1890.] Address. 63 



lu History and Geography, 115 works were registered, of wliicli 34; 

 were English. They inckide the first instalment of a History of Sans- 

 krit Literature from the Vedic period to the present day, by Babu 

 Troilokya Nath Bhattacharyya, which seems likely to be valuable, and 

 an elaborate account, in a work entitled Bhdrab Prasanga, by liajani 

 Kanta Gupta, of the English occupation of Bengal. A history of the 

 Narayangarh familj', of Miduapur, for the last 900 years, is a valuable 

 contribution to the local history of the Lower Provinces. Books on 

 Languages are, after Religion, the most numerous, 582 having been 

 registered, of which 86 were in English ; but a very large proportion 

 are educational and too many are 'Keys' for examinations, the growth 

 of which is remarked and deprecated in all the reports. The new 

 edition of Barat's Bengali and English Dictionary made good progress, 

 A Bengali-Garo Dictionary, by the Rev. M. Ramkhe is also noted. 



Law books in English or Bengali were few. An edition, in Sanskrit, 

 of Madana-Pdrijdta, by Pandit Madhusudana Smritiratua, is the most 

 important. In Medicine, 149 works were registered of which only 3 

 were English, They are unimportant, except in so far that they show 

 a tendency to revive the Ayurvedic treatment, as most suitable for 

 natives of India. Songs here, as in other parts of India, and, indeed, 

 all over the world, form a very large portion of the popular literature, 

 and large numbers of collections of them were received of all kinds, 

 religious and secular. The year was I'ich in miscellaneous works by 

 female writers, one of which UslidcJiind, by Swarnamayi Gupta, a col- 

 lection of essays on society, education &c., is specially noticeable. 



Sanskrit and philosophic literature received a good deal of atten- 

 tion during the year, and there is marked evidence of a revival of literary 

 activity among the pandits of this country. The poetical literature of 

 the year was vei-y meagre. 



Of the non-educational works, religious treatises are by far the most 

 numerous, 604 having been registered. They show considerable variety 

 and richness. It is noticeable that several native Christian writers 

 endeavour to show that the Hindus are a section of the great Israelite 

 race, and that their I'ites and ceremonies are counterparts of Jewish 

 festivals. Others again, consider them to be derived from a Christian 

 origin. One of the most important works of the year was Babu B. 0. 

 Chatter ji's Dharmatattwa in which an attempt has been made to bring 

 about a union between Eastern and Western ideas of education, culture 

 and religion, and to give the younger generation a system on which to 

 base their moral conduct and a faith that suits their intellectual train- 

 ing, in place of the moral and intellectual chaos which has followed the 

 influence of Western ideas and teaching among the educated classes in 

 Bengal, Science was unfortunately represented only by school books. 



