The following short letter to Lord Ashburton, written a few weeks after his embarkation, may not be unacceptable to the reader :

Sir WILLIAM JONES to Lord ASHBURTON.

April 27, 1783.

Your kind letter found me on board the Crocodile : I should have been very unhappy had it missed me, since I have long habituated myself to set the highest value on every word you speak, and every line you write. Of the two inclosed letters to our friends, Impey and Chambers, I will take the greatest care, and will punctually follow your directions as to the first of them. My departure was sudden indeed; but the Admiralty were so anxious for the sailing of this frigate, and their orders were so peremptory, that it was impossible to wait for any thing but a breeze. Our voyage has hitherto been tolerably pleasant, and, since we left the Channel, very quick. We begin to see albicores about the ship, and to perceive an agreeable change of climate. Our days, though short, give me ample time for study, recreation, and exercise; but

To print and publish the Psalms of David in Persian Verse.

To Compose, if God grant me Life,

1. Elements of the Laws of England.

Model-The Essay on Bailment-Aristotle.

2. The History of the American War.

Model Thucydides and Polybius.

3. Britain discovered, an Heroic Poem on the Constitution of England. Machinery. Hindu Gods.

you as

my joy and delight proceed from the surprising health and spirits of Anna Maria, who joins me in affectionate remembrance to Lady Ashburton. As to you, my dear Lord, we consider the spring and fountain of our happiness, as the author and parent, (a Roman would have added, what the coldness of our northern language will hardly admit) the god of our fortunes. It is possible indeed, that by incessant labour and irksome attendance at the bar, I might in due time have attained all that my very limited ambition could aspire to; but in no other station than that which I owe to your friendship, could I have gratified at once my boundless curiosity concerning the people of the East, continued the exercise of my profession, in which I sincerely delight, and enjoyed at the same time the comforts of domestic life. The grand jury of Denbighshire, have found, I understand, the bill against the Dean of St. Asaph, for publishing my dialogue; but as an indictment for a theoretical essay on government was I believe never before known, I have no apprehension for the consequences. As to the doctrines in the tract, though I shall certainly not preach them to the Indians, who must and will be governed by absolute power, yet I shall go through life with a persuasion, that they are just and rational, that substantial freedom is both the daughter and parent of virtue, and that virtue is the only source of public and private felicity. Farewell.

In the course of the voyage he stopped at Madeira, and, in tem additional weeks of prosperous sailing from the rugged islands of Cape Verd, arrived at Hinzuan or Joanna. Of this island, where he remained a few days only, he has published an interesting and amusing description. He expatiates with rapture on his approach to it, delineates with the skill of an artist the beauties of the scenery, and sketches with the discriminating pen of a philosopher, the characters and manners of the unpolished but hospitable na

tives..

tives. The novelty of the scene was attractive, and its impression upon his mind is strongly marked by the following just and elegant reflection, which in substance is more than once repeated in his writings" If life were not too short for the complete discharge of "all our respective duties, public and private, and for the acqui"sition even of necessary knowledge in any degree of perfection, "with how much pleasure and improvement might a great part of "it be spent in admiring the beauties of this wonderful orb, and contemplating the nature of man in all its varieties !"*

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But it would be injustice to his memory, to pass over without particular notice, the sensible and dignified rebuke, with which he repelled the rude attack of Mussulman bigotry on the divinity of our Saviour. During a visit which he made to a native of the island, a Coran was produced for his inspection, and his attention was pointedly directed to a passage in a commentary accusing the Christians of blasphemy, in calling our Saviour the Son of God. "The commentator (he replied) was much to blame for passing so "indiscriminate and hasty a censure; the title which gave your legislator, and which gives you such offence, was often applied "in Judea by a bold figure, agreeably to the Hebrew idiom, though unusual in Arabic, to angels, to holy men, and even to all mankind, who are commanded to call God their father; and in "this large sense, the Apostle to the Romans calls the elect the "children of God, and the Messiah the first born among many "brethren; but the words only begotten are applied transcendantly "and incomparably to him alone; and as for me, who believe the Scriptures which you also profess to believe, though you assert "without proof that we have altered them, I cannot refuse him "an appellation, though far surpassing our reason, by which he is distinguished in the Gospel; and the believers in Mohammed,

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46

Sir William Jones's Works, vol. iv. p. 488.

" who

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"who expressly names him the Messiah, and pronounces him to "have been born of a virgin (which alone might fully justify the phrase condemned by this author) are themselves condemnable, "for cavilling at words, when they cannot object to the substance "of our faith, consistently with their own*."

This quotation affords a decisive proof of the belief of Sir William Jones, in the sublime doctrines of the Christian religion. Had he been an infidel, he would have smiled at the scoffs of Mussulman bigotry; and had he been indifferent to his faith, he would have been silent on an occasion, where he could expect neither candour nor concessions from his antagonists. Indeed he was well aware, that a religious dispute with those zealots, would have been fruitless and unseasonable, and might have been dangerous; but, as it was inconsistent with his principles, to disavow or conceal what he firmly believed and professed, he could not suffer the attack to pass without reprehension, and he grounded it on premises, which his opponents could not dispute, nor did they

venture to answer.

From Hinzuan to the Ganges, nothing material occurred, and he landed at Calcutta, in September 1783. His reputation had preceded his arrival, which was anxiously expected, and he had the happiness to find, that his appointment had diffused a general satisfaction, which his presence now rendered complete. The students of the Oriental languages were eager to welcome a scholar, whose erudition in that branch of literature was unrivalled, and whose labours and genius had assisted their progress; while the public rejoiced in the possession of a magistrate, whose probity and independence were no less acknowledged than his abilities.

* Sir William Jones's Works, vol. i. p. 485.

With what rapture he himself contemplated his new situation, may be more easily conceived than described. As a magistrate of the supreme court of judicature, he had now that opportunity, which he ever ardently desired, of devoting his talents to the service of his native country, and of promoting the happiness of the community in which he resided; while the history, antiquities, natural productions, arts, sciences, and literature of Asia, opened an extensive and almost boundless field to his enquiries. He was now placed amidst a people, whose pretensions to antiquity had hitherto eluded research, and whose manners, religion, and customs, still retained the same characteristical peculiarities, by which they were originally distinguished. Time, who spreads the veil of oblivion over the opinions and works of mankind, who annihilates empires and the records of their existence, had spared the doctrines and language of the followers of Brama, and amidst the ravages of conquest and oppressions of tyranny, seemed to protect with parental care some of the earliest monuments of his reign. The Hindoos in fact presented to the observation of Sir William Jones, a living picture of antiquity: and although the colouring might be somewhat faded and obscured, the lineaments of the original character were still discernible by the most superficial observer, whilst he remarked them with discrimination and rapture.

In December 1783, he entered upon his judicial functions, and at the opening of the sessions, delivered his first charge to the grand jury. The public had formed a high estimate of his oratorical powers, nor were they disappointed. His address was elegant, concise, and appropriate; the exposition of his sentiments and principles was equally manly and conciliatory, and calculated to inspire general satisfaction, as the known sincerity of his character was a test of his adherence to his professions. In glancing at dissentions, which, at no remote period, had unfortu