of early Indian chronology; and I believe that by thus publicly stating my views on these points, we shall the sooner arrive at the truth, as probably others will now be led to think upon the subject, who would otherwise perhaps have passed it entirely over as a matter that was undisputed, and therefore finally settled.

In his next work, entitled "Picturesque Illustrations of Ancient Architecture in India," Mr. Fergusson makes use of the same principles of characteristic differences and similarities of style to fix the dates of the mediæval temples of the Brahmans and Jains. Here I agree with him throughout; for the process of deduction is now perfectly trustworthy, being founded on actual dates, as there is a sufficient number of structural temples of the Jains and Brahmans of known age to furnish us with data for determining very closely the ages of uninscribed buildings. This is specially noteworthy in the case of the rock-cut Brahmanical temples of Dhamnâr, which, from their general style, Mr. Fergusson has assigned to the eighth or ninth century,* a date which must be very close to the truth, as I found a statue in one of the smaller temples inscribed with characters which certainly belong to that period. The examples of Indian architecture given by Mr. Fergusson in this work are very fine and choice, especially the rich temple at Chandrâvati, which I have seen, and which I agree with him in thinking "the most elegant specimen of columnar architecture in Upper India."

In his "Handbook of Architecture (1855) he has given a classification of all the different Indian styles, both Hindu and Muhammadan, which is considerably enlarged and improved in his later work, the "History of Architecture" (1867). In the latter we have the matured result of a long and critical study of the subject. The classification is complete and comprehensive, and though perhaps exception may be taken to one or two of the names, yet it is difficult to find others that would be better. The limited space at his command has obliged him to treat each different style very briefly, but the distinctions are so broadly and clearly defined in the typical examples selected for illustration, that I cannot help feeling impatient for the appearance

*Rock-cut Temples of India, p. 44.

of his great work, the "Illustrated History of Indian Architecture," which he originally projected more than a quarter of a century ago, and for which, during the whole of that time, he has been assiduously collecting materials.

Mr. Fergusson's last work, named "Tree and Serpent Worship" is the most sumptuously illustrated work on Indian antiquities that has yet been published. In it he gives a description of the two richly-sculptured Stupas of Sânchi and Amaravati, with a profusion of excellent illustrations from Colonel Maisey's accurate drawings and Captain Waterhouse's photographs of the former, and from Colonel Mackenzie's drawings, and the actual bas-reliefs of the latter which are now in London. Mr. Fergusson has accepted my dates for the Sânchi Tope and its gateways, namely, B. C. 250, during the reign of Asoka for the former, and the first century A. D. for the latter; but the Amaravati Tope he places three hundred years later, in the first half of the fourth century A. D. I understand that he has been led to adopt this difference of age chiefly on account of the difference of style which he has observed in the sculptures of the two monuments. I must confess that this great difference of style is not palpable to me. On the contrary, from the similar dress of the men, and the similar general nakedness of the women, save only the peculiar belt of five rows of beads, the sculptures of the two monuments appear to me to be of much the same age. I draw the same conclusion also from the inscriptions which are undoubtedly of the same age as those of the caves of Kânhari and of the Sânchi Tope Gateways. As I have already pointed out, there are in the Kânhari caves two inscriptions of Pudumayi, the son of Vâsithi, in exactly the same characters as those of Ananda, the son of Vâsithi, on the south gateway of the Sânchi Tope. I conclude, therefore, with some certainty, that Pudumayi and Ananda were brothers; and consequently I refer all the inscriptions of the King Gotamiputra Satakarni and his successors Pudumayi and Yâdnya Sri to the first and second centuries A. D. As by far the greater number of the Amaravati inscriptions are in exactly the same characters, it seems almost certain that they must belong to the same period. This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that Buddhist coins of all these three Princes have been found at Amaravati, with types and inscriptions which range them as

contemporaries of the Satrap Chiefs of Surashtra. Mr. Fergusson has adopted the statement of the Purânas, that the Andhras ruled over Magadha in succession to the Kanwas; but this position is quite untenable, as we know from Pliny that at this very time the Prasii, that is the people of Palasaka or Magadha, were dominant on the Ganges, and possessed an army six times greater than that of the Andaræ Indi.*

With respect to the title of this last work of Mr. Fergusson," Tree and Serpent Worship,"-I submit that it is not borne out by the illustrations; and further, that, as serpent-worship was antagonistic to Buddhism, such a title is not applicable to a description of the religious scenes sculptured on a Buddhist Stupa. I can perceive no serpentworship in these illustrations. On the contrary, I find that the Nagas are generally doing homage to Buddha, in perfect accordance with all the Buddhist legends, which invariably represent the Nâgas as at first the bitter enemies of Buddha. Afterwards, when converted by his preaching, they became his staunchest adherents, and are specially stated to have formed canopies over his head with their hoods to protect him from the sun and rain. The presence of Nágas in the Amaravati sculptures is only natural, as the king of the country and his subjects are described in all the legends as Nagas. In the sculptures, therefore, the king and his women are generally represented with serpent hoods; but, as far as I have observed, they are invariably the worshippers of Buddha, and not the objects of worship.

On these two points I am sorry to be obliged to differ from Mr. Fergusson. But neither of them affects the main purpose of the work, which is devoted to the illustration and restoration of the Amaravati Tope. This work he has done most thoroughly, and I accept his restoration as almost certain.

MARKHAM KITTOE was already known for his architectural taste by his design for the little church at Jonpur, and his drawings of Muhammadan buildings, when, towards the close of 1836, the march of his regiment from the Upper Provinces to Medinipur brought him through Calcutta,

* James Prinsep saw that these Successive dynasties of the Purânas must have been parallel or contemporary.-Journal, Bengal Asiatic Society, 1838, p. 347.

where he first saw James Prinsep. He was then engaged in the preparation of a work, which apppeared in 1838, under the title of "Illustrations of Indian Architecture." The work was chiefly valuable for its illustrations, of which many have now been superseded by photographs. Kittoe's antiquarian zeal and architectural knowledge were strong recommendations to James Prinsep, who induced him to pay a visit to the Khandagiri rock to examine the inscription in old Pali characters, of which Stirling had published a poor and imperfect copy in the Asiatic Researches. The result was an excellent copy of a very important inscription of King Aira, and the discovery of one of Asoka's edicts at Dhauli, with sketches of the more important caves and principal sculptures.

Kittoe's services were warmly acknowledged by James Prinsep in the Journal of the Asiatic Society, and also in a letter to me of 4th November 1837, in which he mentions "a beautifully illustrated journal from poor Kittoe," and begs me to "keep an eye to his interests, for he would be an invaluable antiquarian traveller." At this time Kittoe was temporarily removed from the army for bringing indiscreet charges of oppression against his Commanding Officer, for which there was but little foundation save in his own over-sensitive disposition. Through Prinsep's influence he was appointed Secretary of the Coal Committee, which led to his extended tour through Orissa, the results of which were published in the Bengal Asiatic Society's Journal for 1838 and 1839. He was afterwards restored to his position in the army, and appointed to the charge of one of the Divisions of the High Road from Calcutta to Bombay, leading through Chutia Nagpur.

For several years he was employed in the uncongenial work of a Road Officer, and it was not until 1846 that he had the opportunity of returning to his archæological researches. In doing so he felt that he was partly carrying out the wishes of James Prinsep, "who oft expressed a wish that he should ramble over the district of Bihâr, and cater for him."* During 1846 and 1847, he accordingly travelled over a great part of the districts of Bihâr and Shâhâbâd, and added much valuable information to our knowledge of

*Bengal Asiatic Society's Journal, 1847, p. 273.

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their antiquities. But his chief aim seems to have been to make a large collection of drawings of choice specimens of sculpture with a view to future publication. In following out this plan much of his valuable time was wasted in making drawings of sculptures and architectural ornaments, many of which photography has since given us finer and even more detailed copies. But no less praise is due to him for the unwearied industry and patience with which he performed his self-appointed task, the results of which now form a valuable collection of about one hundred and fifty drawings belonging to the library of the East India Museum.

About this time, through the influence of Mr. Thomason, Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces, Kittoe was appointed " Archæological Enquirer" to Government, on a salary of Rs. 250 a month. Whilst engaged on this work he was requested to prepare a design for the proposed Sanskrit College at Banâras. His design was approved; and, when the building was fairly begun, Kittoe was obliged to reside altogether at Banâras to superintend its construction. With this work he was fully occupied during the remainder of his career, his only archæological researches being some rather extensive excavations at Sârnâth, where he uncovered a complete monastery, and added considerably to his collection of sculpture drawings. work at the College was severe, as he had to model most of the mouldings with his own hands. On the 19th May 1852, he wrote to me "Oh how I wish the College were out of hand, that I might set to work and compile my drawings and papers into some shape." When I saw Kittoe at Gwalior in September 1852, he spoke despondingly of himself. His health was evidently much impaired, and he complained of headache and want of appetite.

The

He was sick of the drudgery of the college work; and in the beginning of 1853 his health completely broke down, and he was compelled to seek for change of air in England. On the 2nd of February he gave a lecture in Calcutta before the Asiatic Society on the antiquities of Sârnâth, and exhibited to the meeting his collection of sculpture drawings. The voyage to England did him no good, and on his arrival he was so ill that he saw no one, and, as one of his friends informed me, "he went straight to his home and died" in