as an illustration of our special linguistic clumsiness, as contrasted with Russian tact, and pointing out the considerable advantage which they thus enjoyed over us in impressing the oriental imagination. For my own part, I am quite unable to see any valid reason why the well-known and dignified word pádsháh should not be used, at least on all ordinary occasions, where no reference is made to the sex of the sovereign, as in the superscripture of service letters, or the wording of legal documents.

As change of circumstances, or the development of European ideas, involves an occasional necessity for enlarging the vernacular nomenclature, I would suggest that this coinage of words, hitherto characterised by the most signal failures, should be transferred from the Government mint to the care of the Asiatic Society, and that a Philological Committee should be allowed to express their opinion before any new issue was definitely stamped and authoritatively circulated. The last new word that has been forced down the throats of the people is numáish-gah, the principal result at present of the fashionable exhibition epidemic. It is a compound, for which it would be perfectly useless to look in any Hindustani Dictionary, and in fact has never had any existence in the country. As yet its use is exclusively confined to the Munshi class, who, in order to define its meaning, invariably prefix the word mela, and I believe consider it only the Government synonym for a tamásha of any kind, in the same way as sirika is the Government expression for what every one in his senses calls chori. Thus, during the grand Darbár at Agra, I had petitions from mukhtárs, explaining their clients' absence on the ground that they had gone to the "Agra numaish-gáh." With the people at large the word melá appears to answer every necessary purpose; or if greater precision is desired, sarkári melá is employed. And although some more adequate expression might no doubt be evolved by a due exercise of the critical faculty, I consider this indigenous product is at all events better than the official exotic. Several other subjects suggest themselves for animadversion, but my remarks have extended far beyond the limit I originally intended, and some of the points already noticed may appear too minute to deserve serious attention. Yet, if philology is worth studying at all, it is certainly worth while to recognize its rules in practice.

LITERARY AND MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENce.

A catalogue of the Vernacular Publications of the Bombay Presidency has just been brought out by Sir Alexander Grant, Director of Public Instruction, Bombay. It embraces the names of 1679 books of which 175 are in Sanscrit, 660 in Marhatti, 628 in Guzrati, 49 in Canarese, and 43 in Sindhi. Of Zend books there are 4, and of Pehlevi 1, being the Pehlevi version of the Zendavesta. Prefixed to the catalogue are two interesting essays by Professor F. Kielhorn. and Mr. M. G. Ránáde, on its Sanskrit and Marathi portions.

Mr. J. Beames has just published a short introduction to the study of Indian Philology, with a map shewing the distritution of Indian languages. It is intended to be a guide to those "who, having no knowledge of Linguistic Science, wish to record and preserve dialects of obscure and uncivilised tribes with whom they may come into contact; or any of the countless local peculiarities of the leading Indian languages which may be spoken in their neighbourhood."

The following is an Extract from a letter from Major General A. Cunningham to Colonel C. S. Guthrie, on a large gold Eucratides ately brought to England.

"But what is a double gold-mohur compared to the great gold Eucratides which has just been brought from Bokhara by Aga Zebalun Bokhâri? It is 2 inches in diameter, and weighs ten staters, or eleven guineas? It has the usual helmeted head on one side, with the horsemen and inscription on the reverse. The owner has refused 700£ for it. It is genuine-and beats all the Greek coins hitherto discovered.

"I have three specimens of a new Greek King, Apollophanes, and some rude coins of Strato with the title of Philopator, which is translated priyapitá, lover of his father. Please tell Grote of these Bactrian novelties."