736 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804 



a magistrate, whose probity and 

 indi^peiidfiice were no less acknow- 

 ledged (iian his abilities. 



In December 1783. he entered 

 upon his judicial fun(5tions, and at 

 the openingof the sessions, delivered 

 his first charge to the grand jury. 

 The public had formed a high esti- 

 Eiatc of his oratorical powers, nor 

 were they disappointed. His ad- 

 dress was elegant, concise, and ap- 

 propriate : the expression of his 

 " sentiments and principles was equal- 

 ly manly and conciliatory, and cal- 

 culated to inspire general satis- 

 faction, as the known sincerity of 

 his character was a test of his ad- 

 herence to his profession. In glanc- 

 ing at dissentlons, which at no 

 remote period had unfortunately 

 prevailed between the supreme ex- 

 ecutive and judicial powers in Ben- 

 gal, he shewed that they might and 

 ought to be avoided, that the func- 

 tions of both were distinct, and 

 could be exercised without danger 

 of collision, in promofini; what 

 sho\iId be the object of both, the 

 public good. 



The society of sir William Jones 

 was too attra(^tivc to allow him to 

 employ his leisure hours in those 

 studies which he so eagerly desired 

 to cultivate, and although no man 

 was more happy in the couver.'^ation 

 of his friends, he soon lound that 

 the unrestrained enjoyment of this 

 gratification was incompatible with 

 his attention to literary pursuits. 

 He determined therefore to seek 

 some retirement at no great distance 

 from Calcutta, where he might have 

 the benefit of air and exercise, and 

 prosecute his studies without inttr- 

 ruption, during the vacations of the 

 supreme court. For this purpose 

 he made choice of a residence at 

 Chr^^nageUj flhicii had a particu- 

 4 



lar attra6lion to him, from its ticini- 

 ty to a Hindu college. 



In 1785, a periodical work was 

 undertaken at Calcutta, under the 

 title of the Asiatic Miscellany, which 

 has been ignorantly ascribed to the 

 Asiatic society, with whose re- 

 searches it had no connexion. The 

 title of the work indicates the nature 

 of its contents, which consisted 

 chielly of extracts from books pub- 

 lished in Europe, relating to India, 

 of translations "from Oriental au- 

 thors, and of poems and essays. 

 The editor was occasionally assisted 

 by the literary talents of gentlemen 

 in India, and we find in the two 

 first volumes, which were published 

 in the years 1785 and 86, the fol- 

 low ing compositions of sir William 

 Jones, who never neglected any 

 opportunity of contributing to the 

 advancement of oriental literature : 

 — The tale of the enchanted fruit ; 

 six hymns, addressed to as many 

 Hindu deities ; a literal translation 

 of twenty tales and fables of Niza- 

 mi, expressly intended to assist the 

 students of the Persian language ; 

 besides often smaller pieces, from 

 which I quote with pleasure the fol- 

 lowing beautiful tetrastick, which 

 is a literal translation from the 

 Persian: — 



On parent knees, a naked new-born 



child, 

 Weeping thou sat'st, whilst all around 



thee sniil'd ; 

 So live, that, sinking in thy last long 



sleep, 

 Calm thou luay'st smile when all around 



thee weep. 



The uniformity which marked 

 the remaining period of his allotted 

 existence admits of little variety of 

 delineation. The largest portion 

 of each year wa.s devoted to his pro- 

 fessions L ! 



