Page:The Rámáyana of Tulsi Dás.djvu/655

Rh "The author of this exceedingly interesting district memoir is an official of a very different type. It may be truly said of him that 'he brought an eye for all he saw' when he entered upon the charge of the distriet which for several years was subject to his sway. He brought, too, no inconsiderable literary faculty to describe what he saw. And this interesting volume is the result.

"We should add that Mr. Growse's volume is illustrated by a number of excellent photographs, not the least interesting of which is that representing the pretty Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart at Mathurá, an edifice the erection of which is mainly due to the author's zeal and liberality "—Tablet.

"The lately published second edition of Mr. Growse's Mathurá Memoir shows that, excellent as the first was, improvement was not impossible. That a trifle gives perfection, though perfection is not a trifle, has been well remembered; and throughout the volume may be noticed slight fresh touches of polish which greatly enhance its value. More important additions have been made to the chapters which deal with Hinduism, the etymology of place-names, and the development of the local style of architecture. The autotype illustrations are from negatives taken by native photographers of Mathurá, and, except in one case, are remarkably successful. Amongst the photographs is one of the Catholic Church at Mathurá, which, with this book, will be an abiding proof of how wide a field there is in India for the working of English learning and eulture and taste. A labour of love rather than duty, and therefore, unlike most similar performances, Mr. Growse's work amply proves the superiority of the man who has something to say over the man who has to say something. It is a pity, if nothing more, that an officer so intimate with Mathurá and its people should have been transferred to less familar and less congenial fields of administration. With the accession of another king who knew not Joseph, Mr. Growse found himself compelled to bid farewell to his favourite antiquities, to leave his restorations unfinished, and to depart for Bulandshabr. He carried with him, however, the notes which have enabled him to produce this second edition."—Pioneer (two notices).

"Unusually full of matter for the student of antiquity, the historian, and the general reader………The work of an accurate and pains-taking scholar stimulated by much enthusiasm and local knowledge."—Indian Observer.

"Some years ago the Government of the North-Western Provinces resolved to publish a series of local memoirs of the various districts constituting that province. The Memoir under review is one of that series: and it is unquestionbly the fullest and most valuable of all that have been hitherto published. Its value is sufficiently shown