to make some relaxations of strict critical canons in favour of lady writers. We are not inclined do courtenance such partiality, nor is there any necessity for it, in the present case. Basanta Utsab can stand upon its own merits.
This charming little work is, we understand, the production of a Bengali lady, otherwise known as the authoress of Dip Nirban. It has an immense interest for us. Written by a lady belonging to an illustrious family in Bengal, it shows, in the clearest manner possible, the many advantages to be derived from a superior order of mental training among females.
The number of operatic pieces in Bengali is shows, much less the number of good and readable But here we have a work containing a number of exquiste songs. The scenes are all well. conceived. And we are of opinion that its production is a marked indication of a cultivated mind and refined taste, so rarely to be met with in the ordinary run of Bengali operas. We to say Basanta Utsab is the best of its kind in the Bengali language. The song serving as dedi-
