LITERARY INTELLIGENCE, CORRESPONDENCE, &c.

Dr. Weber writes to Mr. Cowell from Berlin, November 9th, 1863. "Out of the many interesting news contained in your letter of June 5th, that about the Elliot collection of course claims the greatest attention. Mr. Austin's estimate for the cost of printing appears exceedingly moderate. Your Sanskrit College edition of the Siddhánta Kaumudi will be welcomed very heartily, as it may be used as a textbook in our Universities' Sanskrit Courses. The Nágánanda too will be very welcome. Your translation of the Kusumánjali must be hard work and will do us a great service.

Bána's Harshacharitra is a work which seems of the utmost importance, to judge after the notices which we owe to Dr. Hall about it. I cannot as yet reconcile myself to the idea that the author of such a dull and clumsy work as the Kádambarí, should have lived in the seventh century, before Bhavabhúti wrote his dramas, which indeed show already symptoms enough of a kindred style, but still appear in that regard more to resemble a weak stem, whereas a Kádambari is to be likened to a nyagrodha-wilderness.

66

The second part of M. Pictet's " Origines Indo-europeennes" has now appeared. It is a great pity that he is no better Sanskrit scholar. The principles laid out and followed throughout his work are the very best, his assiduity and ardour deserve the highest praise, but the results, alas, are rather too often of a too questionabie character to admit of acknowledgment or adoption. Professor Spiegel has just now published a series of old and new papers on Erán" (this is the title of his book): two of them on the relation of the Avesta to the Veda and to the Genesis will be of particular interest: I have not yet read them, but I saw Spiegel in Meissen and we spoke to him about these themes. That meeting in Meissen was a very interesting one, forty members of our German Oriental Society being present (a larger number, than ever hitherto). Professor Wright is now to print under the patronage of our Society an old Arabian grammar, the Kámil of al-Mubarrad (about 800 pages quarto). Dieterici is occupied with his translation of the treatises of the Ikhwan uç çafá. Gosche has given out a prospectus for an edition of the Mufadhdhaliyát, a collection of old Arabic poetry. Amari's publication of the state documents of

Emil

treaties between Venice etc. and the Moslems is highly praised. Schlagintweit's Buddhism in Tibet with a copious Atlas of original drawings and pictures from the temple shrines of Tibet (representing Buddhist gods, saints and symbols) is a work of great interest. Curious enough, I found among these pictures the exact counterpart to a stone figure of Mañjuçri, deposited now in our Royal Museum here, but imported from Java, and containing two Sanskrit inscriptions in old character (from Çaka 1265), a decyphering and translation of which Dr. Friederich left with me (for the Journal of our Society) on his departure for Java at the end of February last. Five centuries between, and still the same picture in Java and in Tibet,-this is indeed a mark of much tenacity to the old form of representing this deity (or half god), and at the same time also an evidence for its even much higher antiquity. The last proof sheet of the Petersburg Worterbuch went to q and I think that number 5 of the fourth volume will soon be ready. The twelfth vol. of Kuhn's Zeitschrift fur vergleichende Sprachforschung is finished. It is a great pity, that Kuhn has not more leisure to devote to his studies on comparative mythology he is professor at a Gymnasium (high school) and his time very much restricted. Windischmann's Zoroastrische Studien (edited by Spiegel) is a very excellent work. The author (a Catholic clergyman of high distinction in Munich) combined Burnouf's method with a very deep and successful study of the Pehlvi literature: his premature death is a great loss for science. The first volume of Boehtlingk's collection of Sanskrit "Sprüche" appeared in July: to the text (alphabetically arranged) is added the translation, and at the foot the enumeration of all the passages, where the verse is occurring, and the varietas lectionis. The second part is to contain the rest (from ч to ▼) and ample indices to the whole.

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,

FOR NOVEMBER, 1863.

The monthly general meeting of the Society was held on the 4th instant.

E. C. Bayley, Esq., President, in the chair.

The proceedings of the last meeting were read and confirmed.
Presentations were received-

1. From His Highness the Maharajah of Benares, a copy of the Rev. M. A. Sherring's lecture on " Benares and its Antiquities."

2. From Baboo Rajendra Mallika, a dead blue and yellow Macaw. 3. From His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, a meteorie stone, which fell at Shytal near Dacca, on the 11th August, the fall of which was announced at the last meeting.

4. From Prince Mohammad Jallaluddin, a specimen of a dead snake -Bungarus Candidus.

5. From Colonel R. C. Tytler, a collection of zoological specimens, 6. From His Excellency the Viceroy, a stone Buddhist figure, with an inscription, from Sahet Mahet, the ancient Srávasti.

The President announced that a pension of £150 a year had been granted to the Society's Curator, Mr. E. Blyth, to take effect from the 1st January, 1863.

READ LETTERS.

From Colonel J. C. Haughton to the President, giving an account of a large collection of coins lately found at a place called Gosain Maree, about 14 miles S. S. W. frem Cooch Behar.

From Captain Speke, acknowledging the vote of thanks of the Society, and announcing his proposed expedition to discover the source of the Congo.

From Captain H. H. Godwin Austen, giving an account of the discovery of some coins at Islamabad.

From R. H. Barnes, Esq., returning thanks to the Society for his election as a corresponding member.

A letter from Dr. G. Gordon, intimating his desire to withdraw from the Society, was recorded.

The following gentlemen, duly proposed at the last meeting were balloted for and elected ordinary members :

Dr. J. McLelland; W. P. Duff, Esq.; Dr. Ferd. Stoliczka; R. T. Martin, Esq.; Major J. G. Gowan; Baboo Modhoosoodun Doss, and H. D. Sandeman, Esq.

The following gentlemen were named for ballot as ordinary members at the next meeting :

:

The Rev. M. D. C. Walters, Chaplain of Calcutta, proposed by Mr. Cowell and seconded by Mr. Grote.

A. G. Walker, Esq., proposed by Major Layard and seconded by Colonel Gastrell.

T. Dickens, Esq., Barrister-at-law, proposed by Mr. Blanford and seconded by Mr. H. C. Sutherland.

J. Forsyth, Esq., Bengal Staff Corps, proposed by Mr. R. A. Sterndale and seconded by Mr. Blanford.

The Rev. Mr. Corbyn introduced some aborigines of the Andaman Islands, and gave an interesting account of these people, with a short narrative of the circumstances which have led to the establishment of a friendly feeling between them and the settlers.

Thanks were unanimously voted to Mr. Corbyn for his interesting account of the Aborigines of the Andaman Islands.

After a few preliminary remarks on the ethnology of the Andamanese, Mr. Blanford stated that he was doubtful whether the intercourse opened will tend eventually to the civilization of the natives of the Andamans. He stated that the history of the New Zealanders and other barbarous people in Australia and America sufficiently warrants us to assume the broad fact that when two different races in very different states of civilization come in contact with one another, the more powerful race exterminates the less powerful, and that civilization, to be permanent, must be attained by gradual steps and mainly be developed from within, foreign influence being but a secondary agent.

Mr. Cowell could not concur in the opinion of Mr. Blanford; on the contrary he believed that history generally bears out the fact that nations cannot rise in civilization without an influence ab extra. He quoted some instances from ancient history in support of this view.

The President remarked that without entering into the abstract question raised by Mr. Blanford, it might perhaps be doubted if the facts cited by him fully warranted in their entirety the conclusions at which he had arrived.

No doubt it was unfortunately true that in the majority of cases in which a race of high civilization had come into contact with another of a very inferior civilization, the result had been fatal to the latter. It was unnecessary here to discuss the causes which had contributed to produce this effect. The President, however, would call the attention of the meeting to one instance which he believed proved at least that an exception might exist to the general rule. The Laps whom Mr. Blanford had cited as forming a part of the same brachycephalic family to which the Andamanese belonged, had been for some time (for more at least than a century and a half) in contact on either side with Swedish and Russian civilization, and however it might be the fashion to decry the character of the latter, there could in reality be no doubt that it was civilization of the highest order, especially in that part of Russia which bordered on the territory of the Laps.

Now, the result had certainly not been in this case the extermination of the Laps; indeed, though not speaking on accurate information, the President believed that the Laps had neither diminished in numbers nor deteriorated in condition, since the commencement of the last century.

But whatever might be the opinion of the meeting on the merits of Mr. Blanford's general proposition, it was important to remember that in the present case the question was not whether or not we should leave the Andamanese alone, for the commencement of our intercourse with them was unavoidable. These islands lie in the very track of a very important and daily increasing line of commerce. They contain what are in reality the only harbours of refuge within the Bay of Bengal. It had been already constantly pressed upon Government that it was their duty for the protection of these our subjects, and those of other nations trading in these seas to reclaim these Islands now abandoned to a barbarous and hostile population. No doubt these considerations have sooner or later made interference inevitable. The establishment of a penal colony which the necessities of jail discipline in India had compelled Government to form, only hastened the event.