414 Additional Notes. 



into French by M. Savary, the celebrated traveller into 

 Egypt. It is published with his Letters on Egypt and Greece* 

 in six vols. 8vo. 



Persian Literature. 



The translation of the History of Nadir Shah was un- 

 dertaken by Sir William Jones, at the instance of the King 

 of Denmark. For this honourable monument of learned la- 

 bour, his royal employer presented him with a snuff-box ! 



Persian literature has also been enriched, during the last 

 age, with a number of other important translations into the 

 different languages of Europe. 



Hindoo Literature. 



The principal compiler of the Lettres Edifiantes et Cn- 

 ■rieuses, was Father Charles Gobien, a Jesuit, of St. Ma- 

 loes, assisted by Du Halde, and others, of the same order. 

 These Letters are filled with interesting accounts of the Na- 

 tural History, Geography, Policy, and Literature of the coun- 

 tries visited by the Jesuits. They appeared at an early period 

 of the century, in a number of volumes. 



John Zephaniah Holwell, Esq. Governor of Bengal, 

 was among the persons confined in the Black Hole, at Cal- 

 cutta, in 1756, of which he published a narrative. He was 

 among the first Europeans who engaged in the study of Hin- 

 doo antiquities; and pointed out the path which others have 

 so successfully pursued. He was, however, wholly ignorant 

 of the Sanscrit language, and, on account of this deficiency, 

 laboured under many disadvantages, and made gross mistakes 

 in his investigations. : 



Mr. Halhed published a Grammar of the Bengal Lan- 

 guage, in Calcutta, in 1778, and in London in 1780. Con- 

 sidering this language as the sole channel of personal and 

 epistolary communication among the Hindoos, of every oc- 

 cupation and tribe; and considering, also, that, of all the 

 oriental languages, this approaches nearest to the Sanscrit, in 

 expression, structure, and character, every attempt to illus- 

 trate its principles, and facilitate its acquisition, may be re- 

 garded as an important present both to the literary and com- 

 mercial world. 



