Page:Madras journal of literature and science vol 1 new series 1856-57.djvu/285

1857.] so able a hand to its own service. The large panoramic view of Ootacamund is a picture that well deserves a handsome frame and is worth the price of the book itself. Then there is a capital frontispiece with a view of Sispara on the Neilgherries drawn from nature by Captain Francis and transferred to stone by Mr. Fraser, and there are four other separate sketches which with the large panoramic view of Ootacamund are enclosed in a tin case. The illustrations are all tinted lithographs and all exhibit an artist's taste and skill. Indeed such artistical productions in the way of book embellishments have never been published before in this country. In a land like this where health and even life itself are so precarious, every information regarding the climate of particular localities ought to be received with eagerness not only by the community but by a "paternal government." The Government of Madras, we hear, has subscribed largely to the work before us, by way of encouraging all attempts on the part of individuals to make the community acquainted with the character of the country and its resources. Such a sanatarium as the Neilgherries furnish us is a blessing that cannot be too highly appreciated. Many a valuable servant may be saved to the State, by having so near us a climate so admirably adapted to the restoration of individuals. Dr. A. Grant, who was the personal surgeon of the Marquis of Dalhousie and accompanied his Lordship to the Neilgherries in 1855 remarks that "it is surprising the advantages of the Blue Mountains should have been so long overlooked, in a country where European health is so precarious and the necessity of a change to a cool climate is so frequently and urgently called for. In Bengal they have scarcely attracted any attention, otherwise, how many invalids might have been saved a trip to Australia, or the Cape or even to England." Dr. Grant recommends that in Bronchitis, or incipient consumption, or when the liver is affected the patient should first go to Coonoor, "a pleasant, retired, and pretty summer residence," well sheltered and easily accessible, and when he has gained strength he should go, he says, to Ootacamund, the air of which is more bracing. In a very few days an invalid could pass comfortably from Calcutta to Ootacamund. The climate of the Neilgherries is delightful and the scenery is singularly varied and picturesque, as may be seen from the