bad his Moghal Omrahs got possession of his only son Kaimurs, a boy of three years of age, and proclaimed him King under the title of Shamsuddin. They were, however, unable to maintain their ground, and in three months Firuz mounted the throne, and subsequently caused the young prince to be put to death. This statement has been repeated by all subsequent historians, except the author of the Mirat al'Alum, who, according to Mr. Thomas, changes the name of the prince, from Kaimurs to Kaikaus; and it is to this prince that I feel disposed to assign the coin under notice. Its shape, size, and style of writing are very like those of the coins of Kaikobad, its legend is mutatis mutandis the counterpart of that of the other, and its reverse has the name of the Khalif Mostásim, given in identically the same words, as on the coins of Balban and Kaikobad, while there is a strong family likeness in the names of Kaikaus, Kaimurs, Kaikobad and Kai Khusro.

The dates of the coins, however, are opposed to this assignment. The units "one" and "three," are perfectly clear, and they will not admit of our bringing the coins which bear them to the year 687, when Kaimurs was proclaimed king, even if we doubted the term for 90 (Sasayin) and read it 80 (Samanin.) The title also is opposed to my assignment. According to a contemporary historian, the prenomen of Kaimurs was Shamsuddin, while that of the Kaikaus of our coin is Ruknuddin. These difficulties, however, may be explained away. There are on record several instances in which Muhammadan Sovereigns have appeared under different prenomens at different times, and this may be one of them; and the discrepancy in the dates may be due either to the prince having lived as a fugitive much longer than Ziaa-i-Barni admits, or to a desire on the part of Nasiruddin, Governor of Bengal, to continue his allegiance to his grand son Kaimurs, even after his deposition, and possibly after his death; for he could not readily recognize the usurpation by Firuz of an empire which belonged to his family for three generations. Should this theory of mine be untenable, it will be for others to decide who this prince was, whose coin we have now on hand.

OBV. "Ul Sultan ul A'zam Ruknuddunia-o-din Abu Mozaffar Kaikaus Sultan ibn ul Sultan ibn Sultan." REV. "Ul imam ul Mustasim, Amir ul momnin Maz Zarb házeh ulsikka Sanch suls tasaayin satamaya."

The second coin I have to notice, has the name of one Ali Shah on the obverse. His prenomen was Alauddin, and he calls himself the Alexander of his age, Sekander uljeman; I have found several specimens of his coinage, but none sufficiently perfect to give me his date in full. The only word legible is Sabaamaya, or "seven hundred." Traces also are visible of a word which may be taken for arbayin, or forty, but what the unit was I cannot make out. The place of coinage was Lucknouty. Assuming upon those premises that it is a Bengal coin of the 5th decade of the 7th century, I attribute it to Aly Mubarik, the officer of Kaddar Khan, who proclaimed himself king of Bengal, in 742 Hejira, or A. D. 1342, under the prenomen of Alauddin. He was assassinated, after a reign of a year and five months by his foster brother Hajy Ilias.

The legend on the coin is as follows:-OBV. "Ul Sultan ul Azam Ala ul dunia-o-din Abul Mozaffar Ali Shah ul Sultan." REV. "Sekander ul jeman ul *** zarb ul Sikka Lakhnauti, Saneh Arbayin * Sabamaya."

I take this opportunity to exhibit two Assam silver coins, placed at my disposal by Col. Guthrie. They bear the names of Surjanárayana Deva and Surja Deva Chakradhvaja Sinha, with the Saka years 1570, 1575, or A. D. 1648 and 1653. They were the earliest Hindu Kings of Assam, but their dates had hitherto remained unsettled. James Prinsep, following the Assam Burunji of Holiráma Dhekial Fukan, placed the first Hindu King of Assam, Chakam or Jayadhvaja Sinha, in the year 1665, with a mark of interrogation after it, and a Chakradhvaja Sinha in 1621, immediately below him.

The Assam Burunji of Rádhánátha Bor Borua removes Chuhunmung alias Surjanáráyana the first Hindu Raja, to the year 1497; and then, after two Burmese names, has a Chuhingfa, alias Surjanarayana, who after two Burmese successors was followed by a Chutamla, alias Jayadhvaja Sinha, in 1658, and a Chupangmung, alias Chakradhvaja, in 1663. Chakam, alias Jayadhvaja Sinha, is said to have defeated a general of Aurungzeb, and his era, therefore, must be subsequent to 1658, and he is evidently identical with the Surjadeva Chakradhvaja Sinha of our coin, who commenced his reign before 1653. His immediate predecessor was Surjanarayana, who was probably the first convert to Hindu faith; for the first prince of that name in Rádhá

nátha's history is evidently a mistake. In his coins he invokes both

Hari and Hara for his patron divinities.

The legends of the two coins, are, 1st, of Surjanáráyana.

1ST AREA. Sri Sri Hari Haracharana parayanasya.

2ND AREA.-Sri Sri Surjanáráyana Devasya Sake 1570. 2nd, of Surjadeva.

1ST AREA.-Sri Sri Siva Rámagana parayanasya.

2nd AREA.-Sri Sri Surjadeva Chakradhvaja Sinhasya Sake 1575. A letter from Mr. Carlyle, announcing his resignation of the Curatorship, after the Dussehra holidays, which has been, accepted by the Council, was recorded.

The following resolution was proposed by the Council, expressive of the Society's recognition of Mr. Blyth's services :—

"On the eve of transferring the Zoological collections of the Society to Government, to form the nucleus of an Imperial Museum of Natural History, the Society wishes to record its sense of the important services rendered by its late Curator, Mr. Blyth, in the formation of those collections. In the period of 22 years, during which Mr. Blyth was Curator of the Society's Museum, he has formed a large and valuable series of specimens, richly illustrative of the Ornithology of India and the Burmese Peninsula, and has added largely to the Mammalian, and other vertebrate collections of the Museum; while by his numerous descriptive papers, and catalogues of the Museum specimens, he has made the materials thus amassed by him subservient to Zoological science at large, and especially valuable to those engaged in the study of the vertebrate faunas of India and its adjoining countries."

The resolution, being put to the vote, was carried unanimously. Letters from the Rev. J. Cave Browne, Lt. Col. A. Fraser, and Mr. T. Dickens, intimating their desire to withdraw from the Society, were recorded.

The following gentlemen, duly proposed at the last meeting were balloted for, and elected Ordinary Members;

Baboo Bhoodeb Mookerjee,

H. H. Locke, Esq.

The Hon'ble J. B. Phear.

Lieut. Col W. D. Short, R. E.

C. W. Hatton, Esq.

The following gentlemen were named for ballot, as ordinary members

at the next meeting.

W. Anderson, Esq., proposed by Captain W. N. Lees, seconded by Mr. H. F. Blanford.

H. Dunlop, Esq., proposed by Captain W. N. Lees, seconded by Mr. Geoghegan.

J. C. Sarkies, Esq., proposed by Mr. Woodrow, seconded by Mr. H. F. Blanford.

D. R. Onslow, Esq., proposed by Mr. Sandeman, seconded by Mr. H. F. Blanford. ·

J. H. A. Branson, Esq., proposed by Mr. Heeley, seconded by Mr. Wheeler.

Whitley Stokes, Esq., proposed by Mr. H. B. Medlicott, seconded by Mr. Heeley.

R. J. Richardson, Esq., C. S., proposed by Mr. H. F. Blanford, seconded by Mr. Heeley.

E. S. Robertson, Esq., C. S., proposed by Mr. Heeley, seconded by Dr. Colles.

E. T. Atkinson, Esq., C. S., Jaunpore, proposed by Mr. Heeley, seconded by Mr. H. F. Blanford.

The Council reported that they had elected Colonel C. Douglas to the Meteorological and Library Committees.

Communications were received :—

1. From E. Thomas, Esq., A continuation of his paper on Ancient Indian Weights.

2. From Baboo Gopee Nath Sen, Abstract of the results of the Hourly Meteorological Observations, taken at the Surveyor General's Office in July and August 1864.

3. From the Secretary Antiquarian Association of the Central provinces :

I. A Memorandum on some of the principal Hill Tribes of the Satpoora Range.

II. Notes on the Gurjat State of Patna, by Major H. B. Impey, Deputy Commissioner of Sumbulpore.

III. A letter from the Officiating Deputy Commissioner of Belaspore to the Commissioner of the Chuttesgurh Division, containing a History of the Hey Hey Bunsee Dynasty of Ruttenpore.

4. From Captain H. H. Godwin-Austen, F. R. G. S., description of a mystery play as performed in Ladak, Zaskar, &c.

The Librarian submitted a report of the accessions to the Library since the meeting held in July last.

Captain Godwin-Austen's paper was read by the Secretary. He stated that mystery plays were enacted in the principal monasteries of Ladak, in the spring and autumn of each year. He saw the performance in the monastery of Hinnis, situated in a ravine opening on the Indus, a day's journey above Leh. Captain Austen describes the monastery and its furniture at some detail, and proceeds to analyse the performance, which commenced with a dance to music of masked figures, in an extraordinary costume, with the device of a skull upon the breast; each dancer also held a ladle, made of a human skull, with long streamers of silk attached to it. To this succeeded other dances, the masks being frequently changed; one set had the third eye in the centre of the forehead, which is the mark of a deity; others were jesters or harlequins; others represented the Court of Indra; and the scene closed with a dance of death," the performers in which were got up to represent skeletons. Captain Austen's paper was illustrated by stereoscopic views of the various tableaux, taken by Captain A. B. Melville, and which had been previously exhibited to the Society, and was accompanied by a translation of a MS. obtained in Ladak, and furnishing directions to dancers.

66

Captain Lees said, "I was asked a question at our last meeting by the Hon'ble George Campbell, whose attention had been attracted by the following passage in Purchas' travels in India during the reign of Akbar:

"In his Treasurie of Agra are in gold of Seraffins Ecberi (which are ten Rupias a piece) three score Leckes. Of another sort, which are one thousand Rupias each, twentie thousand pieces; and ten thousand of another sort, halfe the value. Of Toles (enery tole is a Rupia of siluer, and ten of those toles is the value of one of gold) thirtie thousand. Of another sort of ten toles, five and twentie thousand; of another sort of five toles, fiftie thousand.'

"The learned gentleman wished to know, with reference to the proposed introduction of a gold currency into India, whether the coin here alluded to under the name Seraffin, the value of which would