CURRENT LITERATURE.
The Northern Barrier of India. By Frederic Drew. (Stanford.)— It is not often that a writer possesses such a combination of qualifica- tions of his task as we find united in Mr. Drew. We must put in the first place ft residence of many years in the country, where Mr. Drew was attached in an official capacity to the Court of the Maharaja of Kashmir. Hence by far the greater part of his volume records the result of personal observation and experience. Then Mr. Drew is evi- dently a man of general culture. And thirdly, he has, in the highest degree, the power of arrangement and lucid explanation. A more effective and intelligible description of the physical features of a country, and of the social life and moral characteristics of its inhabitants, we have never seen. "A Popular Account of the Jummoo and Kashmir Territories" is the second title of the volume. This will explain its scope. Mr. Drew draws out with special distinctness the characters of the various races which inhabit the territory. This is one of the most valuable parts of his book. A less agreeable and profitable subject is the history of the region,—a peculiarly dismal record of strife, the duration of each dynasty being generally included in the reign of a single king. The work, however, had to be done, and Mr. Drew does it as well as possible ; and the reader may follow, if he will, with as much ease as the subject admits, the rise and downfall of a succession of worthless adventurers. Among what may be called the episodes of the book, we may mention an account of the unfortunate Hayward, who was murdered by Mir Wall, ruler of Yasin. Mr. Drew makes a pertinent observation, a prop us this deplorable event. "Ho [Hayward] had many of the qualities that make a good explorer. But he was more fitted to do the part of explorer in a continent like Australia than in Asia, where nearly every habitable nook is filled up, and where know- ledge of human nature and skill in dealing with various races of men are at least as much wanted as ability to overcome physical obstacles." There is also an interesting chapter on "Polo." "Baltistan is one of the homes of polo," says Mr. Drew. Every village has its polo-ground, just as in Kent every village has its cricket-ground. Ho thinks, we observe, that this game is not cruel to the horses. But is it not true that a polo pony is little or no use after he has been used for a few months, so afraid does he get of the melee?
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