the aid of pundits, and assisted in the first instance by the Rev. Dr. Mill and other Sanscrit scholars of the Presidency, James Prinsep undertook this task, and accomplished it with a success that surprised all who knew that his proficiency in Sanskrit literature was limited, and only kept pace with what the work itself necessarily required and taught.

Being so drawn into the prosecution of such studies, James Prinsep cultivated this branch of archæology with an ardour that carried his discoveries beyond those of his learned predecessors. The inscriptions on the pillars at Delhi and Alláhábád, which had been copied in fac-simile, and published in the volumes of the Asiatic Society's proceedings, in the time of Sir W. Jones, and the deciphering of which had baffled that accomplished scholar, and his successors, Colebrooke and Wilson, yielded at last to our author's ingenuity and perseverance. He discovered that the two inscriptions were identical, and had their counterparts on rocks at Girnár, in Gujarát, on the western side of India, and at Dhauli, in Katak, on the eastern side; the character of all being similar to that of inscriptions occurring among the old Buddhist temples, monasteries, and topes of Sanchí and at Bhilsa, in South Bundelcund, which afforded the key for deciphering most of the letters. This oft-repeated inscription was found, when completely read and translated, to contain edicts of the great King Piadasi, another name for Asoka, who lived in the third century before our era, and was the contemporary of the early Seleucidæ kings of Syria. The name of Antiochus, with those of Ptolemy, Magas, and Antigonus was found recorded or referred to in the body of the inscription at Girnár; and the reading of these was confirmed ten years after, by the detection of the same names, with the addition of that of a fifth monarch, in another copy of these edicts, expressed in a different character,

on a rock at Kápurdigiri, in Afghánistán, when that inscription was deciphered by Mr. Norris. These inscriptions afforded the first verified connection of the history and archæology of India with contemporary events and sovereigns of the Western world. The importance of the discovery was universally felt, and it justly excited a keen interest and curiosity, not only throughout India but in every country which boasted of civilization and progress in letters. Owing mainly to this discovery, and to the credit gained by the periodical he conducted, James Prinsep's name came very soon to be known and respected in Europe and America, as well as in Asia. Many literary societies of the West paid him the compliment of electing him a corresponding member, and he was named for this distinction by the Institût de France. He was thus brought into communication with all the most distinguished literary and scientific men of the day, and maintained with them a correspondence which produced many evidences of reciprocal esteem.

Another subject of interest which James Prinsep through his Journal contributed to develop and bring to the knowledge of the world, was the vast variety of new species of fossil animals, some of the highest interest, which were discovered in Upper India by Dr. Falconer and Captain, now Colonel, Sir Proby T. Cautley.

We should weary the reader and trespass beyond the design of the present brief notice, if we were to attempt to describe and characterise all that was done through this Journal' for the advancement of science in all its departments in India. The curious inquirer, who would pursue the subject in detail, must refer to the seven volumes of the Journal,' from 1832 to 1838 inclusive, each containing from five hundred to one thousand pages, in which the entire of these results

will be found in the original form in which they were given to the public.

While James Prinsep was prosecuting these inquiries, and conducting the correspondence which embodied the discoveries we have noticed, Captain Burnes and other political employés of Government in Central Asia were making extensive collections of coins with Greek and bilingual inscriptions, and of other relics of antiquity. Coins were also exhumed or found in other parts of India, especially by French officers in the service of Ranjít Sing, bearing legends in various types of character. These were all forwarded to Calcutta, to be deciphered and explained; and this labour led James Prinsep into the study of numismatics as connected especially with Indian archæology. His discoveries and critical investigations in this field became in a short time the most interesting of all the subjects treated and discussed in the pages of the Journal. The articles containing them, it is the object of the present publication to collect into a form susceptible of easy reference.

The incessant exertion and labour which attended these literary and scientific pursuits, combined, as they were, with the artistic application required to delineate and engrave the various objects of interest submitted to his research, superadded, as all this wear of mental and visual power was, to the ordinary work of a not unlaborious office, produced the effects which might, indeed, have been foretold, on a constitution naturally robust; and under them James Prinsep ultimately sank. In the course of the year 1838 he began to suffer severely from headaches and sickness. These were at first attributed by his medical adviser to a bilious affection, and were treated as such. The symptoms, however, rapidly increased, to the alarm of his friends and family, and were traced to an affection of the brain.

In October of that year James Prinsep was compelled to tear himself away from all his numerous pursuits, and to make the voyage to Europe as the only hope left of recovery. He sailed for England in the Herefordshire; but the sea air and change of scene afforded no relief, and the affection of the brain, which proved to be a softening of its substance, destroying its sound working, and impairing all the faculties of the mind, gained strength. He arrived in England in a hopeless condition, lingering nearly a year, until relieved from his sufferings by death on the 22nd of April, 1840.

The intelligence of his decease was received with sorrow by the European and Native communities of India; and all united in the desire that some lasting testimonial of his worth, and of their esteem and admiration, should be placed in a prominent position, to manifest to future generations the feelings so universally entertained towards him. After some discussion, it was determined to give to this testimonial the form of a Ghát or landing-place, with a handsome building for the protection from sun and weather of passengers landing or waiting to embark; and this building, bearing his name, stands now below the fort of Calcutta, as a distinguished ornament of the city.

The character of James Prinsep as a public and as a literary man will be best appreciated by a reference to the public works and literary and scientific productions which we have recapitulated. These remain as memorials of his activity in mind and body, and of the untiring energy and exactitude with which he pursued each object of research. The unsparing pains with which he devoted himself to assist a fellow-labourer, and, without envy or self-seeking, to promote his wishes and his success, were universally felt and acknowledged. It was this quality especially which won for him every day new colleagues

in his literary and scientific labours, and left all with whom he became so associated, permanent and admiring friends.

To his family, who were proud of him from boyhood, and who watched with intense satisfaction and sympathy his entire career, glorying in the general recognition of his high qualities, and in the public esteem he won,-their early bereavement was a source of deep and abiding sorrow. They have still a mournful pleasure in recurring to many acts of his life, which displayed his extreme affection for all of them; and it is with unfeigned satisfaction that they bear this testimony to his many virtues, and seek to add a wreath to the many which have already been laid upon his honoured grave-tributes of private friendship and of public regard.

James Prinsep was married on the 25th April, 1835, to Harriet, eldest daughter of Colonel Aubert, of the Bengal Army, by whom he had a son, who died in infancy, and a daughter, who, with the widow, still survives.

[As a brother is seldom the best or most accredited eulogist, I append an able estimate of James Prinsep's merits, extracted from a notice of his life by Dr. Falconer, and published in the Colonial Magazine,' in December, 1840:-E. T.]

"Thus died James Prinsep, in the fortieth year of his age. That he was a great man, it would not perhaps be strictly correct to assert; but he possessed qualities of a very high order, such as are scarcely less admirable than greatness; and he has left abundant proofs behind him to establish that he was one of the most talented and useful men that England has yet given to India. Of his intellectual character, the most prominent feature was enthusiasm-one of the prime elements of genius; a burning, irrepressible enthusiasm, to which nothing could set bounds, and which communicated itself to whatever came before him. The very strength of his mental constitution, in this respect, was perhaps opposed to his attaining the excellence of a profound thinker; it led him to be carried away frequently by first impressions, and to apply his powers to a greater range of subjects than any human mind can master or excel in. To this enthusiasm was fortunately united a habitude of order, and power of generalization, which enabled him to grasp and comprehend the greatest variety of details. His powers of perception were impressed with genius-they were clear, vigorous, and instantaneous. The extent of his capacity was wonderful, and the number and variety of his acquirements no less remarkable.