K. a. XXV. a. ) 6, BIHARI LAL MITRA AS AN AUTHOR. Partition and litigation have played great havoe on the estate from 1810; yet Bihari Lal Mitra is not an ordinary man either in point of wealth or in point of social position, public spirit, education and gentlemanly accomplishments. The solid com. , mon sense which he has inherited from his great ancestor is displayed in almost every page of his book, the “Mysteries of Nature.” Besides this, he has many works about which we remain silent at present. Though in going through it we are frequently forced to confess that the manner he has adopted to express himself is often too deep for our limited understanding, yet on the whole we can appreciate the vast learning of the author, the sound views he has formed on the various subjects which now agitate the public mind, and the boldness he bas shewn in giving utterance to them, though they are likely to give a rude shock to the reveries o many of his countrymen. For instance, he ridicules the agitation set on foot by some of his caste fellows to call themselves Kshatriyas, to invest themselves with the sacred thread, and to assume the surname of Varma, or "Wearer of coat of mail." He goes to the root of the matter and sees that even if they were originally of the warrior habit, yet after so many generations of writer-dom, they can now be recognised only as Bratya or fallen Kshatriyas. Will
