Their motifs are drawn from contemporary Bengali life and as such afford wonderful glimpses into some of its most tender aspects. The Guest is full of a bashful surprise and solicitude. A more remarkable study is The Mother. In the mild glow of the household lamp, sits a woman gently holding her child to her breast, her face full of an earnest abstraction and tenderness. The whole figure is gathered up into one supreme act of motherly love and solicitude Such paintings as these are sealed with absolute insight and sympathy.

We may here note two paintings by Sj. S. N. Dey, some of whose other paintings have been studied in an earlier part of this paper. The Return from the Fair and The Milkmaids represent homely scenes of Bengali life; but those scenes are seen here transfigured by love into things of supreme beauty and inter

est. The children in the first painting are drawn with remarkable sincerity and truth. The women in both the paintings are full of a naive charm and delicacy. The colouring of these pictures is done in the frank brilliant manner of the ancient painters. Pure simple colours are used depending for their effect on mass and juxtaposition.

The interesting series of sketches by Sj. Gogonendra Nath Tagore dealing with the life of the great Bengali reformer, Shri Chaitanya, deserve some study. The crowded events of the reformer's life are here vividly told with a good deal of breadth and technical skill. Some of these pictures however lack in suggestiveness, one or two being even indefinite and vague. At Vishnupada Gaya is however full of feeling and artistically good. The End, based upon a well-known legend, is a clever piece of art.

We have reserved to the end the most remarkable group of animal and cloud studies by Sj. Abanindra Nath Tagore, which have evoked great admiration among those who saw them. They are all highly original and full of a rare harmony of colour and of feeling. The exquisite charm and suggestiveness of these sketches can hardly be described in words. Old Indian art contains few bird or cloud studies. Sj. Abanindra Nath Tagore, the revered leader of the movement, has

in these studies made a most beautiful and important beginning in this new branch of painting.

Before concluding, we would draw attention to one or two features of this new school of

painters. The early work of this school, especially of Sj. Abanindra Nath Tagore and Nanda Lal Bose, has lain chiefly in religious and mythological subjects. This is perhaps partly due to the special influences that were brought to bear on the two painters. The one, fresh from the study of the courtly paintings of the Moghuls, and the other, imbued with the spirit and the Ajanta mysticism of paintings, naturally sought their inspiration in the great episodes of our religion and history. Even apart from these special influences, one may realise how these painters should be attracted by those old ideals and themes, which are such an integral part of our culture and traditions. Every age will interpret these old national ideals anew and find in the old stories of devotion, of self-sacrifice and martyrdom, martyrdom, new food for reflection or for solace. Considered in that light, these mythological and religious paintings of the Bengali artists are valuable contribution to the art of our country. They have not merely rendered these old subjects with technical skill and accuracy. They have invested them with a new inwardness and life.

а

Leaving the work of these painters, we see however in the work of the younger artists the beginnings of a new and interesting folk-art. In The worship of the Little Girl as Goddess, The Holi Festival, The Mother, The Return from the Fair, The Spring, The Milkmaids, we have some of the most beautiful scenes and aspects of Bengali life rendered with great delicacy and truth and feeling. They wonderfully reveal to us that inner world of Bengali life with its piety, its tenderness, its lyrical joy and charm. Herein may be seen the beginnings of a true national art deriving its motifs from the life and religion of the people around it. Such folk-art has a great future. Born of folk-life and folk-thought, it may in its turn shed its influence back on that life and that thought and give them a newer depth and perfection.

PEAKING from his place in the Imperial

Legislative Council on the 29th March
1909, the late Mr. Gokhale said of the
late Lord Minto:-
:-

My Lord, among the many great men who have held office as Governor-General in this country, there are three names which the people cherish above all others— the names of Bentinck, Canning, and Ripon. I venture to predict, both as a student of Indian history and as one who has taken some part, however humble in the public life of the country for the last twenty years, that it is in the company of these Viceroys, that your Lordship's name will go down to posterity in India.

Had Mr. Gokhale lived to-day, one need have no doubt as to the place he would have assigned to Lord Hardinge, in the illustrious rôle of the Viceroys whom he mentioned. But, it must be added that, thanks to the rapid rate of progress in this country during the last decade or two, the problems which Lord Hardinge has had to face were almost unprecedented. And it is a great tribute to Lord Hardinge's largeness of heart, breadth of outlook, and whole-hearted sympathy with the aspiration of the people of this country, that he has solved these problems to the satisfaction great of the Indian community. After all, it is not the particular act of a Viceroy so much as the guiding spirit of his policy which counts in the evolution of Indian polity; judged from that stand-point, Lord Hardinge's Viceroyalty will mark the first great step of India in the path of self-government.

After the announcement of his appointment as Viceroy of India, a banquet was given on the night of the 20th October 1910, at the Savoy Hotel, London, by the County of Kent to Lord Hardinge. In replying to the toast of his health, he said :

There are certain obvious principles which it must be the duty of every responsible administrator to follow. Mr. Montagu, the Under-Secretary of State for India, in his very able speech on the Indian Budget, wound up by quoting an extract of a letter from the great Sir R. Peel to my grandfather on his appointment to the post of Governor-General of India, and in hie concluding remarks proffered advice to me in the same sense. You will, I am sure, pardon me if I repeat this short and interesting quotation: "If," wrote Sir R. Peel, "you can keep peace, reduce expenses, extend commerce, and strengthen our hold on India by confidence in our justice and kindness and wisdom, you will be received here on your return with acclamations a thousand times louder and a welcome infinitely more cordial than if you had a dozen victories to boast of." (Cheers.) These were wise words and as true and applicable now as they were when written more than sixty years ago. I have laid them to heart, but had Sir Robert lived now during this period of transition in

India when some of the old landmarks are being remov. ed to give a wider scope to the intelligence and intellectual ability of our Indian fellow-subjects, he would, I think, have given some additional advice, possibly on the following lines: "That the new Viceroy should watch over with the utmost care and vigilance and do his utmost to consolidate the beneficent and far-reaching scheme of Reforms introduced by Lord Morley and Lord Minto (cheers)—for associating the people of India more closely with the management of their own affairs." He might also have added that the Viceroy should strain every nerve to conciliate all races, classes and creeds. My Lords and Gentlemen, it will be my humble duty honestly to endeavour to follow the precepts so clearly laid down by Sir R. Peel and those that I have had the temerity to suggest as likely additions had that eminent statesman lived in our day, and in pursuing this course I shall be fortified by the profound sympathy and regard that I entertain and have always entertained for our Indian fellow-subjects and by my earnest desire to contribute at least something to their material welfare and development. (Cheers.)

Speaking of Lord Minto's administration, he said that it would always become memorable as a landmark in the era of Reform, and that Lord Minto would bequeath to him a new regime already in force, though still young in development. He said that it would be his task to foster this young plant with tender care, and at the same time to see that the word, 'Government' was synonymous with peace, order, and security.

As usual, on arrival in India, His Excellency had to receive and to reply to numerous addresses and deputations. And all the replies are characterised by a warmth of affection for India and an earnest desire to promote the well-being of the people. Take this reply to the Bombay Municipal Address :

Times have changed since then, when the appointment of an Indian servant to be a Deputy Magistrate was regarded as a remarkable concession and innovation; but the present and future are rife with problems of a more complex nature and more difficult character than those of the past. It shall be my aim to face this with courage and sympathy and to maintain the policy initiated by Lord Minto.

In reply to another Address, he said :--

If India will extend to me the same kindly feelings which I have for her, I shall go forward on my way in hope and confidence.

Almost at the beginning of his Viceroyalty, Lord Hardinge was pleased to receive a deputation from the Indian National Congress, in happy contrast to the action of one of his predecessors. His Lordship referred to the growing demand for political power :-

To any student of the history of this country during the past 100 years it must be clearly evident that it has been the aim of England to promote the material welfare

classes, races, and creeds have united in receiving us with unmistakable signs of enthusiasm and affection.

In March 1912, a committee of experts was appointed to advise the Government of India as to the site of the New Capital. Temporary buildings were erected to accommodate the Government, and on December 23, the State entry into Delhi was made by the Viceroy. This ceremony was marred by an attempt on His Excellency's life as he passed down the Chandni Chowk. The bomb thrown from a house killed an attendant behind the howdah in which the Viceroy was sitting, seriously wounded Lord Hardinge, but left Lady Hardinge unscathed. The courage displayed by Their Excellencies was unsurpassed and elicited the admiration of all; but in spite of the offer of large rewards, the assassin was not caught.

On the following day Sir Guy Fleetwood Wilson read a reply on His Excellency's behalf to an address presented by the non-official members of the Supreme Legislative Council, in the course of which he observed :

You have alluded to the King-Emperor's message of hope. May I add one of faith. I have faith in India. I have faith in her future and I have faith in her people. It is the solemn duty of Government to promote the best interests of India and her people, and under divine guidance we shall not falter in this course.

His Excellency the Viceroy inaugurated the opening of the second term of the Reformed Council before a large and brilliant gathering on the 27th January 1913. The spacious Council Chamber in the temporary Secretariat was packed to the full with Civil and Military officials and their wives and the leading citizens of Delhi. The Members also attended in large numbers.

Punctually at 11, the proceedings began with the swearing in of the Members, Sir G. F. Wilson presiding. This hardly over, the Viceroy, who had his right arm in a sling and looked aged and pale, entered the Council Chamber at 11-30 and received a most splendid and enthusiastic ovation from the members of the Council, in which visitors in the galleries participated, and took his seat amidst loud and prolonged cheers. He spoke clearly, and every word of his opening address, which was long and eloquent, was clearly heard throughout the crowded house, a deep impression being made on all present:

In my desire for kindly intercourse with the people and accessibility to them, I have always discouraged excessive precautions, and I trusted my self and Lady Hardinge more to the care of the people than to that of the Police. If it was an error, it is an error that I am proud of, and I believe it may yet prove not to have

been an entirely mistaken confidence, for out of evil good may come. Is it too much to hope that the storm of public indignation evoked at the outrage may give Indian terrorists cause for sensible and humane reflection and repentance? It is difficult to believe that these individuals are a class apart, and that they do not belong to the communities and mix with their fellow-beings. Are they really susceptible to no influence and no advice? Have they no contact with moderate and wiser men? Still, whatever I may feel on the subject of the crime itself, I only wish to assure you and the whole of India that this incident will in no sense influence my attitude. I will pursue without faltering the same policy in the future as during the past two years, and I will not waver a hair's breadth from that course.

place in In fact,

Educational schemes claimed a large public attention during 1912 and 1913. one of the most beneficent results of H. E. Lord Hardinge's Viceroyalty will be the impetus. given to the spread of education in the land. Lord Hardinge's enthusiasm for education, especially for higher education, is unbounded. We have seen already that one of the Royal boons announced at Delhi was a recurring grant of Rs. 50 lakhs for education. Replying to a Deputation about the Dacca University, His Excellency said :—

I share the view of those thoughtful Indian gentlemen who see in the action of the new Universities the greatest of boons which the Government can give India, namely, the diffusion of higher education.

He concluded this striking address with an appeal, which is as much needed to-day as it was when it was uttered :

I am hopeful that the large issues of educational policy, on which the future of India so greatly depends, will be viewed with a wide outlook, and apart from personal or political interests and in asking for your help and co-operation in the great task, I feel sure that my appeal will not be in vain,

On the 16th March 1912, His Excellency delivered the Convocation Address of the Calcutta University and began it thus :--

We are not blind to the good work which the existing Universities have done in their day. We are justly proud of their achievements. But we cannot be insensible to the change that has come throughout the atmosphere. Distance has been reduced by improved commmunications; centres of population have grown up pulsating and throbbing with new aspirations. The old dividing barriers are breaking down, and we feel the need for greater union and closer co-operation. We want to develop an identity and a character of our own. The modern Universities of Europe have well been desoribed as the nurseries and workshops of intellectual life. We want all that this description implies in India.

His Excellency the Viceroy opened the Hamidia Library, at Bhopal, on the 5th December 1912, and in the course of his speech, he said

Among the manifold cares which occupy my attention there is none that is nearer my heart than the desire that, during my tenure of office, the basis of Primary Education may be so widened that the elementary knowledge may gradually become the birthright of the poorest of the land.

In the course of his enthusiastic speech at the laying of the foundation-stone of the Hindu University at Benares, in February 1916, Lord Hardinge observed :

The charge is frequently brought against the Government that they are too eager for quality, and too ready to ignore the demand for quantity, and comparisons are made that do not lack force between the number of Universities in England, America and other countries and the number available to the 300 millions of India. Nevertheless, it is the declared policy of the Government of India to do all within their power and within their means to multiply the number of Universities throughout India, realising, as we do, that the greatest boon the Government can give to India is the diffusion of higher education through the creation of new Universities. Many, many more are needed, but the new Universities to be established at Dacca, Benares and Bankipore, soon to be followed, I hope, by Universities in Burma and Central Provinces, may be regarded as steps taken in the right direction.

And it was in these glowing terms that His Excellency referred to the ideal which the Hindu University has set before itself:

You hope in the not far distant future to see preserved and fostered all that is best in Hindu ideas of life and thought, all that is noblest of Hindu religion and tradition, culture and civilisation, and grafted upon that tree, healthy and strong in its own natural soil, you hope to see growing in it and of it all that is good and great of Western science, industry and art, so that your young men may go forth not only inspired with pure and noble ideals, but also equipped for the development of their mother-country along the more material lines of progress and prosperity.

In the year 1912, a Royal Commission, under the Presidency of Lord Islington, was appointed to inquire into the public services of India. Though Indians generally have given up any hopes they may have had as to the benefits likely to result to India as the outcome of the labours of the Commission, still the volume of evidence collected by the Commission will always be valuable if it be published. In 1912, again, a Committee was appointed, under the Chairmanship of FieldMarshal Lord Nicholson, to inquire into military policy and expenditure in India. In 1913, a Royal Commission was appointed under the Chairmanship of Mr. Austen Chamberlain to investigate and report on certain questions relating to Indian finance and currency, which had for some years been much discussed, particularly in India.

In the North-East of India, an expedition, under General Bomer, was despatched against the Abors for the punishment of the murder of Mr. Noel Williamson.

In August 1913, the demolition of a lavatory attached to a mosque in Cawnpore gave rise to considerable feeling among Indian Mussulmans, and a riot in Cawnpore led to heavy loss of life. Of those present at the riot, 106 were put on trial, but subsequently released by the Viceroy before the case reached the Sessions, and His Excellency was able to settle the mosque difficulty by a compromise that was acceptable to the local

and other Mussulmans :

The Cawnpore mosque incident will not easily be forgotten. An unfortunate collision had taken place between the people and the local authorities. Several lives had been lost. The feelings of a whole community had been wounded. It needed great strength and courage, and greater sympathy to apply the balm to the wounds which had unfortunately been inflicted. Lord Hardinge did apply the balm. The result was that widespread feelings of grief and resentment gave way to gratitude.

In October 1913, it was announced that General Sir Beauchamp Duff had been appointed to succeed Sir O'Moore Creagh as Commander-in Chief. There were special reasons for the nomin. ation of Sir Beauchamp Duff, who, as Adjutant-General in India and Chief of Staff during Lord Kitchener's term, gave proof of his thorough knowledge of Indian conditions and his exceptional powers as a Military administrator.

The position of Indians in South Africa had for some time been causing deep concern in India. This is not the place to go into that question. Their position has been somewhat mended. But much more remains to be done before they can be said to possess the rights of British citizenship. But the whole question of the unrestricted right of immigration of Indians into South Africa, as into other parts of the Empire, still remains to be settled. But the little that has been achieved is not a little due to the efforts of the large-hearted and sympathetic statesman, whom India was privileged to have as her Viceroy at a time when the struggle took a very keen form. In the latter part of 1913, considerable feeling was aroused in India by the ill-treatment of Indian passive resisters in South Africa.

About this time, His Excellency was on a visit to Madras and inade a memorable speech vindicating the position of the passive resisters in South Africa, which has earned for him the undying