* * * * *

Again, many poems belong to the realm of physical and descriptive geography.  Their source, in most cases, was undoubtedly the great geographical work of Ritter.  To it may be referred the majority of the purely descriptive poems, e.g., “Das ewige Fruehlingsland der Tudas,” p. 301 (op. cit. iv. 1. 951), “Das Fruehlingsland Kaschmir,” p. 315 (ibid. ii. 1142 and 630), “Die Kokospalme,” p. 304 (ibid. iv. 1. 834 seq., 838, 851, 852).  The sun and moon lotuses, so famous through Heine’s beautiful songs (see p. 58), are described on p. 343.  Animal-life also comes in for its share, e.g. the ichneumon in “Instinctive Heilkunde der Tiere,” p. 336.

* * * * *

Lastly, we come to the historical group, poems relating to the history of India.  The poem on the burning of Keteus’ wife, p. 382, is evidently inspired by the reading of Diodorus Siculus (xix. 33).  On page 311 we have a poem celebrating the valor of the Raja Pratap Singh, who held out so bravely against Akbar in the mountain fastnesses of Citor, 1567.[184] The heroic queen-regent of Ahmadnagar, Chand Bibi, and the romantic story of her struggle against Akbar, in 1596, is the subject of the poem on p. 353.  Only the bright side is, however, presented; the tragic fate which overtook the unfortunate princess three years later is not referred to.[185] The famous battle of Samugarh, 1658, by which Aurangzib gained the Mogul Empire, is narrated on p. 310, according to the account of Bernier.[186] In this connection we may also mention “Das Mikroskop,” p. 370, the familiar anecdote of the Brahman who refused to drink water, after the microscope had revealed to him the existence therein of countless animalcules (Ritter, Erdk. iv. 1. p. 749).

* * * * *

Besides the poems falling under the groups discussed above there are many of purely didactic or moralizing tendency, embodying general reflections.  It would take us too far, were we to attempt to discuss them, even if their interest were sufficiently great to repay the trouble.  We must, however, point out that even the Sanskrit vocabulary is impressed into service to furnish material for such poems.  Thus the fact that the word pada may mean either “foot,” “step,” or “ray of the moon or sun,” is utilized for the last lines of “Vom Monde,” p. 368.  The meaning of the term bakravratin, “acting like a crane,” applied to a hypocrite, is used for a poem on p. 363.  Similarly the threefold signification of dvipa as “brahman,” “bird,” and “tooth” suggests “Zweigeboren,” p. 423, and more instances might be adduced.  It is not to be wondered at that such poetizing should often degenerate into the most inane trifling, so that we get such rhyming efforts as that on p. 326 with its pun on the similarity of hima “winter” with hema “gold,” Himalaya and himavat with Himmel and Heimat, or that on p. 385 with its childish juxtaposition of the Vedantic term maya, the Greek name Maia, and the German word Magie.