pen for that purpose but once a year, and I have a hundred unanfwered letters now lying before me, but my Anna, who is my fecretary of state, and first or rather sole lady of the treasury, has written volumes. Loves and regards to all who love and regard us; as to compliments, they are unmeaning things, and neither become me to fend, nor you to convey. I am, With great regard, dear Madam, WILLIAM JONES. Sir William Jones to Dr. Patrick Ruffel. Crishna-nagur, Sept. 28, 1786. Various caufes contribute to render me a bad correfpondent, particularly the discharge of my public duty, and the ftudies which are connected with that duty, fuch as the Indian and Arabic laws in their feveral difficult languages, one of which has occupied moft of my leifure for the laft twelvemonth, excepting when I travelled to Iflamabad, for the benefit of the fea air and verdant hillocks, during the hot feason. It is only in fuch a retirement as the cottage, where I am paffing a thort vacation, that I can write to literary friends, or even think much on literary fubjects; and it was long after I left this folitude laft autumn, that I had the pleasure of receiving your most able letter. agree I am tolerably strong in Sanferit, and hope to prove my strength foon by translating a law tract of great intrinfic merit, and extremely curious, which the Hindus believe to be almoft as old as the creation. It is afcribed to Menu, the Minos of India, and like him, the fon of Jove. My prefent ftudy is the origi nal of Bidpa's fables, called Hitopadefa*, which is a charming book, and wonderfully ufeful to a learner of the language. I congratulate you on the completion of your two works, but exhort you to publish them. Think how much fame Koenig loft by delay * Translated by Sir William Jones, and published in his Works, vol. xiii. ing his publications. God knows whether any use honourable to his memory will be made of his manuscripts. Think of Mr. D'Herbelot, whofe pofthumous work, like moft others, had the fate of being incorrectly published. Printing is dear at Calcutta ; but if government would print your works (as they ought) I could cheerfully fuperintend commas and colons. I am delighted with your botanical pursuits. They talk of a public garden on the banks of the river near Calcutta. How I wish for our fakes, you could be allured from the Sircars! I long to vifit them, however, and to view your collections; though I must be fo honeft as to own, that accurate botanical descriptions give me more pleasure than an herbal, I mean where the fresh plants can be examined. For this reason I have not begun to collect fpecimens, but defcribe as well as I can; and for brevity in coarse Latin. Lady Jones affifts me by her accuracy in drawing and colouring. The province of Chatigan (vulgarly Chitigong) is a noble field for a naturalift. It is so called, I believe, from the chatag, which is the most beautiful little bird I ever faw. The hills and woods abound with uncommon plants and animals; indeed the whole Eaftern peninsula would be a new world to a philofopher. I wish poor Koenig had left his papers to you; Banks has too much of his own to employ him, and Macpherson, who loved the sage, would I dare fay have perfuaded Lord Cornwallis to raise the best monument to his memory, a good edition of his works. I have carefully examined a plant, which Koenig mentioned to me, and called pentapethes protea, from the fingular variety of leaves on the fame tree. The natives call it Mascamchand ; and one of its fragrant fleshy blossoms, infused for a night in a glass of water, forms a mucilage of a very cooling quality. The pentapethes phoenicia, which now beautifies this plain, produces a fimilar mucilage, which might answer the fame purposes as that of the Arabian gum, if not other and more important purposes. But I mention this plant, because Koenig told me, that Linnæus had in verted nature in his description of it, by asfigning to it five caftrated filaments, to each of which were annexed three prolific ones; whereas, faid he, (I am fure I did not miftake him) the flower has fifteen castrated, and five prolific; fo that in truth it would have been pentandrian. Now I have examined all the flowers of this fpecies that I could get, and I find the defcription of Linnæus to be correct; but there is no accounting for the variety of a protean plant. Many thanks for your offer of Mr. D'Hancarville, but I have the book, though like you I have not read it. I wish to be firm in Sanfcrit, before I read fyftems of mythology. We have sent the firft papers of our tranfactions to the prefs, and shall go on as fast as Mr. G's compofitor will let us. Farewell, dear Sir; vivere, valere, et philosophari cum paucis, is what I wish for you, as much as for your, &c. my |