This entertaining article concludes with a letter from a young Chinese at Canton to Sir William, prefenting this and other Chinese volumes, and promifing to promote by his exer tions the objects of the fociety.

Art. XIV. On the Introduction of Arabic into Perfian, which must be very useful to all who ftudy the Perfian language, as a number of infinitives, participles, fubstantives, and adjectives, are enumerated in Arabic, and in the language of Hindoftan, which fubmit themfelves to the rules of the Perfian, as if they originally belonged to it,

Art. XV. On the Aftronomical Computations of the Hindus. By Samuel Davis, Efq.

The author reafonably prefumes, that much light may be thrown on the chronology of this nation, by careful enquiries into their aftronomy. He reprefents this as lefs difficult than is generally fuppofed; and he affirms, that the Sanferit books in this fcience may, by the help of a Pandit, be easily under ftood through the medium of the Perfian or the Hindu language. Mr. Davis, after making fome preliminary obfervations, in which he controverts the affertions of Mr. Sonnerat, gives the computation of an eclipfe, according to the principles and rules laid down in Surya-Siddhanta. This is an original Sanferit treatife, and fuppofed to be a Divine revelation. It would be impoffible to render juftice to this elaborate article, without entering more profoundly into the fubject than is compatible. with our limits. The tables and computations which this paper exhibits will be found of the most unequivocal importance; and the illuftration of the chronological fyftem of the Hindus, which it has principally in view, may eventually lead to the detection of various errors which the adverfaries of the Chriftian fyftem are alike precipitate to adopt and to propagate.

Art. XVI. On the Antiquity of the Indian Zodiac. Bý the Prefident. Sir William Jones, in this paper, defends the antiquity of the Indian Zodiac against Mr. Montucla, and afferts, that it was not. borrowed from the Greeks or Arabs, but has been known in India from time immemorial. As the folar divifion of the Zodiac is the fame in fubftance with that ufed in Greece, he concludes, that both Greeks and Hindus received it from an older nation, which first gave names to the luminaries of heaven, and from whom both Greeks and Hindus, as their fimilarity in language and religion fully evinces, had a common descent. The following feems worthy of attention!

"From the two Brahmans, whom I have juft named, I learned the following curious particulars; and you may depend on my acc racy in repeating them, fince I wrote them in their prefence, ana corrected what I had written, till they pronounced it perfect. They

divide a great circle, as we do, into three hundred and fixty degrees, called by them anfas or portions; of which they, like us, allot thirty to each of the twelve figns in this order:

Méfha, the Ram.
Vrijba, the Bull.
Mit buna, the Pair.
Carcaca, the Crab.
Sinha, the Lion.
Canya, the Virgin.

Tulà, the Balance.
Vrifhchica, the Scorpion.
Dhanus, the Bow.

Macara, the Sea-Monster.
Cumbha, the Ewer.
Mina, the Fith."

A curious plate of the Hindoo Lunar Manfions is inferted at p 293, and another of the Oriental Zodiac at p. 303. After difcuffing, at fome length, the arrangement of the zodiacal ftars, with refpect to the fun and moon, as received by the Hindus, the prefident thus concludes:

I need not urge the great antiquity of MENU's Inftitutes, in which the twenty-feven afteriims are called the daughters of DACSHA and the conforts of SOMA, or the Moon, nor rely on the teflimony of the Brahmans, who affure me with one voice, that the names of the Zodiacal stars occur in the Védas; three of which I firmly believe from internal and external evidence, to be more than three thousand years old. Having therefore proved what I engaged to prove, I will clofe my effay with a general obfervation. The refult of NEWTON's researches into the hiftory of the primitive fphere was," that "the practice of obferving the ftars began in Egypt in the days of AMMON, and was propagated thence by conqueft in the reign of his fon SISAC, into Africk, Europe, and Afia; fince which time ATLAS formed the fphere of the Lybians; CHIRON, that of the "Greeks; and the Chaldeans, a fphere of their own:" now I hope, on fome other occafions, to fatisfy the public, as I have perfectly fatisfied myself, that the practice of obferving the ftars began, with the rudiments of civil fociety, in the country of thofe, whom we call Chaldeans; from which it was propagated into Egypt, India, Greece, italy, and Scandinavia, before the reign of S1AC or or SACYA, who by conqueft fpread a new fyftem of religion and philofophy from the Nile to the Ganges, about a thousand years before CHRIST; but that CHIRON and ATLAS were allegorical or mythological perfonages, and ought to have no place in the ferious hiftory of our fpecies.' P. 305.

Art. XVII. Account of the Kingdom of Nepal. By Father Giuseppe; communicated by John Shore, Efq.

Nepal lies to the north-east of Patna, at the distance of about ten days' journey from that city. The plain of Nepal is faid to be about 200 miles in circumference. It contains three great cities, each the capital of an independent kingdom. Their religion is of two kinds: one of which is thus described:

The

"The more ancient is profeffed by many people, who call themfelves Baryefu; they pluck out all the hair from their heads; their drefs is of coarfe red woollen cloth, and they wear a cap of the fame: they are confidered as people of the religious order, and their religion prohibits them from marrying, as it is with the Lamas of Tibet, from which country their religion was originally brought; but in Népál they do not observe this rule, except at their difcretion; they have large monafteries, in which every one has a feparate apartment or place of abode; they obferve alfo particular feftivals, the principal of which is called Yátrà in their language, and continues a month or longer according to the pleafure of the king. The ceremony confifts in drawing an idol, which at Lelit Pattan is called BAGHERO, in a large and richly ornamented car, covered with gilt copper: round about the idol ftand the king and the principal Barycfus; and in this manner the vehicle is almost every day drawn through fome one of the streets of the city by the inhabitants, who run about bearing and playing upon every kind of inftrument their country affords, which make an inconceivable noife."

The other, and more common of the two religions, is the fame as that followed in Hindoftan. In a wall of one of the royal palaces the miffionary perceived a stone, of a fingle piece, 15 feet long, and four or five thick: its curiofity confifts in being quite covered with characters of different languages. Among others there is a line of Roman characters in this form AVTOMNEW INTER LHIVERT. None of the inhabitants have any knowledge how they came there, nor do they know whether or not any European had ever been in Nepal before the mif/ fionaries, who arrived there only the beginning of the present century. They are manifeftly two French names of feafons, with the English word winter between them,

The three monarchs of the cities into which Nepal is divided are always at war. Their relative fituations, wealth, and power are defcribed; and the following anecdote of the barbarity of one of them, is introduced at the conclufion of the narrative:

"In the mean time the men of Gorc'hà feized all the gates and fortreffes within the town; but two days afterwards PRIT'HWINARAYAN, who was at Navacúta (a long day's journey distant) issued an order to SURUPARATNA his brother, to put to death fome of the principal inhabitants of the town, and to cut off the nofes and lips of every one, even the infants, who were not found in the arms of their mothers; ordering at the fame time all the nofes and lips, which had been cut off, to be preferved, that he might afcertain how many fouls there were, and to change the name of the town into Nafkatapur which fignifies the town of cut-nofes; the order was carried into execution with every mark of horror and cruelty, none escaping, but those who could play on wind inftruments; although father MICHAEL ANGELO, who, without knowing that fuch an inhuman

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fcene

fcene was then exhibited, had gone to the houfe of SURUPARATNA, interceded much in favour of the poor inhabitants: many of them put an end to their lives in defpair; others came in great bodies to us in fearch of medicines, and it was moft fhocking to fee fo many living people with their teeth and noses refembling the skulls of the deceafed." P. . 319.

Art. XVIII. On the Cure of Perfons bitten by Snakes. By John Williams, Efq.

A number of cafes of perfons bitten by fnakes are recited at length; in all of which the volatile cauftic alkali (Eau de luce) was a certain cure, taken internally.

Art. XIX. gives an account of fome Roman Coins and Medals found at Nelore.

Art. XX. defcribes two Hindu Feftivals and the Indian Sphinx. The first of thefe feftivals refembles, in all refpects, what is fill obferved in various parts of England on May-day. A pole is erected in the gardens, and adorned with pendants and garlands.

The fecond feftival accords with our first of April. They fend people on errands which are to end in difappointment, and raife a laugh at the expence of thofe who are fent. The feafon when this cuftom is practifed by the Hindus is called The Huli, and is always in March; the last day of which is the greatest holiday.

The Egyptian Sphinx was found at Jagannath. The following incident is very curious:

• When I told MURARI, that the Egyptians worshipped a bull, and chofe the God by a black mark on his tongue, and that they adored birds and trees, he immediately exclaimed: " their religion "then was the fame with ours; for we alfo chufe our facred bulls by "the fame marks; we reverence the banja, the garura, and other "birds; we refpect the pippal and the vata among trees, and the "tulasi among fhrubs; but as for onions, (which I had mentioned) they are eaten by low men, and are fitter to be eaten than worfhipped." P. 335.

Art. XXI. Defcription of Carnicobar. By Mr. G. Hamilton. There are in the bay of Bengal various iflands in a cluster, which are named The Nicobars. Of thefe Carnicobar is that which is moft to the north. It is forty miles in circumference, and abounds with all the tropical fruits; for which blefling it has a fort of counterpoife, like other delicious places of the Eaft, in its number of poifonons fnakes. The women, it feems, are remarkable for their uglinefs. Their favourite food is pork. They are very hofpitable, and very honeft. They have no idea of a God, but worship the author of evil,

whom this writer calls the Devil, through fear. When a man dies, the whole of his property is buried with him. An excellent cuftom, the author obferves, in one refpect, for it prevents all difputes among furviving relations. It is faid also, that they have no kind of fubordination; but live on a perfect equality.

Art. XXII. Design of a Treatife on the Plants of India. By the Prefident. In his introduction to this treatife, Sir W. Jones complains, that the great obstacle to the progress of knowledge in the Eaft is want of time. "Give us time," it might be faid," for our investigations, and we will transfer to Europe "all the fciences, arts, and literature of Afia."

The proper mode of "compiling a treatife on the plants "of India would be," acccording to the author, "to write "their true pames in Roman letters, according to the most accurate orthography, and in Sanferit, preferably to any vulgar dialect. Becaufe," he obferves,

"A learned language is fixed in books, while popular idioms are in conftant fluctuation, and will not, perhaps, be understood a century hence by the inhabitants of thefe Indian territories, whom future botanifts may confult on the common appellations of trees and flowers: the childish denominations of plants from the persons, who first defcribed them, ought wholly to be rejected; for Champaca and Hinna feem to me not only more elegant, but far properer defignations of an Indian and an Arabian plant, than Michelia and Lawfonia; nor can I fee without pain, that the great Swedish botanist confidered it as the fupreme and only reward of labour in this part of natural hiftory, to preferve a name by hanging it on a bloffom, and that he declared this mode of promoting and adorning botany, worthy of being continued with holy reverence, though fo high an honour, he fays, ought to be conferred with chafte referve, and not prostituted for the purpose of conciliating the good will, or eternizing the memory, of any but his chofen followers; no, not even of faints: his lift of an hundred and fifty fuch names clearly fhows, that his excellent works are the true bafis of his juft celebrity, which would have been feebly supported by the talk of the Linnaa." P. 346.

But this opinion of the prefident may, we think, be fairly controverted; for if, instead of the terms Champaca and Hinna, thofe of Michelia and Lawfonia be invariably used, and univerfally received, the plants will furely be known to botanists by that distinction, whatever it may be, at any period. By way of example to the plan which he propofes, Sir William gives the defcription of five Indian plants, in this manner: