at oar bands, and was in full retreat before us, when the news reached us of General Williams's surrender."

Mr. Oliphant considers that in any future hostilities with Russia, should such unfortunately occur, we should attack her at Batonm and Sukhurn Kaleh, and, by occupying the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian, cut her line of com- munication with the East, thus making her concentrate her attention on her own frontiers instead of on oars. A full understanding with Turkey, both as regards our passage to the Black Sea and the raising of a Turkish military contingent, to which the Circassian would rally, would be imperative ; but it is in this Transcaucasian district, rather than at Herat or in Afghanistan, that we should operate, and such operations would not be defensive, but offensive. Mr. Oliphant points out that at the close of the Crimean War it was universally admitted by those competent of judging, that " the true theatre of opera- tions from the first should have been the Transcancitsus, The proof of it was that we were making preparations to convey an army there when peace was made."

The war over, Mr. Oliphant before long found himself pro- ceeding with a filibustering expedition from New Orleans to

Nicaragua, but he was fortunately seized by a British naval officer as being a British subject in a place where he had no business to be. This capture probably saved him from the fate of hanging, which befell many of his companions, for which we cannot be sufficiently thankful. Shortly after, he again left England, this time as secretary to Lord Elgin, who was going as Ambassador to China. This led to experiences in Calcutta during the Mutiny, and in China during the War of 1857.59, during which Mr. Oliphant assisted at several warlike demon- strations, and also made his first visit to Japan, then an unknown country. The next year we find him in Italy, greatly interested in the movement then taking place there, dining with Cavour, in close contact with Garibaldi, and on the verge of accompanying him on his expedition to Sicily. After an amusing episode in Montenegro, Mr. Oliphant again went to Japan, and he was with the Legation at Yedo, established in a

temple at the entrance to the city, when the celebrated attack took place.

Mr. Oliphant gives a moving description of this event, which so nearly proved fatal to its intended victims, and in the beginning of which he was severely wounded. Years afterwards he met a Japanese in London, who in the course of conversation said that he had planned the whole business, and was just outside the temple all that night, though not actively taking part in the affair. After his recovery, Mr. Oliphant went with an interesting mission to the island of Tsusima, in the Corea, where the Russians were said, contrary to treaty, to have made permanent settlements. An exciting haat after the Russian frigate, among the inlets and natural harbours of the island, ensued ; and the way in which the vessel was at length discovered was curious and amusing. In 1662, Mr. Oliphant turned his steps towards Albania and Italy, and gives some capital stories of what befell him there, how he was Med as Lord Palmerston's nephew, and how he took tea " Old English style," with an aged lady, Miss Thimbleby, who turned out to be the sister of the celebrated Mrs. Jordan. All this, and mach more, is most amusingly told, as the following extract will serve to show. Mr. Oliphant had business with the Vice-Consul at Manfredonia, and, arriving in the town after a perilous ride, went in search of him :—

" A daub on a shield, bearing a faint resemblance to the lion and the unicorn, indicated his residence, and on knocking at the door it was opened by a dishevelled little girl. 'Is the English Consul at home I inquired.—' Si, Signor ; and she tripped before me up- stairs, and on opening a door, ushered me into a room in which was a very pretty woman in bed. I started back at the intrusion of which I had been guilty.—` I told you I wanted to see the Consul,' I said sharply to the little girl.—' Entrate, entrate, Signor !' exclaimed a mellifluous voice from the bed-clothes. ` The girl made a mistake. The Consul is out, and will not be back today; bat I am his wife, and he has left his seal with me. If you are the captain of a ship, and wish anything done, I can do it for you. See !' and she stretched out her hand, and lifted a seal from a table by the bedside.—' I am sorry, Signora,' I said, but I am not the captain of a ship, and my business is of a nature which can only be transacted by the Vice.Consnl himself. When do you expect him back ?'—' He may be a week, he may be more ; it is impossible to say. I am sure, Signor, I could transact your business if you would only confide it to me.'—' I am equally sure, Signore, that you could not; and I explained to her its nature. 'From which you will see that it is imperative that I should see your husband. Perhaps you can telegraph for him.'—' Impossible, Signor !' and with that she burst into a violent fit of weeping. ' It is no use disguising the truth from you any longer. My husband deserted me more than a year ago, and I have no idea where he And have you been transacting the business of the Consulate ever since ?' I asked.—' Si, Signor. There is very little to transact ; but it is almost all I have to live upon. Have mercy upon me, and do not let it be known to the English Government. It was I who used to do the consular business even when my husband was here. He was idle and worthless, and used to do many dishonest things, which I never do.'— 'I have no doubt,' I replied, 'that you are a far more capable and estimable person than your husband—indeed, his present conduct proves his worthlessness; but unfortunately there is still a prejudice in the world in favour of official business being conducted by men. It is one which we shall no doubt get over in time ; until then, I think it is the duty of any Englishman who finds that the British Vice-Consul has deserted his post and left his wife in charge, to let his Government know it, however capable, honest, and, allow me to add'—and I made a polite bow—' beautiful that wife may be.' I threw in the last words to gild the pill, but I evidently did not succeed, for I left her weeping bitterly ; and I am afraid she did not remain long after this British Viae.Consul at Manfredonia."

Then follow some chapters on the Polish Insurrection of 1863; and they are deeply interesting, and often pathetic. Mr. Oliphant succeeded in winning the confidence of members of the national party, and was taken behind the scenes, and saw much of their organisation, and was a witness of the heroism and devotion of men and women alike to the insurgent cause. After an unsuccessful attempt, in the company of Mr. Evelyn Ashley, to penetrate Volhynia, and a visit to the remarkable convents of Moldavia, Mr. Oliphant proceeded alone into Silesia, and thence into SchleswigHolstein, where the fighting was just beginning, and was present at the battle of Missunde. With this episode, and a mention of the way in which the Owl, a paper which excited the curiosity of politicians and society to the highest pitch, was established, these delightful reminiscences are brought to a close. A chapter on sport must not be forgotten. Mr. Oliphant has had his share of excitement in the pursuit of big game. Nor is it every sportsman who has rushed from his tent "in all his naked nudity," as Hood called it, and after a rapid pursuit has knocked over a peacock on the wing at a hundred yards with a rifle. But this, Mr. Oliphant admits, was a mere fluke. The book is written in a most pleasing style, and is fresh and vigorous throughout. The promise that the author gives of a further instalment of his experiences at some future date, will be received by his readers with unqualified satisfaction.