place of his abode for the rest of his life. He was there better enabled to follow up his literary and scientific pursuits than a residence in India would permit; and he could now enjoy more fully the society of persons of taste congenial to his own. Having become a member of almost every scientific Institution in London, he passed a considerable portion of his hours of relaxation in the society which they afforded. At this period, his mind certainly disposed him far more towards the pursuit of science than it had hitherto done. He wrote more largely upon the Scientific subjects, occasionally giving essays to the transactions of the Scientific Societies, and being a frequent contributor to the Quarterly Journal of Science. He became very much attached to Chemical experiments, to which he would turn for relaxation from severer studies. He was one of the founders of the Astronomical Society, in the proceedings of which he took the greatest interest, having from early youth acquired a fondness for Mathematical pursuits. Indeed, he appears to have always held Science in far higher estimation than Eastern literature; and when his son, the writer of the Memoir under our notice, went out to India, his father never expressed a wish that he should devote his time to Oriental studies, any further than they might be connected with his duties as a Member of the Civil Service. It may interest many linguists to know, that he was strongly in favour of the mode of instruction by translations, being that which he had himself adopted. He was ever anxious to see systematic plans of study; and it was his constant practice to task himself to a certain course every day; and the task soon became a pleasure. His memory was so good, that it was irksome to him to take up any literary work a second time. When young, his deeper studies were usually pursued at night. He told his son, that it was no unfrequent occurrence for him to read himself stupid; and that during the last half hour or so of his vigils, his brain would become confused; but on waking in the morning, he usually found the subject of his reading fresh in his mind.

Shortly after his arrival in this country from India, Mr. Colebrooke presented to the East India Company his library of Sanscrit MSS., a collection the growth of many years, and which, it is thought, cost him, from first to last, about £10,000. He said that he felt such a collection ought not to be kept entirely to himself; and he deemed it more likely to be beneficial to Oriental Science, as well more con

venient to himself, if it could be placed in a library like that of the East India House, where it might be easily accessible.*-Asiatic Journal.

Colebrooke died on the 10th March 1836, at York Terrace, Regent's Park, London.-Men whom India has known.

* His bust has been placed at the India House, a wood-cut of which forms a frontispiece to the Madras re-print of his "Miscellaneous Essays."

NOTE

ON THE

ORTHOGRAPHY OF SANSCRIT WORDS.

To obviate the necessity of a reference to the first volume of the Asiatic Researches, where the system of orthography which is here followed was first proposed, I subjoin the pronunciation of the letters. A, E......pronounced as u in sun, as i in sir, as e in her. When final, it has a very obscure sound, like the e muet of the French. The Bengalese pronounce this letter as a short o.

Á.........as a in call.

I..........as i in fit.

I'.......................as i in machine, and as ee in fee.

U.........as u in pull.

U'.........as oo in pool.

RI........nearly as ri in trip: more exactly as ri in merrily.

Ri........nearly as ree in tree.

Lri.......nearly as lry in revelry. In Bengal this letter expresses both syllables of the word lily.

Lri.......the same prolonged.

E.........as the first e in there, and as ei in heir.

O'.........as o in go.

Ai.........as i in file. In Bengal it is pronounced like the Greek diphthong in poimén, a shepherd.

Au........as ou in thou

N & M...represent the nasal semivowel, which is an abbreviation of the nasal consonants at the end of a syllable; sometimes pronounced gutturally, sometimes labially. Its sounds are familiar to the French tongue.

H..

..represents the aspirate semivowel, an abbreviation or substitute, at the close of a syllable, for the strong aspirate. It gives intensity to the sound of the preceding vowel. The short vowels a and i, and sometimes u, when final, are scarcely perceptible unless followed by this element. C...........as c in cause, and as k in kill and ken. Used before e and i, it has not the sound of s but of k.

C'h.........nearly as ch in choler, chiromancy, &c. Cachexy perhaps furnishes a better example of this sound.

G..........as g in gain.

G'h........nearly as g-h in log-house.

........

N. .....as ng in sing. It has the sound which we also give to nasals preceding guttural letters, as, ink, bank, &c.

Ch.........as ch in church.

Ch'h......nearly as ch-h in much harm, rich heir, &c., if no pause be made in pronouncing these words.

J..........as j in joy.

J'h.......nearly as dge-h in edge-hill.

Ny......a peculiar nasal, pronounced before vowels nearly as ni in pannier, or in onion. Before a consonant it varies little from the sound of the nasal in singe. I therefore write it in such instances with a single N. The conjunct jny is pronounced in the eastern provinces as gy, or as g.

T,T'h, D',D'h...the sounds of these cerebral letters can only be learned by practice; they are often confounded in pronunciation with a harsh r, or with an l.

N'.........a peculiar nasal sounded high in the roof of the mouth.

T...........as t in tin and ten.

T'h.........nearly as t-h in hit him, white hall, &c.

D..........as d in deal.

D'h.......nearly as d-h in red hair.

N..........as n in noble.

P..........as p in pen.

P'h........sometimes pronounced as ph in philanthropy; more generally as in shepherd, haphazard, &c.

B..........as b in bell.

B'h........as b-h in abhor.

M.........as m in man.

Y..........as y in yet; in the eastern provinces it is pronounced as j.

R..........as r in run.

L..........as l in lull.

V, W......as v in valve; sometimes as w in wind. In the eastern provinces it is confounded with b.

Ś....... .a peculiar sibillant, differing from our s which is dental, as it is sounded higher on the palate. It is sometimes pronounced like sh.

Sh.........as sh in ship, but often pronounced as c'h, or rather as the Greek x.

S...........as 8 in sin.

H..........the strong breathing, or aspirate; as h in hair. The conjunct hy is pronounced in the eastern provinces like hj

confounded by the ear with sj or zj: I cannot well mark this peculiar sound.

Csh........a compound letter pronounced as cti in fiction; but by some it is sounded like ch, by others like c'h.