tablet there; which dates not earlier than the fourth century of our era. 2nd. The existence in Hamaiyaric of three quiescent letters used by the Syriac as vowels, and the change of Ain into a, i, or u, a practice which had not existence prior to the commencement of the Christian era. 3rd. The striking similarity between the ancient Hamaiyaric and alphabetic characters of the modern Ethiopic, which had not an antiquity greater than the time of Frumentius; while the probability is, that it is considerably later, or about A.D. 508, while Philoxenus translated the Scriptures into Syriac, and adopted the system of the Greek vowels. 4th. The introduction into Hamaiyaric of three, if not four, additional letters to express Greek sounds, which differed from those of the Hebrew or Phoenician. 5th. The figure of a cross accompanies most of the inscriptions from southern Arabia, and is very apparent below the Hisn Ghorab inscription, indicating its comparatively recent and Christian character. Such seem to me strong reasons for differing from Mr. Forster, and from his system of reading the inscriptions from right to left, instead of from left to right, as in modern Ethiopic.

At some future time I will return to this subject.

GRATITUDE OF NATIVES OF INDIA.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR,-I look upon the inclosed, which I have just received, as so signal an instance of the grateful feelings which I have on very many occasions found to prevail in the hearts of worthy natives of Bengal, that I send it to you, in the hope that you will find it worthy of a conspicuous place in your Journal, which, being read with avidity by both natives and Europeans in India, may be the means of spreading far and wide the evidence that the finer feelings of our nature may be found to exist with just as much warmth and truth under a coloured as under a white skin.

I should add, that the writer was originally but a poor copier of letters in the late Mr. Palmer's office, upon a very small salary, and that he rose to the higher consideration of his employers by his great assiduity, his ever active zeal, and exemplary conduct under all those who, like myself, were fortunate enough to have possessed his services.

75, Old Broad Street, 22nd March, 1845.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

WM. PRINSep.

Calcutta, 5th February, 1845.

To William Prinsep, Esq., &c. &c., London. Honoured Sir,-With the greatest respect and submission, I most humbly beg leave to submit a copy of the account of a tank I have excavated for the use of the public, as an humble tribute to my ever-esteemed and revered worthy patron, the late John Palmer, Esq., which I shall esteem it a particular favour (in addition to the numbers your Honour was graciously pleased to confer on me and my eldest, the late Anundchunder Mozendar, your old private writer,) if your Honour will be so generously disposed as to get it inserted in

any public journal in England, for the information of that gentleman's numerous friends now residing there, and order a copy of that day's paper in which the said account may appear to be sent out to me at the office of the Board of Customs, Salt, and Opium, by the following mail for Bengal.

Hoping this will reach and find your Honour and every other member of that worthy family in perfect enjoyment of health, which is the constant prayer of, Honoured Sir,

Your most grateful and ever-obliged servant and ward,

GUNGAPERSAUD MOZENDAR.

JOHN PALMER'S TANK.

On the 6th February, 1836, Sir Charles D'Oyly, Bart., was pleased to convene a meeting at the Town Hall for the purpose of raising funds to erect a suitable monument to the memory of the late John Palmer, Esq., when the gentlemen present resolved upon having a bust of the deceased put up in the Town Hall.

The undersigned, on that occasion, took the liberty to address the chairman of the above committee, urging upon his attention that, in addition to Mr. Palmer's bust, something more characteristic of his known benevolence should be provided for to perpetuate his revered memory also among the natives, and suggested accordingly that a separate fund should be raised among those natives to whom Mr. Palmer had ever proved a liberal, a most generous, and steady friend. For this purpose, the undersigned opened a subscription among some of his particular friends. The object proposed had not, however, met with the encouragement naturally to have been expected from the class alluded to; for, of the vast numbers of natives who owe their prosperity in life to the munificent patronage of the late Mr. J. Palmer, it is painful to record that only the following have thought the proposed object worthy of their support, viz.

This amount, however, was by no means adequate to meet the expenses of the undertaking: a sum of Rs.700 [was] then wanted to complete the funds requi. site for the purpose. Providence had since been pleased to put it in the power of the undersigned to provide this additional sum. He had hitherto been fortunate to have his salary increased by his present liberal supporter from Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 per mensem, and he appropriated the increase so obtained for the first twelve months to the funds in question, together with the amount of a donation (Rs. 100) given to him by the Board of Customs, Salt, and Opium, for the advancement of public interests. The undersigned having secured a spot of ground, measuring 5 biggahs and 1 cottah, at Sookchur, on the Barrackpore-road, adjoining to the Semaphoric Telegraph there, for the purpose digging a tank to the memory of the late Mr. Palmer, which is considered to

of

be the source of great convenience and accommodation to the inhabitants of Sookchur and other adjacent villages, as well as those who frequent the roads, at neither of which places is there any tank at present. The work was commenced upon on the 22nd January last, the anniversary day of Mr. P.'s demise, and has lately been completed, with an additional cost of Rs.198. 12a. 4p. still remaining due for materials supplied for erecting a pucka ghaut, &c., is also to be liquidated by the undersigned.

GUNGAPERSAUD MOZENDAR,

An assistant of the late John Palmer, Esq.

Calcutta, the 22nd Jan, 1845.

PERSIAN POETRY.

TO THE EDITOR.

DEAR SIR,-I send you a short passage which I met with in the Yusuf of Jami. Amidst much that is rude metaphor, surely there is much that is just and fine, particularly towards the end. Literally translated, it is as follows:

The heavens are a point from the pen of God's perfection;
The world is a bud from the bower of his beauty;

The sun is a spark from the light of his wisdom,

And the sky is a bubble on the sea of his power.
His beauty is free from the spot of sin.

Hidden in the thick veil of darkness,

He made mirrors of the atoms of the world,

And threw a reflection from his own face on every atom !

To thy clear-seeing eye, whatsoever is fair,

When thou see'st it, is a reflection from his face.

Surely there is something beyond mere Oriental bombast in this: Coleridge has an idea very like that at the conclusion.

FROM JAMI.

فلک یک نکته از کل کمالش جهان یک غنچه از باغ جمالش ز نور حکمتش خورشید تابي ز بحر قدرتش گردون حبابي جمالش بود پاک از تهمت عیب پرده غیب نهفته در حجاب ز ذرات جهان اینها ساخت ز روی خود بهریک عکس انداخت بچشم تیز بینت هرچه نیکوست جو نیکو بنگري عکس رخ او

ست

I am, dear Sir, yours faithfully,

Ipswich, April 14, 1845.
Asiat.Journ.N.S. VOL.I.No.1.

E. B. CowEll.

E

Notices of Books.

I. Travels in India, including the Punjab. By Captain LEOPOLD VON ORLICH. Translated from the German, by H. EVANS LLOYD, Esq. Two vols. London, 1845. Longman and Co.

THE observations of intelligent foreign travellers upon scenes familiar to us from the descriptions of our own countrymen are read by us with interest, because they examine them through different media, and receive different impressions from the same objects. In this point of view, Captain Von Orlich's work must be regarded not as a mere account of the countries he traversed, which scarcely lie out of the range of ordinary travellers in the East, and which have been repeatedly described, but as a vehicle for the opinions of a distinguished foreigner, in letters addressed to such personages as Alexander Von Humboldt and Carl Ritter, a fact which, as Mr. Lloyd, the translator, observes, "would of itself be sufficient to guarantee their inherent importance." This consideration imparted so much value to the letters of M. Jacquemont; those of Captain Von Orlich, though not so sprightly as the French writer's, are more truthful and accurate in their details.

The author's motive for visiting India was a wish to acquire military experience in the British army in that country, when about to enter, as he expected, upon a second campaign in Affghanistan. He arrived there, however, only to witness the return of our victorious troops, and their triumphant entry into Ferozepore. He, therefore, diverted his attention from warlike occupations to visiting various parts of the country, including Scinde and the Punjab.

As his visit to Lahore took place prior to the revolutions which have swept away all the remarkable personages who figured upon that sanguinary stage after the exit of Runjeet Sing, he has been able to present us with portraits of their appearance and characters, which include Shere Sing, Dheean Sing, and Heera Sing. "Dheean Sing," he observes, "now (in 1843) the all-powerful minister of the kingdom, is almost the unlimited master of the mountainous country, and has his own troops and his own artillery: in his little forts, built on high rocks, he feels himself secure and independent, and bids defiance to every person or power that attempts to rival him." Yet his "security" and his "independence" have been equally fleeting. Captain Von Orlich describes Dheean as a remarkably handsome man. "When I saw him galloping at full speed on his bay horse, with a golden bridle and a panther skin, and a staff in his right hand, I could have fancied I saw one of the heroes of antiquity." His son, Heera Sing, then the commanderin-chief of the army, Captain Von Orlich describes as a vain, ignorant young man, carried away by the impulse of the moment, and who would be quite capable of betraying his own father;" as "disliked, besides, by the army, on account of his overbearing, tyrannical conduct." Our author had a conversation with Heera, who spoke English, and said he had a great desire to become acquainted with Europe, upon

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which Captain Von Orlich offered to accompany him thither. His reply is remarkable, especially considering what his fate has been:"Alas! alas! I dare not leave my country; I am undone if I turn my back upon it."

The opinion of our author as to the ultimate appropriation of the Punjab is very plainly and candidly expressed :

So much for this remarkable kingdom, which must soon become a question of life and death for the British power in India. Unless possessed of this, there is no security:-the Indus above Attock, with the mountain chain beyond Peshawur, and the Himalaya mountains, form the true and natural frontier of the immense dominions of the British empire in India. When once this has been attained, all her powers can be concentrated in the interior, and civilization take root and flourish.

The grand and touching spectacle of the reception of the victorious armies from Affghanistan is well described. Captain Von Orlich rode with Lord Ellenborough upon his elephant to meet the brigade of General Sale.

The army of reserve lined the road on both sides, and close to the bridges stood two hundred elephants, richly trapped and painted. On Lord Ellenborough's approach, these sagacious animals saluted him, by kneeling down and raising their trunks in the air, a mark of respect which they had been taught by their mahouts. The bridges were adorned with flags and streamers; and at the side of one of them a gallery was erected, under which we took our places. Several Indian princes, and many ladies on elephants and on horseback, imparted a picturesque and poetic charm to the scene.

At eight o'clock General Sale's brigade defiled, the bands playing "God save the Queen," amid the thunder of the artillery and the enthusiastic cheers of the army. A joyous, yet affecting, sensation pervaded the whole assembly, when the officers and soldiers, led by the heroine of the day, Lady Sale, mounted on a magnificent elephant, saluted their friends. The brave warriors who followed shewed not a trace either of the privations of a protracted siege, or of the fatigues of a long march. In the rear of the troops came the baggage, the whole presenting the most strange, but most faithful picture, of a march of crusaders. Invalids mounted on elephants and camels, and others, more seriously ill, in palanquins or doolees; camels, oxen, and asses heavily laden; here an Affghan female closely veiled, with trellis embroidery before her eyes, and wrapped in a white robe, which merely exposed her small feet, covered with gold-embroi❤ dered slippers; there a mother with her child on a camel; children on ponies, fondling a cat or a dog, or watching pigeons and fowls in baskets; fettered game-cocks and fighting rams; men, women, and children in the strangest costumes; Affghan chiefs with their families; merchants and servants of the most diverse nations and professions; flocks of sheep and goats, and waggons drawn slowly by oxen. The passage of this motley train of one brigade, across both the bridges, lasted full four hours!

The rest of the work is chiefly occupied with his journey, along with the Governor-General, through the Upper Provinces, visiting Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, &c. He possessed excellent opportunities for observing the remarkable objects at the different places, but his descriptions,