3 rupees.)—Specialists in Indian history know that Hangs Pillai was
the chief man of business and secretary under Dupleix, the French Governor of Pondicherry, and his suc- cessor, and that he kept a voluminous diary from 1736 to 1761 which is preserved in the Madras archives and has been translated from the Tamil and published by the Madras Government under the learned direction of Professor Dodwell. But this remarkable human document, the eleventh volume of which covers 1757, the year of Plassy, 1758 and 1759, should interest many besides the specialist. Not only does it describe the life of the French settlement from day to day in that critical period of war and intrigue, but it gives a vivid reflection of the diarist himself, full of his financial troubles, excessively superstitious and guided by his astrologers in the pettiest matters, anxious to have due recognition from the French officers, and worried about the conduct of the French troops towards the Indians, and yet loyal to his employers and desperately optimistic even when Ponclicherry's fate was obviously sealed. The editor once again contributes a valuable preface. One more volume should complete this fascinating work.
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