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Sir William Jones to Jos. Cowper Walker, Efq. St. Valeri, Bray, Ireland.

Crishna-nagur, Sept. 11, 1787.

I give you my hearty thanks, dear Sir, for your kind attention to me, and for the pleasure which I have received from your letter, as well as for that which I certainly shall receive from your hiftorical memoirs of the Irish Bards. The term being over before your book could be found, and the ftate of my health obliging me to feek this paftoral retreat, where I always pafs my vacation. among the Brahmans of this ancient univerfity, I left Calcutta before I could read your work, but shall peruse it with eagerness on my return to the capital. You touched an important ftring, when you mentioned the fubject of Indian music, of which I am particularly fond. I have just read a very old book on that art in Sanscrit. I hope to prefent the world with the fubftance of it, as foon as the tranfactions of our fociety can be printed; but we go on flowly, fince the prefs is often engaged by government; and

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we think it better to let our fruit ripen naturally, than to bring forth fuch watery and imperfect fruits as are ufually raised in hot beds. The Afiatic Mifcellany, to which you allude, is not the publication of our fociety, who mean to print no fcraps, nor any mere tranflations. It was the undertaking of a private gentleman, and will certainly be of ufe in diffufing Oriental literature, though it has not been fo correctly printed as I could wish. When you fee Colonel Vallancy, whofe learned work I have read through twice with great pleasure, I request you to present him with my best remembrance. We fhall foon I hope fee faithful translations of Irish hiftories and poems. I shall be happy in comparing them with the Sanfcrit, with which the ancient language of Ireland had certainly an affinity. Proceed, Sir, in your laudable career, you deserve the applause of your country, and will most affuredly have that of, Sir, &c.

Sir William Jones to Dr. Patrick Ruffel.

Crishna-nagur, Sept. 22, 1787.

Your interesting papers did not find their way to me till I had left this cottage, and was wholly immerfed in business. Indeed, I am so haraffed for eight months in twelve, that I can feldom think of literature till the autumn vacation, which I pafs in this charming plain, the drieft in Bengal, and close to a college of Brahmans. I am charmed with your plan; and if the directors have not yet refolved to print the work at their expense, I can perhaps suggest a mode of procuring very powerful influence with them. The king has much at heart his new botanical garden at St. Vincent's; his object is twofold, to improve the commerce of the WeftIndia islands, and to provide the British troops on fervice there with medicinal plants. Now,

if

you could fend a box or two of feeds, likely to be useful in commerce or medicine, directed to Sir George Young, the fecretary at war, (to whom I have inclosed your letter to the Board at Madras) I dare fay the Board of Controul would be defired to use their in

fluence with the Directors.

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* You could not have

chofen a better fpecimen than the pedalium murex, of which little is faid by Linnæus, and that from doubtful authority. The opuntia I have not feen here, and I cannot ramble into the woods. Our groves at this place are skirted with an angulated cactus; called fija (pronounced feeja) in the Sanscrit dictionaries, where I find the names of about 300 medicinal plants, the virtues of which are mentioned in medicinal books. I agree with you, that those books do not carry full conviction; but they lead to useful experiments, and are therefore valuable. I made fine red ink, by dropping a folution of tin in aqua regia into an infusion of the coccus, which Dr. Anderfon was fo polite as to fend to me. His discovery will, I truft, be useful; his ardour and ingenuity deserve success.

I have just read with attention the PhiloJophia Botanica, which I confider as the grammar, and the Genera et Species as the dictionary, of botany. It is a masterly work, and contains excellent matter in a fhort vo

lume; but it is harshly, not to say barbarously, written. I grieve to fee botany imperfect in its two most important articles, the natural orders and the virtues of plants, between which I fufpect a ftrong affinity. I envy those who have leifure to pursue this bewitching study.

Pray, my dear Sir, have you the Oriental manuscripts of my friend Dr. Alexander Ruffel? He lent me three, which I returned; the Sucardan, the Banquet of Phyficians, and a beautiful Hafez. If you have them, I shall beg leave to read them again, when we meet in Europe.

Poftfcript. What is fpikenard? I mean botanically, what is the natural order, class, genus, &c. of the plant? What was the spikenard in the alabaster-box of the Gospel? What was nardi parvus onyx? What did Ptolemy mean by the excellent nard of Rhangamutty in Bengal? I have been in vain endeavouring for above two years to procure an answer to these questions; your answer will greatly oblige me.

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