Asiatic Quarterly Review (Full Title: The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, and Oriental and Colonial Record): Volume XIII, No. 26 [‎543r] (210/238)

Reviews and Notices.
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because he was a high-born Manchu, and no Manchu can (by rule) be a
Senior Wrangler; his was, however, a notorious exception.
On the whole, it is possible to speak very highly of Dr. Martin’s book,
and he may be congratulated upon having refrained from denouncing
British and French barbarity—and that but lightly—more than twice ; it
is not noticeable that he anywhere adversely criticises American policy;
for instance, their Exclusion Bills, their violent attacks upon Chinese in
the b ar West, their rather ungenerous restrictions inManila, etc. The gifted
author himself was, a year ago, taken to task by the Shanghai press for his
unmeasured delenda est Cambalu opinions which followed immediately upon
his escape from the “ Boxer ” attacks at Peking. Probably it is partly on
this account that the new University is now being organized under other
presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. ; not that the Chinese are petty or unforgiving in such matters,
but because they may well be excused for taking the opportunity thus
offered to separate on friendly terms from an old servant whose years may
well excuse a little petulance. Either he or the old Dowager (who, it is
believed, once nominated him for the Inspector-Generalship of Customs)
may say to the other :
“ How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child.”
It will be for the advantage of us all if Dr. Martin will settle down to polish
up and reconstruct his stores of knowledge in better digested and sweeter
form. In North China, or at least in Peking, the name of Ting Wei-liang
( = William [Marjtin) will for many years be a household word.—E. H.
Parker.
The Religious Tract Society; 56, Paternoster Row, London,
E.C., 1901.
16. The Ainu and their Folklore, by the Rev. John Batchelor, f.r.g.s.
(C.M.S. Missionary to the Ainu). Illustrated. Mr. Batchelor’s book on
“ The Ainu and their Folklore ” differs from most works of missionaries
who have visited obscure regions of the earth for the purposes of
evangelization. He has not entered upon statistics of the number of souls
he believes he has influenced, but he gives us a somewhat closer acquaint
ance of this individual, curious and ancient tribe, whose peculiarities form
a most interesting study. His work claims the attention of the historian,
traveller, ethnologist, and missionary. All he has related aids us to a
better understanding of the aborigines of Japan, who have been driven so
far northward that their days seem numbered and their dynasty about to
fail. The folklore stories may appear on a level of merit, but they
faithfully delineate the minds of this child-like race, whose nature seldom
rises to the fever-heat of passion or to the storms of sensational venture.
Yet these legends have a charm which cannot be overlooked, inasmuch as
they touch upon and interpret, here and there, the verbal histories of other
lands, with remarkable parallels, that set us wondering through what
agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. the gossamer web of thought has found a foothold in regions so far
remote.