1MQ SOME ACCOUNT OF lHfe 



formation, as the foil of one of them, D:?i Pedro bk 

 SylvAj is 1 r ill alive at Jaya nagar ; and Pedro himfelf, 

 who was a phyiician as well as aftronomer, has not 

 been dead more than five or fix years. Beiides thefe, 

 the Pandit, had a table of logarithms and of logarith- 

 mic lines and tangents to leven places of figures ; and 

 a treatiie on conic lections. J have always thought, 

 that after having convinced the Eaftern nations of our 

 iuperioritv in policy and in arms, nothing can contri- 

 bute more to the extension of our national glory than 

 the diflulion among them of a tafte for European 

 fcience. And as tlie means of promoting fo delirable 

 an end, thole among the natives who had penetration 

 to fee, and ingenuouily to own, its fuperior accuracy 

 and evidence, ought to be chcrilhed. Among thole of 

 the Iilamic faith, Tuffuzzul Hussein Kiiax, who, 

 by tranllating the works of the immortal Newton, 

 has conducted thoie imbused with Arabick literature 

 to the fountain of all phyiical and aitronomical know- 

 ledge, is above my praife. I hoped that the Pandit 

 Jyotijh Raw following the fteps of his anceftors and of 

 his illuftrious matter, might one day render a iimilar 

 lervice to the dilciples of Brahma. But this expecta- 

 tion was difappointed by his Hidden death at Jayanagar 

 loon after our departure from Ouje'm: and with him 

 the genius of Jayafmha became extinct. Urania lied 

 before the brazen fronted Mars, and the obfervatory 

 was converted into an arlenai and foundery of can- 

 non. 



The Hindu aftronomy, from* the learned and inge- 

 nious difquiiitions of Mr. Baily and profefibr Play- 

 fair, appears to carry internal marks of antiquity 

 which do not ftand in need of confirmation by col- 

 li: end evidence. Idle, it is evident, from the fore- 

 going account, that l'uch could not be derived from 

 the obfervatories which have been defcribed by tra- 

 vellers ; thole being of modern date, and as probablv 



of 



