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of China, some or most of which are shallow (heels?) and might furnish vast quantities of remains of confervæ on their inundated banks and flats.

In a paper by Mr. Darwin in the Journal of the Geological Society for 1845, on the fall of the Fine Dust in the Atlantic, which had escaped my notice and which Mr. Laidlay has been good enough to point out to me, mention is made not only of small but of coloured particles of stone 10th of an inch square, with some few a little larger, and much fine matter; but all the dusts examined by Mr. Darwin fuse under the blowpipe. Professor Ehrenburg finds that this dust contained no less than sixty-seven forms of Infusoria, that is of their siliceous tissues, but none of the soft parts remain. We may observe too that the whole of the dust falling on the Eastern side of the Atlantic comes from the neighbouring shores of Africa.

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,

FEBRUARY, 1847.

The usual monthly meeting was held at the Society's house on Wednesday the 10th of February.

The Hon'ble Sir J. P. Grant, in the chair.

The minutes of the preceding meeting having been read by the Senior Secretary

Major Marshall objected to the manner in which vacancies in the Committee of Papers had been filled up at the last meeting, and said that election lists for all office-bearers ought to have been distributed. He then moved for a new election of all officers of the Society.

The Senior Secretary stated that it had been the practice of the Society for the past twelve years to do as had been done at the last meeting.

Major Marshall still pressing his proposition, it was moved by the Lord Bishop, seconded by Colonel Forbes, and carried with but one dissentient voice, that at future annual elections lists for all office-bearers be distributed according to the early practice of the Society.

The minutes of the January meeting were then confirmed.

The following gentlemen were ballotted for, and duly elected members of the Society :

Capt. W. Munro, Brigade Major, Fort William; Capt. Ouseley, Assistant Political Agent, N. W. Frontier; Baboo Hurreemohun Sen; R. Jones, Esq. Hindu College; J. Muller, Esq. Mint; Baboo Debendernath Tagore, and W. M. Dirom, Esq. C. S.

The following gentlemen were proposed as candidates for election at next meeting:

The Rev. William Keane, A. M. of Emanuel College, Cambridge, proposed by the Lord Bishop, seconded by Dr. O'Shaughnessy.

H. Thornhill, Esq., C. S. proposed by G. A. Bushby, Esq., seconded by Col. Forbes.

H. Newmarch, Esq. Professor, Hindu College, proposed by Mr. Heatley, seconded by Dr. O'Shaughnessy.

E. Linstedt, Esq. proposed by Mr. Blyth, seconded by Mr. Laidlay. Baboo Dwarkanath Bose, of the Royal College of Surgeons of London, proposed by Dr. Stewart, seconded by Mr. Blyth.

W. Kerr, Esq. Principal of the Hindu College, proposed by Dr. O'Shaughnessy, seconded by Col. Forbes.

Lieut. Douglas, Bengal Artillery, proposed by Captain Broome, seconded by Dr. O'Shaughnessy.

Baboo Debendernath Tagore, proposed by Dr. O'Shaughnessy, seconded by Mr. Laidlay.

Rev. A. Sandberg, of Benares, proposed by Rev. J. Long, seconded by J. Ward, Esq.

The Senior Secretary handed in the accounts of expenditure, and receipts, with cash vouchers for the month of January, which were directed to remain on the Library table for general inspection till next meeting.

Read the following letter from Capt. Righy, Bengal Engineers.

To the Secretary of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.

Cuttack, 26th January, 1847.

SIR,-I have the pleasure to enclose copy of an inscription from a stone exhumed, a few days since, from the ruins of the stone revetment against the Kajoorey ruin, a work to which the city of Cuttack owes its continuance, for a period probably but little short of that of its existence.

The work was so seriously damaged during the last rainy season, as to render necessary the preparation of an estimate for a new line of works, giving temporary repairs merely to the old one; and it was in clearing away the ruins for the latter purpose that the stone came to light. From its position when discovered, it would appear to have been concealed, by a facing of stone given subsequently to the work in which it had been fixed as a record.

I may add that the letters on the stone (a basalt) are as sharply defined as if cut yesterday.

I shall be greatly obliged by your favoring me with a translation of the inscrip

tion.

I remain, Sir,

Your obedient Servant,

H. RIGHY, Capt. Engineers.

آغاز این عمارت در اواخر زمان دولت بادشاه جفت بارگاه نور الدین محمد جہانگیر بادشاه طيب الله ثراه صورت پذیرفت و اتمام آن در اوایل او آن خلافت ابدقران بادشاه عالمیان پناه ابو المظفر شهاب الدین محمد صاحب قرآن ثاني شاهجهان بادشاه غازي و سال يك هزار و سی و هفت هجري سمت وقوع یافت و بانی این اساس بنده درگاه محمد باقرخان نجم ثاني بلده باقر آباد •

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TRANSLATION.

The foundation of this building was laid at the close of the reign of the king of heavenly court, Nooruddeen Mohummud Jehangeer Badshah. May sanctity attend his resting place! and it was completed during the commencement of the reign (may it be perpetual) of the king of the world, father of victory, star of religion, Mohummud, second Lord of felicity, Shah Jehan Badshah Gazi, in the year 1037 Hijri, by a servant of the court, Mohummud Báker Khan Nujumussani,* inhabitant of the city of Bákerábad,-Architect.

Read the following extracts from a letter from Capt. Kittoe, to the Senior Secretary.

"Sherghatti, 29th January, 1847.

"By this day's dawk I have forwarded a packet of impressions and copies of inscriptions to Mr. Bushby's office, so pray send there for them that they may be in time for this meeting. I have kept back a good many, wishing to prepare them properly.

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"I have I find, four of the most ancient inscriptions, more than had hitherto been noticed, being three from one place and three from another; the first three only differ in the initial name; the next are a pair (with the same difference) and the third entirely so. They are all unluckily mutilated; the pair have the same three letters struck out of each, and the quaint sentence' Bodhist likha' in an ancient Sanscrit type. This has been translated by Prinsep as Bodhisool af. It is certainly as like the one as the other; my version is Writing of Budhists'-his 'the root of the Bo-tree;' in another sense the root of knowledge,' the letters of the ancient writing have evidently been hammered out purposely. I have satisfactorily made out so much of the sentence, 'The beloved raja in the 12th year of his reign caused this cave,' &c. &c., but I am forestalling a long article I propose editing on the caves. Suffice it to say that I am inclined to give far more remote date to these inscriptions than has been hitherto accorded. I believe the 'Dasarath' named to be the identical person of Puranic' fame, the father of Ram, and that 'Devanam-piya-dasa raja' is only a title common to the Gupta rajas and those preceding. Oh, that poor James Prinsep were alive to enjoy the discoveries I have made, how we could have helped each other.

"A second Luminary."

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