MR. COLEBROOKE.

Oriental scholars in the East, as well as in the West, will sympathize in a feeling of deep regret, at the death of Henry Thomas Colebrooke, which took place on the 10th March, at his house in York Terrace, Regent's Park.

To Sanscrit literature, the loss of this accomplished scholar is immeasurably great, No European has ever attained to so profound and accurate a knowledge of its venerable language as he did; and to this critical familiarity with the language, he added a close and an extensive acquaintance with the treasures it contains, especially its philosophical treatises, which was surprising even to native pundits of great learning. This was not the sum of Mr. Colebrooke's acquisitions, though it seems enough for a life of tolerable activity. He was an elegant classical scholar, and a profound astronomer and natural philosopher. In short, the range of Mr. Colebrooke's mind was almost unlimited, and wherever it settled, it penetrated deeply. It was this universality of knowledge which so well qualified him for the office of expounding the Hindoo philosophy, which he has done in those masterly papers in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, which have won the highest meed of applause from the most parsimonious of continental writers. Mr. Von Schlegel speaks of Mr. Colebrooke's translations and extracts from Sanscrit works as entitled to "implicit confidence ;" and extols his treatises on the Astromony of the Hindoos, and on their different systems of Philosophy, as models of well-executed compendia.

Nor were these prodigious literary labours performed by a recluse, who spared no modicum of his time for the duties of public life. Mr. Colebrooke was an active civil officer in India, and his official papers are mines of valuable information. He occupied, before he quitted that country, the high post of member of council. Of Mr. Colebrooke it may be truly said, mens magna in corpore parvo. In person he was small and fragile, and towards the latter part of his life, age, ill-health, and domestic affliction, of which he had a full share, had so reduced and attenuated his bodily frame, that he seemed to be mind alone.

We trust that we shall be enabled to supply, next month, a Memoir of this venerable and illustrious Orientalist.

Miscellanies, Original and Select.

PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.

Royal Asiatic Society -A general meeting of this Society was held on the 4th of March: the Right Hon. C. W. Williams Wynn, M.P., the President, in the chair. A variety of donations to the library were laid upon the table. John Romer, Esq., of the Bombay Civil Service, was elected a resident member.

The first paper read at this meeting was one by Colonel Sykes, on the Origin of the Popular Belief in the Upas, or Poison Tree, of Java. The writer observed that most popular beliefs, of any duration, however extravagant or incre. dible, could be traced to some foundation in truth, however much distorted by ignorance, superstition, or folly. Of this we had a remarkable instance in the celebrated Upas, or poison-tree, of Java, whose shade was supposed to extinguish life, and over whose top no bird could fly. This deadly tree was said to be standing in a valley in the interior of Java; but such was the terror in which it was held by the natives that its precise locality was little known. A visit made by a Mr. Loudon,* in 1830, to the Poison Valley of Java (whose account of that visit is cited by Colonel Sykes) has proved, however, that the Valley of Death has no connexion with the poison-tree of Java, although they

⚫ See the account in Asiat. Journ. vol. vii. p. 158.

both exist on the island. Mr. Loudon describes this valley as lying about three miles from Batur, on the road to Djung. It appeared to him to be about half a-mile in circumference, of an oval form, and from thirty to thirty-five feet in depth. The bottom seemed to be of a hard, sandy substance. The sides of the valley were covered with trees, shrubs, &c. ; but in the valley no vegetation was to be seen, but the whole was covered with skeletons, of human beings, tigers, pigs, deer, peacocks, &c. On approaching within eighteen feet of the bottom, Mr. Loudon did not experience any difficulty of breathing, but a sickening, nauseous smell. A dog, which the party forced into the valley, died in eighteen minutes; another died in about eight minutes. A fowl died in a minute and a-half. On one side of the hollow, the skeleton of a human being was lying on his back with his right arm under his head. Mr Loudon considered there was a great difference between this valley and the well known Grotto del Cane, near Naples, as in the latter the mephitic air is confined to a small aperture, while in the former it extends over a circumference of more than half a mile. Colonel Sykes, however, is of opinion that this is the only difference; and is inclined, both from the results of his own experiments at the Grotto del Cane, and from the investigations of the Abbate Domenico Romanelli on the same subject, to consider the effects at each place occasioned by a similar cause, namely, carbonic acid gas, which is evolved from limestone by the agency of sulphuric acid produced from the action of water sulphur.

The next paper read was a narrative by Capt. James Low, of a pedestrian tour made by him, in 1825, from Tavoy, in the British province of Tenasserim, to the range of mountains which separate that district from Siam. This part had not previously been traversed by any English officer, and nothing was known, therefore, as to how far the natives of the country could be confided in as guides or porters on the journey. Capt. Low had little difficulty in procuring about sixty Burmans to accompany him in that capacity; and these, together with a guard of sepoys and servants, made up a party of about ninety persons. They left Tavoy on the 14th of February; and arrived at the Siamese frontier on the 20th, a distance of about sixty miles. The country through which they passed is described as being, in most part, a dense forest, traversed in all directions by the tracks of the elephant and rhinoceros; and without any signs of human inhabitants. Capt. Low's guides and porters proved themselves well adapted for their undertaking. He considers that much of the success which formerly crowned the ambitious enterprises of the Burmans, may be attributed to the capability their soldiers possess of being able to make long marches upon a very scanty diet. During the journey, one of the party set fire to the grass, which burned so rapidly that, on returning, a few days after, Capt. Low found about thirty miles of the country in a blaze; and describes the scene as impressive in the extreme. The loud reports made by the splitting bamboos, owing to the water contained in them being converted into steam; and the falling of burning trees seen through clouds of smoke, produced a strange effect on the mind. Having reached the foot of the Nayedaung pass, which leads into the Siamese dominions, the party hoisted the British flag, and saluted it with three rounds of musketry. Provisions falling short, Captain Low was obliged to make forced marches back to Tavoy, where the party arrived on the evening of the 23d, without having experienced any serious accident.

A general meeting took place on the 18th of March; the Right Hon. the President of the Society in the chair. On the members assembling, the Chairman addressed the meeting as follows:-" Gentlemen, in consequence of the

recent loss we have sustained, by the decease of our respected director, Mr. Colebrooke, to whom this society owes a debt of exceeding gratitude, not only for its first formation, but for the constant labour and attention he bes towed upon it from the first year of its existence, the Council has judged proper, as a mark of respect due to the memory of our venerable founder, to adjourn this day's meeting without proceeding to any business whatever: the meeting is consequently adjourned till the first of April."

The President's chair was appropriately hung in black for the occasion.

CRITICAL NOTICES.

Indian Reminiscences, or the Bengal Moofussul Miscellany. Chiefly written by the late G. A. ADDISON, Esq., London, 1837.

Bull.

THIS is a reprint of papers, on miscellaneous literary topics, which originally appeared in India, mostly from the pen, we are told, of Mr. G. A Addison, who, at his death in 1815, filled the post of assistant secretary to government in the Revenue and Judicial departments in Java, he being then only in his 22d year. The character of this promising young man is summed up in a few but comprehensive words by Sir Stamford Raffles in his official report of the event to the Bengal government." His abilities and acquirements were remarkably great, his application and exertions unwearied, and his personal conduct as amiable as his public services were eminent."

The little fugitive pieces of prose and poetry, consisting of narrative, criticism, humour, and anecdote, are evidently the sportive productions of a well-stored mind. The profits of the work are to be devoted to a charitable purpose.

Sketch of the Commercial Resources and Monetary and Mercantile System of British India, with suggestions for their improvement by means of Banking Establishments, London, 1837. Smith, Elder & Co.

THE author of this work, who evinces a knowledge of the subject of which he writes (no slight praise at the present day, when scribimus indocti doctique), professes to be of opinion that the Bank of India is "the only one of the recent projects for the investment of British capital in India, of which he approves or thinks consistent with sound principle;" and his book is intended to be a recommendation of the scheme, so far as demonstrating the extent of the field for banking operations. But when he comes to consider the specific plan in question, his own good sense tells him that were an Indian bank established with all the privileges, and immunities, and power, which some of its indiscreet advocates have suggested; that were men foolish enough to persevere in asking for such privileges, and other men still more foolish to grant them, a very ugly and mischievous monopoly would unquestionably be established." So that really the author approves not of the bank of India, but of some bank to be established on a sound principle, which he thinks, "would conduce to the gradual improvement of the condition of the people of India." And those most hostile to the project in question would readily assent to the proposition that. considering the benefit resulting from banking establishments, in organizing capital, a bank with large means, based upon sound principles, and managed on the spot, would, if it did no more than accelerate the operations of the existing Indian banks, do much towards drawing out the latent resources of the country.

Sermons on the Lessons, the Gospel, or the Epistle, for every Sunday in the Year; Preached in the Parish Church of Hodnet, Salop; by the late REGINald Heber, M. A., Rector of Hodnet, and afterwards Lord Bishop of Calcutta. 3 Vols. London, 1837. Murray.

Those who are familiar with the biography of the amiable Bishop Heber must remember his affectionate attachment to his first flock, the parishioners of Hodnet,

and their esteem and affection for him. Although there were other bonds of union than these public discourses (for he narrowly escaped death by a fever caught in the discharge of a pastor's private duties), they must have materially contributed to plant the mingled seeds of piety to God and regard towards the teacher. Plainer and more practical than the discourses which the preacher delivered to more refined congregations, they are nevertheless imbued with that warm, feeling, and imaginative eloquence, which distinguishes all the writings of Heber.

His friend Sir Robert Inglis, who has edited these volumes, rightly believes that these Sermons will extend to distant places and to distant years, the edification and improvement which, at the time, they were designed and calculated to convey to the circle of his little flock in his own parish."

Lives of the British Admirals, with an Introductory View of the Naval History of England. By ROBERT SOUTHEY, LL. D., P. L. Vol. IV. Being Vol. LXXXVIII. of Dr. Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia.

This volume is pretty equally divided between the histories of Devereux Earl of Essex and Sir Walter Raleigh, in both of which we trace the industrious research of Dr. Southey, bringing to light many minute incidents serviceable to biograj hy, as clearly as we recognize his elegant and masculine style. Raleigh's history has been of late years much explored; but in the very copious life before us, we see many circumstances, either new in themselves, or placed in a new light.

Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons; illustrating the Perfections of God in the Phenomena of the Year. By the Rev. HENRY DUNCAN, D.D. Spring. Edinburgh, 1837. Oliphant.

In our Critical Notices for January, we stated, and commended, the plan of this work, of which this volume is the second of the series, each containing an argument complete in itself, and peculiar to the season of which it treats. This volume admits of and contains still more interesting and instructive matter.

The Highlanders of Scotland, their Origin, History, and Antiquities; with a Sketch of their Manners and Customs, and an Account of the Clans into which they were divided, and of the State of Society which existed among them. By WILLIAM SKENE, F.S. A. Scot. Two vols. London, 1837. Murray.

The rapid march of civilization will soon obliterate the remaining traces of the aboriginal tribes of this island, existing in the mountainous or high country of Scotland. The history of the Highlanders, however, apart from their antiquity as a nation, is blended with too many political events and associations ever to become obsolete or uninteresting.

The Highland Society having offered a premium for the best History of the Highland Clans, Mr. Skene offered an essay, which gained the prize, and is the foundation of the work before us.

Mr. Skene begins, ab ovo, with the original colonization of North Britain; but he takes entirely new ground, and by a very ingenious and satisfactory series of deductions from the Roman Authors, the Monkish Chroniclers, and the Native Annalists of Scotland, Ireland and Wales, he has made it apparent, that the Highlanders are not descended from the Dalriadic Scotti, as commonly assumed, but from the Picts, and more remotely from the Albiones or Ancient Britons. He shews that the sole remaining part of the Albiones, or ancient inhabitants of the island, were the Caledonii, occupying the country to the north of the Firths of Forth and Clyde; that the Picts were a tribe of the Caledonii, consequently the same people; that the Pictish nation was divided into the northern and southern Picts; that the conquest by the Scotti (that dark period of our northern history), in the eighth century, did not extend to the Northern or Highland Piets (Cruithne), but its effects were confined exclusively to the Southern or Lowland Picts (Piccardach), and that the Gaelic race known as the Highlanders of Scotland, are the descendants of the inhabitants of the same district in the ninth century, and consequently of the northern Picts.

This is the principal object of the first volume; the second is devoted to an account Asiat.Journ.N.S.VOL.22.No.88. 2 Y

of the Clans. The chapters in the first volume treating of the laws, religion, manners and character of the Highlanders are extremely attractive. In referring to their poetry, it was impossible not to say a word respecting Ossian; and without entering into the controversy concerning the authenticity of these poems, Mr. Skene has certainly adduced a startling fact in its favour. He observes that the system of Irish history, now believed, is directly opposed to that disclosed in Ossian; that the former is not older than the fourteenth century; and that the system contained in the Irish annals previous to that time is identical with the Ossianic, and that the older annals (those of Tighernac and Innisfallen) remained inaccessible to all unacquainted with the ancient Irish character, till 1825, when they were for the first time printed with a Latin translation: consequently, the poems could not be the work of Macpherson, but must have been older than the fourteenth century.

Life of Henry the Eighth, founded on Authentic and Original Documents (some of them not before published); including an Historical View of his Reign: with biographical Sketches of Wolsey, More, Erasmus, Cromwell, Cranmer, and other eminent Contemporaries. By PATRICK FRASER TYTLER, Esq. F. S. A. Being Vol. XXII. of

the Edinburgh Cabinet Library. Edinburgh, 1837. Oliver and Boyd. MR. TYTLER has adopted a practice which we are glad to observe becoming frequent, that of connecting history with biography,—selecting some historical person or period as a nucleus, and working all the biographical materials connected therewith into one homogeneous mass. The reign of Henry VIII. affords an excellent subject for this operation, in the multitude of remarkable characters and the variety of important transactions with which it is filled. The accessions made to authentic history of late years have shed much light even upon this remote period, and of these⚫ Mr. Tytler has liberally and industriously availed himself, not only in elucidating the political history of the period, and the biographies of his principal characters, but in treating of the introduction of classical literature into England, which, as he remarks, has escaped the attention of our popular writers. The result is, a volume of great

interest and value.

A History of Greece. By the Rev. CONNOP THIRLWALL. Being Vol. LXXXVIII. of Dr. Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia. London, 1837. Longman and Co.

Taylor.

THIS Volume comprises a period of little more than twenty years (B.c. 413 to B.C. 387), but it is a period of great transactions. It includes the Overthrow of the Four Hundred at Athens, the Expedition of Cyrus, the Retreat of the Ten Thousand, and the Death of Socrates, and also a Survey of the internal condition of Athens and of the character of the Athenians of this period, which Mr. Thirlwall depicts as "fickle, passionate, often unjust, but still always capable of mercy and pity; a compound of generosity and meanness, and of numberless other contrasts, which by turns excited regard and indignation, admiration and contempt." The Chace, the Turf, and the Road. By NIMROD.

With Illustrations by Henry

Alken, and a Portrait by Maclise. London, 1837. Murray. EVERY one (metaphorically speaking) has read the sporting papers in the Quarterly Review; they now re-appear in an improved dress from their author, the inimitable NIMROD, with illustrations by an artist, "the Hogarth of the Chase," whose graphic fidelity keeps pace with the descriptive truth of the writer. This is a work which will not only be relished by the sportsman and connoisseur, but commends itself by its novelty to the favour of those who have never gone a good one" after a pack, “held the ribbons” of a four-in-hand on “the bench,” and are ignorant of the precise import of such terms as " Turf," "Legs," and "Clever Men."

66

In the first part of this amusing volume, we are presented with the history of the Melton Mowbray Club, the perfection of fox-hunters, their unrivalled packs and thousand-guinea hunters, with a description of a run with Mr. Osbaldeston's hounds • Amongst these are the volumes of Original Correspondence of Henry VIII. published by the Commissioners for the publication of State Papers; MS. Letters in the State Paper Office; and the Hamilton Papers.