SAYINDROOG.
CAPTAIN RAFTER, the author of this romance, appears to have resided long and travelled much in India, and to have acquired great knowledge of the different races who inhabit that vast region. In Savindroog he gives the public the fruit of his knowledge; it being his object, as he states in his preface, "to diffuse a more general and agreeable acquaintance with Indian history than can be obtained even by a perusal of the voluminous works connected therewith, and to delineate what he honestly believes, from much reading and long observation, to be a true and faithful picture of the manners of the East." The primary object of a romance or novel is to excite or entertain the reader by an interesting or amusing story, uncommon but probable incidents, and a striking but truthful delineation of human nature; and if that object be accomplished, an instructive pur- pose will, as a necessary consequence, be served by the work. But, as we have lately had occasion to observe in more than one instance, a ficti- tious story is a bad vehicle for direct and formal instruction : if historical personages and events, with descriptions of manners and customs, are introduced, it ought to be done as lightly and unobtrusively as possible. It is rather a recommendation than otherwise to Savindroog, that one of its professed objects, that of enlarging our acquaintance with Indian history, is not even attempted. So far is the work from being historical, that we obtain from it the slightest possible indications even of the period to which the story belongs. Not a single historical event or per- sonage is introduced ; and the only things to which the term history, in its loosest meaning, can be applied, are a number of mythical legends about Indian gods and fabulous heroes, related with a prolixity not a little wearisome.
Bat, on the other hand, of descriptive matter we have enough and to spare. Three-fourths of the book, indeed, consist of pure description - descriptions of scenery, religious and superstitious rites, processions and pageants, forms and ceremonies, furniture and dress, occur on every pos- bible occasion • they are detailed with every appearance of literal exact- ness • and become so monotonous from repetition, that the reader must needs skim them over impatiently, in order to catch the slender thread of the story, which they are constantly breaking.
The story itself is made of the usual romantic materials. Its main in- cident is the abduction of the heroine, the Begum or Princess of Mysore, by a powerful freebooter, who possessing an impregnable fortress and
commanding a band of brave and devoted follower's, is the exact Counter.- part of a feudal robber of the middle ages in Europe. The Princess has an affianced lover, as matchless in strength and courage as she is in all the virtues and graces of her sex : the lover traces her to the robber's lair, and rescues her, after a series of perils and adventures which gradually acquire a considerable degree of interest; though it is much weakened by the quantity of description, and by the diffuse style and slow progress of the narrative. A variety of characters are introduced,—royal per- sonages, military commanders, Brahmins, court ladies' dancing-gals, (one of whom is the most striking character in the book,) soldiers of all ranks and various tribes, and the working population of town and country. All these are attempted to be shown in the familiar aspects of every-day life, and many scenes are meant to be comic. Bat.the author, who in many things resembles Mr. James, is too formal and la- boured in his dialogues, as well as too prolix in his descriptions : he can- not catch the natural and lifelike air which makes everybody so much at home in the romances of Walter Scott. He has followed the example set by Morier, Fraser, and others, of interlarding his conversations with ex- clamations and other phrases in the native tongues. There are so many " Bismallahs," " MashaLlas," " Inshallahs," " Ramrams," &c., that the people speak a sort of lingua Franca, half English half Persian or Hin- doo. This absurdity has been carried to such an excess by writers of Eastern tales as to have become a bore. Yet, notwithstanding all the minuteness with which the author describes Indian manners, he conveys no idea of the Indian mind. Divest his persons, and the scenes in which they are actors, of those external and material features which give them locality, and they would figure with equal propriety in a tale of feudal times in Europe.
With all this, however, any reader who does not lose patience with the slow motion of the first volume, will read the book to the end. The in- terest of the story gradually rises; and the work, besides being ele- gantly written, contains many curious (and, we doubt not, correct) pieces of information about India. The following vivid description of the mirage, or optical delusion caused by the burning sun in an Indian desert, will give an idea of the author's manner. The heroine and her lover are escaping from the robber's stronghold.
"At length, on reaching the summit of a gentle eminence, to her inexpressible delight, a broad expanse of water gratified her longing eyes in the distance; its glassy surface sparkling in the solar beam with an intensity that made it almost painful to look upon. As they approached this crystal lake, it presented a most lovely and picturesque appearance; the trees that grew on its margin being re- flected in all their flowery pride in the limpid stream, while numerous fairy islets, crowned with verdure, floated on its tranquil bosom. "‘ Jey Sri Lachema!' exclaimed the Begum, invigorated by the cheering sight,
and apostrophizing her guardian goddess; at length, my Kistna, a happy termination of our dreadful sufferings.' " 'I see indeed an extensive lake before us,' replied Kistria, looking anxiously and somewhat doubtfully in the direction indicated; and I fully share your joy at the prospect of speedy refreshment; bat—'
" ' Nay, my Kistna,' returned the Begum reproachfully, why damp my plea- sure at so delightful a prospect with your ominous butt Do you know that the view of this beautiful lake seems rather to increase then diminish my burning thirst, and I die with impatience to plunge into its crystal current.'
"Anticipating the delight she should experience from the refreshing contact, the Seguin patted the neck of her panting steed, and urged him forward to bathe his limbs in the cool and placid wave, which now appeared at a short distance before them; while the lengthened shadows of the cocoa.nuttrees that were thinly scattered on its banks gave a happy indication that the fiery noon was passed and cooler hours were coming on.
"There was, however, a gloom on the brow of the Rajapoot, that seemed unac- countable to the Begum ; but, supposing it to arise from the difficulty he antici- pated in crossing the lake, she gaily exclaimed= Nay, now, my Kistna, you de- spond without cause, and think this beautiful lake may prove an obstacle in our path: but yonder I see a boat with gallant streamers, and crowded with people landing on the verdant shore.'
" 'My adored Lachema,' said the Rajapoot, I clearly see the object you refer to; and it does, I confess, singularly resemble what you describe it to be.
" 'Resemble! ' exclaimed the Begum, astonished at the apathy of her lover. ' Why, it is reality, if ever anything was real. Nay, farther on I can see other boats sailing amongst the lovely islands that spread their umbrageous foliage down to the water's edge: how beautifully they reflect their tall masts and snow- white sails in the transparent fluid!' " The illusion is truly wonderful!' responded Kistna, who did not seem at all to partake of her enthusiasm. " Good heavens!' exclaimed the Begum, what a magnificent prospect opens to my view from this little hillock I have just ascended. Embattled walls, towers, mosques, minarets, and pagodas, rise in splendid profusion on the farther shore of the lake, intermingled with groves, meadows, palaces, and durrumsallas. Troops of cavalry, and processions of elephants and camels, seem crowding to some mighty festival; while the blue mountains, streaked with waterfalls and gushing torrents, melt away in the airy distance.'
" ' Alas, my beloved!' exclaimed Kistna, 'you only tantalize yourself, I fear, with a beautiful delusion. No such place as you describe can possibly exist in this locality; and you know that the influence of the sun on sandy plains is apt to cause optical deceptions which sometimes produce unpleasant disappointments.' " The fears of Kistna were speedily verified; and great indeed was the dismay of the Begum when she arrived on the borders of her imaginary lake: for she found that all its limpid waters, its fairy isles, and umbrageous foliage, had dis- appeared; and nothing met her aching sight but a wide and waving plain of sil- ver-tufted arrow-grass; whose silky blossoms, shining with dazzling lustre in the solar beam, had presented to her enraptured fancy the exact image of a crystal lake, with all its splendid accompaniments: but the whole was false and unreal mockery—the Begum had now, for the first time, beheld that singular plimnome- non the Saraub of the desert."
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