TALES OF IND,

BY T. RAMAKRISHNA, B.A.

With an Introduction by the Hon. the Rev. W. MILLER, M.A., LL.D.,
C.I.E., and dedicated, by permission, to the late Lord Tennyson, Poet
Laureate.

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OPINIONS.

They are interesting and remarkable.--_Lord Tennyson_.

It is a great pleasure to me to find that a native of South India has so
distinguished himself.--_The Right Hon. Sir M.E. Grant Duff, G.C.S.I._

It is not often that natives succeed so well as you have done in English
versification.--_H.H. Kerala Varma, C.S.I._

Krishnapore irresistibly reminds us of Auburn, the fortunes of Seeta are
in many respects not unlike those of Evangeline, and some forms of
expression seem to be coined in the mint of Tennyson.... These tales
possess peculiar interest as first-fruits in poetic literature of that
amalgamation of Eastern and Western thought that is going on before us
at the present day in this country. They are tales of India, descriptive
of Indian scenery, and marked by many traits both of custom and of
feeling that are characteristic of India.... These tales--tales of
woman's constancy and woman's heroism--are pleasing in themselves; and
the language in which they are told is simple, imaginative, and marked
by a well-sustained melody. The tales are dedicated to Lord Tennyson by
"His Lordship's ardent admirer in the Far East"; and certainly they move
in the atmosphere of the Tennysonian idyll.--_Madras Christian College
Magazine_.

Much of the versification is very pleasing, and where it is best, it
has a decided ring of Tennyson in it.... The author possesses true
poetical genius.--_Calcutta Statesman and Friend of India_.

SEETA AND RAMA:--The story is pretty, though simple. In parts, moreover,
the author, who is anonymous, displays the true spirit of poetry, which
he (or she) will do well to cultivate.... The tributes of respect for
the heroism, purity, and constancy of women which are found in Mr.
Ramakrishna's poems are in accordance with the teaching of the
Mahabarata, as well as the spirit of the Laureate's verse. Added to this
very engaging feature of his work, there is a power of description that
is very remarkable in a man to whom English is not his mother tongue.
For example, "Seeta and Rama" commences with the following
vignette:--... "All this is in excellent taste. And the same may be said
of his delineations of character. He is never wearisome or tri