FOREIGN QUARTERLY REVIEW. VOLUME XXI. APRIL AND JULY, 1838. AMERICAN EDITION. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY JEMIMA M. LEWER. ANER OF BROADWAY AND PINE-STREET, 1838. Art. I.-Ramaseeana, or a Vocabulary of the peculiar Language used by the Thugs, with a Description of the System pursued by that Fraternity. II.-1. Ida della Torre, Episodio, di Giulio Carcano. 2. L'Esule Pisano, Canti Tre, di Gio. Battista Montanari. 3. Ulrico e Lida, Novella, di Tommaso Grossi. III.-La Science Politique fondée sur la Science de l'Homme, ou Etude des Races humaines sous le Rapport philosophique, historique, et sociale. 26 IV.--1. Niklas Medviezhia Lapa, Ataman Kontrabandistov, &c. R. Zotova. 2. Proviesti Alexandra Veltmana. 3. Sovremennik, Literaturii Zhurnal. V.-Doña Isabel de Solis, Reyna de Granada ; Novela Historica. By Don 44 2. Samling af de i Nordens Oldskrifter indeholdte Efterretninger om de gamle Nordboers Opdagelsesreiser til America, fra det 10de til det VII.1. Affaires de Rome. Par M. F. De La Mennais. 2. Paroles d'un Croyant. Par F. De Lamennais. 3. Le Livre du Peuple. Par F. Lamennais. VIII.-1. Waldemar den Store og bans Maend. Et episk Digt. By B. S. 2. Valdemar Seier. En Historisk Roman. By B. S. Ingemann. 4 Procne. En Samling af Digte. By B. S. Ingemann IX.-Pérégrinations d'une Paria (1833.1834.) Par Madame Flora Tristan CRITICAL NOTICES. Mahawanso. Translated by the Hon. G. Turnour, Esq. Ceylon 125 126 Quinti Horatii Flacci Opera, cum Versione Germanica edita 126 Versuch einer Geschichte der Armenischen Literatur, nach den Werken der Mechitaristen frei bearbeitet. Von C. F. Neumann 126 1. Pacto y Ley Fundamental de la Confederacion Peru-Boliviana. zones con que pretende lejitimar la Guerra que declara a la Confed. 127 Selections from the Bostân of Sâdi, by Forbes Falconer. 127 Miscellaneous Literary Notices.—Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Servia, Greece, Egypt, Persia, India, Assam, Chile 129 List of the principal New Works published on the Continent, from January to March, 1838, inclusive, 134 THE LIBRARY FOREIGN QUARTERLY REVIEW. No. XLI. FOR APRIL, 1838. Art. I.–Ramaseeana, or a Vocabulary of system of assassination were originally the peculiar Language used by the Thugs, adopted, and brought to their present perfecwith an Introduction and Appendix, de- tion. These deficiencies, however, are, in scriptire of the System pursued by that a great degree to be attributed to the want Fraternity, and of the Measures which of leisure from official duties, on the part have been adopted by the Supreme Govern- of the author, Captain W. H. Sleeman, of ment of India for its suppression. Cal- the Indian military service, who has long cutta. 1836. been employed on civil duty, and superadd ed ill health. His modesty has also preWe have perused this work with the great-vented him from sufficiently bringing into est interest; for the subject is one which view his own exertions in the cause. must excite the most acute feelings in the To our conception the work should have mind of every friend to humanity. We have been arranged on somewhat of the following here an account of probably the most extra- plan. First, a description of the origin of ordinary organized society of ruthless vil . the Thugs, their system and mode of prolains that ever existed on the face of the ceeding in their vocation; how they were globe. Robbers, bandits, pirates, are all in- enabled to increase their numbers and exAuenced by the same incitement—the hope tend their sphere of operations, and likeof plunder. In the conrse of their pursuit wise their superstitions. Secondly, an acoutrages, murder, and even wanton cruelty count of the first notice of these associations are often committed; but this is usually in by the British government; and of the sucthe moment of triumph, when brutal passion cessive steps which were taken, until the is inflamed, and seldom results from any pre- completely organized Thug police, which conceived plan. The Thugs, on the con- now exists, was established. Under this trary, systematically and invariab!y preface head would have been included a statement every robbery with deliberate murder, spar- of the difficulties, amounting, in fact, to im. ing neither age, sex, or class. possibilities, under which the ordinary tribu. We have, however, in some respects, been nals laboured in their attempts to bring the much disappointed with the work. It seems Thugs to punishment: to conclude with some to be almost without plan, and the materials notices of their tempers, dispositions, and hathrown together in so heterogeneous a man- bits. To this might have been added, thirdly, ner, that information on any one portion of an appendix, containing a vocabulary of their the subject must be sought for sometimes in peculiar phraseology and slang terms; togea dozen different places, and is occasionally ther with any documents, private or official, found in a part of the work where it would which threw light on the subject, or might be least expected; while what should have be deemed useful to those employed in the formed valuable information is very indis- suppression of the crime, tinctly indicated; viz. how the plans now in Instead, therefore, of merely reviewing force for the suppression of this horrible the work, we shall attempt, as far as our 1 VOL. XXI. |