EUROPEAN. 257 



chiefly those who were the most distinguished. Baber, (Babur or 

 Baba), the first of this series, died in 1530. Shere, the Afghan, died 

 in 1545; and Houmaioun, the son of Baber, after regaining his 

 throne, died in 1555. His son, Jlkbar, (or Acber), the fortunate, died 

 in 1605; and Jehan Ghire, (Jehanghire, or Selim), died in 1628. 

 Shah Jehan, died about 1660; and his son, the ambitious and re- 

 nowned Jlureng Zebe, died in 1707. After the short reigns of 

 Bahauder, Jehaunder, and Mahomed Shah, and the Persian con- 

 quest by Nadir Shah, already mentioned, (p. 213), the great Moguls, 

 from their diminished power, became of minor consequence. The 

 principal native chiefs who were subdued by the British, have been, 

 mentioned in the preceding department. Of Hindoo historians, we 

 would mention, besides the emperor, Jehan Ghire, (or Jehan Guir), 

 the vizier, J$bul Fazl, who wrote in the Persian language, and was- 

 put to death in 1604. Of the Hindoo poets, Valmiki and Vyascb 

 flourished long before the Christian era ; and Calidas flourished 60 

 B. C. Other Hindoo poets, and the fabulous name of Pilpay, will 

 be referred to under Hindoo Callography. 



Under Chinese Biography, we give the names of the emperors- 

 of the present (22d, or Tai Tsin) dynasty, with the dates of their 

 accession, as follows: Shun-chi, or Shee-tsong, 1644; Kang-hee, 

 (Kang-hi), or Shin-tsoo-gin, 1662; Yong-ching, (Yong-tching), or 

 Shee-tsong-hien, 1723; Kien-long, (or Kien-lung), 1736 ; Kia-king* 

 1796; and Tao-kwang, (Tara-kwang, or Daoguan), 1821. Of 

 Chinese historians we would mention Con-fu-tse, (Kung-fu-dsu), or 

 Confucius, who was also a poet and moralist, and flourished about 

 550 B. C. ; and Meng-tseu, or Mencius, his successor, and com- 

 mentator, who died 314 B. C. Se-ma-tsien, was also a Chinese 

 historian ; and the recent emperor Kien-long, may be mentioned 

 among the Chinese poets. 



CHAPTER III. 



EUROPEAN BIOGRAPHY. 



THE branch of European Biography, is very extensive, and abounds 

 in distinguished characters, in all the walks of life. Next to that of 

 our own country, it presents to us lessons the most available for prac- 

 tical benefit ; as the circumstances of the European nations are, of all 

 others, the most similar to our own ; and therefore afford precedents 

 the most suitable for our guidance. All that we can here attempt, 

 is an enumeration of some of the most renowned and meritorious 

 characters, in such a manner as to give an idea of their relative posi- 

 tion, in the scale of time, and the circle of nations ; by which the 

 reader will be enabled to study them in a connected and natural order, 

 on referring to extensive biographical works. It is gratifying to 

 observe, that the names distinguished in the cause of learning and 

 philanthropy, may at least rival the number of those renowned in arms 

 33 Y 2 



