sian Gulf. These salts, we fully admit, are greatly inferior to your stoved salt, and perhaps not of such good quality as your common article, but they can be profitably imported at an average of about forty rupees the 100 maunds, whereas you cannot land your salt at Calcutta, under the most favorable circumstances, at less than sixty-five rupees, and you are generally put to a much higher charge. The price of the Company's salt, exclusive of the fixed duty, varies from 100 rupees for the best Pungah, or boiled salt, to fifty-six rupees for solar evaporation salt. It is not therefore from the East India Company that you have to fear anything, but from the Arab and coasting traders, whose transactions in salt are gradually increasing, and last year amounted to 10,98,208 maunds in the following proportion :

The high cost of production of Bengal salt, resulting from the present direct interference of Government with the manufacture, is that alone which enables you to keep your footing in the Calcutta market. If it should be found practicable to allow the free manufacture of salt at the mouths of the Ganges subject to an excise duty, from that instant the trade will be closed to you. We are assured by the evidence of Mr. Bolts, quoted at the commencement of our remarks, that salt used to be manufactured in the Sunderbuns at twenty-five rupees the 100 maunds, and there is no reason either to disbelieve his testimony, or to doubt that under a perfectly free system of competition the expense of manufacture might again be reduced to the same standard. The Government will never be induced to suppress the manufacture of Bengal or even to restrict it, except in so far as may be necessary to prevent contraband traffic. And the results therefore which you are taught by Mr. Aylwin to expect from a reduction in the duty, can only be obtained by the perpetuation of the system which, under the name of monopoly, you are so eager in your endeavours to extinguish. Persist, we earnestly entreat you, in agitating, according to the light you possess on the subject, on behalf of the people of India; but do not delude yourself with the hope that the abandonment of the manufacture by Government will be attended with any profit to yourselves.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

Sanskrit Grammar, by M. Williams, Esq.

WE hail with great delight the volume now before us. Up to within the last few years, the Study of Sanskrit has been surrounded by a combination of difficulties, such as to daunt all, but the boldest and most persevering. The Grammar of Sir Charles Wilkins, though highly accurate, presented itself in the shape of a volume twice the size of Buttman or Matthiæ-the young beginner, accustomed to the portable Latin or Greek Grammar, stood amazed at the ponderousness of the Sanskrit Rudiments. Six years ago this defect was partially remedied by Mr. H. H. Wilson; but his grammar, although an admirable improvement on the older form, still presented many things calculated to deter the beginner. In this state of things Mr. Williams comes forward to simplify matters; to smooth the crooked ways and to throw light on darkness. He has not the slightest sympathy with the ridiculous method uniformly pursued by the Native Pandits; he has no respect for the Sutras of Panini; no regard to the antiquity of the Mugdabodha. That is to say, regarding the language as one to be studied by Europeans, he does not see why it should not be commenced and perfected on the same system and with the same felicity as the Classical Tongues. It may not perhaps be known to many of our readers, that five years ago Mr. Williams was one of the most distinguished students that ever entered the walls of the East India College. Gifted with great natural talents, amongst which we may number a great facility for the acquirement of languages, and endowed with a clear and comprehensive judgment, he seemed marked out for a conspicuous part in his future Indian career. Unfortunately domestic reasons prevented his ever reaching this country, and we now find him established as one of the Professors of the East India College and employing his leisure hours in the composition of works like the present. But Mr. Williams must be allowed to state his own views himself:

"It is enough to say of the present volume that it is the first really elementary Sanskrit Grammar ever published. Its defects will, therefore, it is hoped, not be too critically judged by those who propose to themselves a higher aim than the mere assistance of beginners. To administer to the wants of the earliest students has been the one object kept steadily in view; and subordinately an attempt has been made, to exhibit the peculiarities which distinguish the study of this language from that of Latin and Greek. The plan adopted will sufficiently explain itself. It has been deemed desirable not to embarrass the student with too much at once. Types of two different sizes have therefore been employed, the larger attracts his eye to that which is of first importance, the smaller generally contains such matter as possesses no pressing claim to his immediate consideration. The Roman character has been applied to the

a

expression of the Devanagari throughout the greater part of the Grammar, especially in treating of the rules which regulate the combination and permutation of Vowels and Consonants. There can be no doubt that the false opinion which prevails of the difficulty of Sanskrit, may be traced to the labour imposed, of thoroughly mastering these rules at the first entrance upon the study of the language. They form, as it were, a mountain of difficulty to be passed at the very commencement of the journey; and the learner cannot be convinced that when once surmounted, the ground beyond may be more smooth than in other languages, the ingress to which is comparatively easy."

Passing rapidly over the table of the alphabet, which is printed with great accuracy of type, we come to the combination and permutation of letters. Here Mr. Williams would have the student remember, that the Greek and Latin are not without certain euphonic changes of letter, and whilst allowing that these changes are applied much more extensively throughout the Sanskrit than in any language under the sun, he would have the learner commence by mastering only the most important at first. Amongst these he rightly numbers the changes of the Visargah: "let him master," he says, "the following five rules before he attempts to read a single sentence of Sanskrit, or he can never hope to make any real progress in the acquirement of this language"-and these five changes are given in a table so exceedingly simple and clear, that its perusal for one quarter of an hour ought to fix the rules in the mind of the student for ever. We then have an able chapter on roots which, to our mind, are the great originals out of which the present copious and complicated language was fashioned.

The nouns and pronouns are compassed in as small a space as would be either possible or prudent. We next learn some valuable information regarding the roots of the verb; out of two thousand, about one half follows the first conjugation, about 130 follow the 4th, and about 140 the 6th of the remaining roots, not more than 20 in common use follow the 2nd, not more than 5 follow the 3rd, not more than 6 the 7th, not more than 4 the 5th, not more than 1 the 8th and not more than 12 the 9th. Hence it is obvious that this great language was originally natural, simple and uniform, and that its great difficulties are mainly due, to crackbrained Pandits and would be wise grammarians who perverted the true ends of knowledge, by turning simplicity into abstruseness, and plain language into puzzles. We then have an excellent Chapter on participles, which, in Sanskrit, constantly discharge the functions of the verb itself, and more especially of the verb in its passive form. This peculiarity, to our mind, serves to shew that all the efforts of grammarians have failed to fetter the language in the manner they would desire. In the hands of the earlier and purer poets it has refused to be cribbed and confined, and has made itself a free vent by the use of participles to supply the place of the verb, and sometimes, as is well shewn in the chapter on Syntax, the rejection of verb and participle both.

A very common difficulty in Sanskrit Syntax is next elucidated by a chapter on compound-words. The Sanskrit delights in expressing a

series of pictures by compound epithets, all relative to one antecedent; all hanging as it were on one nominative case. A modern poet would tell us, that the hero saw the monster whose back was defended by impenetrable scales-that fire and brimstone darted from his eyes→→ that long claws hung down from his feet-that the air resounded with the lashing of his tail. The Sanskrit author would probably say in one or perhaps two slokes," he, the long armed Hero, saw the monster with back covered with impenetrable scales-with eyes sending forth fire and brimstone-with feet adorned with long claws-with tail making the air to resound with its whirring. This, strange as it may seem, is the best evidence of the pliability of Sanskrit, and even, when carried out to a much longer extent than we have above described, rather lightens than otherwise the labour of the translator. We now come to a very valuable Chapter on Syntax, the last in the work, and here we are well reminded that our labours in Sanskrit end, just where, in Greek and Latin, they really commence; in fact, critical scholarship in Sanskrit Syntax is unknown; the true test of Sanskrit scholarship lies in the great laws of euphony, so extensive and so unchangeable in the inflections of nouns and in the changes of the verbs. We are then never perplexed as to whether Jadi, if, may be used with a present or with a potential tense, or whether Janat, as long as, may be lawfully used with the future tense. On points like these the voice of discord is hushed; and no Pundit of either ancient or modern time has taken up his pen on either one side or the other. How different with the Greek, the best scholars are still in doubt as to all the uses of av, and the difference between drws and dæwsμǹ is yet a very lawful subject for discussion.

With the Chapter on Syntax Mr. Williams's Grammar is ended, but he has very wisely given, at the end of the book, a few selections in translation for the use of beginners; and has furnished them with aids, such as may smooth the real difficulties of the first road, but not such as to encourage any carelessness in the student. One of these selections, we are happy to find, is taken from a little work called the Sanskritámala published some years ago in Calcutta and due to the pen of the late lamented Dr. Yates. One word more with Mr. Williams before parting-he wonders that his favourite language should be so little cultivated in the East India College, and he still maintains that, unless made compulsory, it will never attract any number of Votaries. We will grant him his argument that, though many Civilians have succeeded without the slightest smattering of Sanskrit, yet that they would probably have succeeded much better or, at least, have obtained a deeper insight into the antiquities of India had they but set foot on the threshold of the Sanskrit Temple. We will allow that a fair knowledge of Sanskrit makes the acquirement of many Indian dialects the mere labour of a month or six weeks; but, we cannot but think it a very great hardship that all the students should be compelled to toil at this language in addition to six other extensive subjects of reading. No matter whether Mr. Williams's great ablities can smooth the path and lighten the load; to teach seven subjects in a College like Haileybury, and to

young men of the stamp and abilities generally found there, is perfectly hopeless. We are sorry to use so strong a term, but we have thought upon the subject long enough, and our opinions have been backed by several men of much more extended experience than ourselves. If Sanskrit is to remain compulsory, two if not three of the subjects, at present taught, must give way before it. At present the knowledge of Sanskrit, which nine-tenths of the Men bring out to India to assist them in mastering the Bengali, the Hindi, or the Mahratta, is exactly similar to that of a boy who should be set down to learn two or three hundred words of Latin, in order that such a smattering might be useful to him when he comes to try his hand at either French or Italian.

We regret that, on this point, we should differ so widely from Mr. Williams, and we gladly turn from the smaller sphere of College life to the benefit which we believe he has conferred on the cause of Oriental Literature in general. The Graduate of Oxford or of Cambridge may, if desirous of attaining any knowledge of Orientals, turn to Mr. Williams's book without any feeling of dismay.

If the study of Orientals is ever to increase, it will be by aid of books constructed on the present plan. Mr. Williams, we understand, is again at work, indefatigible in the same field of research, and we shall hope to hail him hereafter as one to whom Orientalism owes a lasting debt, who neither exalts his favourite study above the purity of Classical Tongues, nor allows the quibbles and alliterations of later authors to be confounded with the pure and often excellent poetry of the Ramayana and the Mahabharat, but, as applied to the East India College, our views are unalterable; and as the mastery, or even a competent knowledge of the seven subjects there taught, is a hopeless case, we leave it to our readers to judge whether Sanskrit is of such paramount importance as to usurp the field in preference to others; apart from this consideration, we must heartily congratulate Mr. Williams on the appearance of his Grammar, and shall be ready to welcome his re-appearance in the same field, and that, we hope, at no very distant day.

Observations on the Nature and Treatment of Cholera, by T. Hastings, Esq. M. R. C. S. Bengal Medical Service, Calcutta, Ostell and Lepage, 1846.

WE notice the Pamphlet of Mr. Hastings more, on account of the universal interest of the subject of which he treats, than, on account of any particular importance or novelty in the views and practice which be advocates. Indeed, the author's pretensions are very moderate, and his object, which we heartily second, is to direct fresh attention to the investigation of the nature and treatment of the awful Disease. Had Mr. Hastings followed up his suggestions by a history of his own experience in the treatment of the Disease, either in Natives or Europeans,