or in the social and religious institutions of the Rajpoots, the Germans, and the Scandinavians:-do what the Colonel will, the Rajpoot most provokingly remains a Hindu, and nothing but a Hindu."

I have transcribed this long passage, in order to show distinctly the grounds on which I object to the competency of the Asiatic Society of Paris as judges of a work such as the Annals of Rajasthan, which treats of so many different subjects relating to the ancient and actual state of India. That Society are, no doubt, competent judges of the accuracy and ability with which Colonel Tod has availed himself of the information to be derived from ancient and modern authors, with respect to the peopling of the world, the migration of tribes, and the history of nations; but I must be permitted to think that they have not at their disposal the necessary means for forming an accurate opinion on the various mythological, antiquarian, and historical questions relative to India, which Colonel Tod has attempted to discuss in his voluminous work. I admit, of course, that it is by written testimony alone that we are enabled to appreciate the certainty of the facts which are related in ancient history; but I am not aware of there being any written testimony accessible to the European reader by means of which the truth of such statements and opinions as are contained in the Annals of Rajast'han can be ascertained.

It may, indeed, be said that, with exception of its general geographical and statistical description, India is almost entirely unknown to Europe. For, even with respect to the manners and customs of the Hindus, and particularly with regard to their good and bad qualities, what a variety of discordant accounts exist! It is not, therefore, surprising that the antiquities and literature of India should be still less understood. But it might have been expected that the cultivation of the Sanscrit language, to which the attention of many of the literati on the continent of Europe has been directed for several years, would at least have produced a more correct knowledge of the mythology and philosophy, and of the civil and religious institutions of the Hindus; for such as these are described in the numerous Sanscrit works still extant, such are they to be found prevailing in India at the present day, with very little change or alteration. Every book, however, which has yet appeared on these subjects on the Continent is, as far as the substance is concerned, merely a repetition of what had been previously published; or, if it contain any thing new, this consists solely in the crude speculations of the author, his statements and opinions being neither derived from a personal acquaintance with India, nor supported by what is contained in original Sanscrit works. Disquisitions on Sanscrit grammar, and re-translations of works already translated, or new translations unaccompanied with the notes necessary for rendering them understood, or accompanied by notes obscure and erroneous, seem to be allthat has been yet produced by the study of the Sanscrit language on the continent of Europe. Nor has its cultivation prevented as yet the most absurd accounts of the mythology and religion of the Hindus, and of usages supposed to result from them, from being not only received on the Continent with implicit credit, but even honoured with learned commentaries and disquisitions.

Under these circumstances, it seems evident that the applause which a continental critic bestows on a work treating of India, cannot be accepted as a just estimate of its merits or its defects; for he cannot possess that knowledge of the subject which should alone render his opinion deserving of attention. In this case, also, written testimony, so far from enabling the critic to form a correct judgment, is most likely to mislead him; because it appears

impossible that, without a personal acquaintance with India, or without a competent knowledge of Sanscrit literature, he could be capable of distinguishing, in the works relating to India which he may have read, what was accurate and what was inaccurate. It is probable, therefore, that he would acquire erroneous notions respecting the subjects discussed in the work that he was about to criticise, and that his criticism would in consequence be equally erroneous. If, on the contrary, the critic had paid little or no attention to such works, it seems obvious that his criticism of any new work relating to India could not possibly be of any value or authority. In objecting, consequently, to the Asiatic Society of Paris as competent judges of such a work as the Annals of Rajasthan, it will, I think, be admitted that I advanced no untenable or paradoxical opinion, nor one so absurd as would be involved in the rejection of written testimony in cases where it admits of just application. I may, however, be mistaken with respect to the degree of knowledge which Europe possesses of India, and there may be, without my being aware of it, learned men on the Continent who are skilled in Sanscrit literature, and conversant with the mythology, the philosophy, and the civil and religious institutions which may have existed in India in ancient times, and which actually prevail in it at the present day. But, if there be such learned men, the preceding remarks cannot apply to them, as they possess those very qualifications which appear to me to be indispensable for giving real value and authority to criticism when applied to works treating of India.

I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant,

Bombay, 10th November 1837.

CRITES.

THE BARON DE SACY.

AFTER a long and brilliant career, having outlived almost all his contemporaries, and many of his pupils, that profound Orientalist, the venerable Silvestre de Sacy, peer of France, paid the debt of nature, at the age of eighty, on the 20th February last. On the morning of the 19th he was in perfect health, and after delivering his customary lecture at the College of France, he went to the Chamber of Peers, and took part in the discussion. In the report of the debates on that day, given in the journals, his name appears amongst the speakers. At the close of the sitting, on leaving the Luxembourg, he was seized with apoplexy, at the moment when he was entering a fiacre, on his return home, and remained insensible till his death. His funeral took place at St. Sulpice, on the 23d, in the presence of a great number of persons of rank and eminence, peers, deputies, and literary characters.

The discourse pronounced by M. Jomard, president of the Institute, of which the Baron was perpetual secretary, comprehends a brief summary of his literary history, and a just tribute to his character.

It appears that in 1781 he was appointed one of the Councillors of the Mint, and soon after was admitted an Associate of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres. During the stormy season of the Revolution, he lived in strict retirement, employing his time in study; and he composed during that period his Memoirs of the Sassanian Kings. In 1808, he entered prominently into public life, by becoming a member of the Asiat.Journ. N.S. VOL.26.No.103.

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legislative body. In succession, he undertook a In succession, he undertook a professorship in the College of France, and in the School of Oriental Languages, became a Member of the Committee of Public Instruction, a Royal Councillor, Inspector of Oriental Typography, one of the editors of the Journal des Savants, founder of the Asiatic Society, of which he was honorary president, &c. &c. Many of the most eminent Orientalists of the age, in Europe, were his pupils Kosegarten, Freytag, Rémusat, De Chézy, Quatremère, &c. &c. The vast store of Oriental knowledge which he had accumulated was not less admirable than the readiness with which he

parted with it for the instruction of others. "For half a century," says M. Jomard, "we have seen him a profound grammarian, a deeply-read historian, a consummate dialectician, an elegant writer; as a professor, indefatigable; as a citizen, bold; an accomplished statesman and thinker; a model in private life, and adored by a family worthy of him; a rigid public officer, and a man of antique virtue and true piety." M. Jomard truly adds: “He was one of those extraordinary beings who appear at wide intervals, in whom virtue, talent, and every powerful element of character concur to form a wonderful man."

It is an office which demands, and is worthy of, powers akin to his own to pass a judgment on the many writings of M. de Sacy, and to exhibit an accurate outline of his intellectual character. His elaborate papers which enrich the volumes of the Manuscripts du Roi, the Journal des Savants, and other repositories, are distinguished by extent of learning, depth of research, wonderful accuracy, and lucidness and elegance of style. His separate works display the same qualities on a larger scale. His Arabic Grammar is the only one worthy of that name hitherto published in Europe, and to that and his excellent Chrestomathia few European Orientalists will hesitate to acknowledge the deepest obligations. No man has probably done so much to promote the knowledge of the Semitic languages and their literature in the western world as De Sacy.

"Where shall we find," concludes M. Jomard, "a career more prolific, a learning more profound, a judgment more sound, an understanding more vigorous? At an age when we can scarcely reckon on the morrow, the Baron de Sacy published one of his finest works-one which would alone suffice for the foundation of an ordinary reputation. It was in his eightieth year that he put the finishing hand to it; a month has not elapsed since the author deposited upon the table of the Academy his treatise On the Religion of the Druses: so that the news of his death will have resounded throughout Europe long before those who are eager to read every thing he wrote shall have received, or even known the existence of, this important production. Nay, the very day on which he was struck with death, he had delivered his accustomed lecture in the College of France, discharged his academical functions at the Institute, given his decision as to the manuscripts offered to the Royal Library; and, in order that this day, like every other, should be entirely filled up, he had sat and spoken in the Chamber. One might with truth say, that he died on his legs, and, like a soldier, on the field of honour."

THE CLAIMANT OF THE BURDWAN RAJ.

THE readers of this Journal will remember having seen in our Asiatic Intelligence during the years 1836 and 1837, notices of an individual who contrived to gain a considerable number of supporters by some startling proofs of his identity with the heir of the Burdwan Raj. As these notices, taken from the Calcutta papers, were necessarily brief and disjointed, a detailed account of this adventurer, containing many particulars not hitherto brought before the public, may prove acceptable, especially as the narrative is derived from the most authentic source.

In January 1836, great excitement was created in the Jungle Mehals, by the appearance of a man calling himself Raja Pertaub Chund, son of the late Raja of Burdwan, supposed to be dead. Burdwan is fifty-six miles from Calcutta, and the raja has the reputation of being the richest man in Bengal. He pays the Company some seventy lacs of rupees annually, as the revenue of the lands which he holds in the district. He is owner also of large estates in Calcutta: the whole of the new China bazaar belongs to him. Burdwan is a populous and productive territory, appearing like a garden in the midst of surrounding jungles. The principal zemindars are also very rich; many reside at Calcutta, leaving their estates to the management of agents: trade flourishes throughout the district. All the coal hitherto used in Calcutta, for the steam-boats and other purposes, comes from the banks of the Durmooda, a river of Burdwan, and is a large source of profit, the demand latterly being very great. The former rajas of Burdwan, after the payment of the revenue and the expenses of their establishment, having a large surplus remaining from their annual income, took the usual method of accumulating treasure employed by persons not yet enlightened upon this branch of political economy, by burying it in wells, and the wealth thus concealed was supposed to be enormous.

The late raja had an only son, named Pertaub Chund, who occasioned him a great deal of trouble. This young man resided chiefly in Calcutta, where he led a very dissipated life, overstepping, in his eagerness to follow foreign fashions, the bounds of decorum. He was fond of associating with European gentlemen, and of entertaining them after the English custom, and this intercourse leading him to adopt many of the modes and habits of his new acquaintance, he ate beef-steaks and drank cherry-brandy with great gusto, showing upon all occasions his contempt for the precepts so rigidly enforced by his forefathers. His wild conduct gave much offence to the Brahmins, who had obtained great influence at the palace of Burdwan, and who, as usual, flocked to a court which promised to gratify their rapacity. They perceived plainly that the moment in which the young heir came into possession of the raj, would see the end of their authority, and that their holinesses might look in vain for the donations so profusely bestowed at all the religious ceremonies, the various poojahs at which they assisted. The holy fraternity established at court, finding all their efforts unsuccessful, determined, according to the common opinion of the natives, to make away with the person whom they could not render subservient to their interests. The prime minister, or head manager, of the raja (Burdwan being under European control), a crafty Brahmin, named Pran Baboo, is supposed to have effected this object, the people of the district asserting to this day that he administered poison to the young man, whom he considered inimical to his views of aggrandizement; for, the heir being disposed of, he succeeded in persuading the raja to adopt his (Pran Baboo's) young son, who in due time came into the inheritance. Thus much is certain, that

the civil surgeon of Burdwan, having heard that the young raja had been taken suddenly ill, went to see him, but was refused admittance. This circumstance was well calculated to induce the supposition that foul play was intended, and the surgeon applied to the magistrate, who granted a perwana, or order, which gave him access. He found the patient labouring under symptoms of fever, and anxious to afford him immediate relief, proposed to bleed him. Pertaub Chund consented, offering his arm for the purpose; but the attendant Brahmins interfered to prevent the operation, saying that it was against their shasters to let blood. The surgeon, thus baffled, returned home, promising to bring some medicine with him at his next visit in the evening; but on going to the palace about nine o'clock, he was informed that the young raja, having become worse, had been carried away to Culna, on the banks of the sacred Hooghly, thirty miles distant. Early the next morning, intelligence was brought to the station that the invalid was dead, and the body burned; this account confirming the general belief, that he had been unfairly dealt with, at the instigation of his enemy, Pran Baboo. The father of Pertaub Chund dying shortly after, Pran Baboo was named as the guardian of his son, the adopted heir of the deceased raja; they are both living, the latter being now about seventeen years old.

During a considerable interval, all the affairs of this fortunate youth went on smoothly; but, fourteen years after the presumed decease of the young raja, a person made his appearance in the neighbouring district, who asserted that he was the Pertaub Chund, supposed to be dead, but who had miraculously escaped from the hands of the assassins employed to destroy him. The fine countenance and commanding figure of this pretender, his insinuating address, and his acquaintance with minute circumstances connected with the person whom he represented, and to whom he bore a strong resemblance, having the same marks and scars upon his body, told greatly in his favour. The tale he related, to account for the long period which he had suffered to elapse without making any attempt to reinstate himself in his rights, was sufficiently plausible to obtain credit with the multitude, especially as the greater number of persons who espoused his cause had reasons of their own for wishing it to be true. He stated that, being taken to Culna, while suffering from a severe attack of illness, he chanced to overhear his attendants arrange a plan by which they proposed to take away his life. He had been brought to the Hooghly, and was lying on the brink of the stream. Fear inspiring him with strength, at this moment of peril, he plunged into the water, dived, and succeeded in swimming over to the opposite side. Having thus fortunately escaped from impending death, he found himself suddenly overcome by sleep, and fell into a sort of trance. During the suspension of the waking faculties, a vision appeared to him from heaven, which produced, of course, a wonderful effect upon his mind. The genius of Brahma reproved him for the unholy life he had led so long, and which had so nearly conducted him to an untimely death in this world, and to the most fearful punishment ere he could be absorbed into the divine essence. Finally, however, the celestial vision comforted him with the assurance that there was still a possibility of his being restored to favour, and that he could purify himself from the contamination incurred in eating and drinking with Christians, feasting on the sacred cow, and other abominations, by performing penance as a fakeer during the fourteen succeeding years, which were to be spent in voluntary exile in distant lands. It is no uncommon circumstance for both Mohamedans and Hindus to assume for a time the garb and to practise the austerities of a fakeer; misfortunes, as well as the remorse