SACRED ISLES IN THE WEST, &C. 253 



I had nb reason to doubt their authenticity ; and 

 secondly, because it would have been soon enough 

 to make the collation when I had determined upon 

 publishing any part of them. 



This apparently lulled him into security ; but, 

 being afterwards sensible of the danger of his de- 

 tection, he was induced to attempt the most daring 

 falsification of the originals, in order, if possible, 

 to extricate himself. When discovered, he flew 

 into the most violent paroxysms of rage, calling- 

 down the vengeance of heaven, with the most 

 horrid and tremendous imprecations upon himself 

 and his children, if the extracts were not true. 

 He brought ten Brahmens^ not only as compurga- 

 tors, but also to swear, by what is most sacred in 

 their religion, to the genuineness of these extracts. 

 After giving them a severe reprimand, for this 

 prostitution of their sacerdotal character, I, of 

 course, refused to allow them to proceed. 



And here I shall close the recital of what relates 

 personally to a man, whose course of imposition I 

 have deemed incumbent on me to lay before the 

 public. He came to me in distress, but with a 

 fair reputation; he is now in affluence, but with a 

 character infamous for ingratitude, and fraud, and 

 deceit. His voluminous extracts are still of great 

 use to me, because they always contain much 

 truth, and the learned, therefore, have not been 

 misled in their general conclusions from my essay 

 on Egypt ; though it Vv'ould be dangerous for any 

 one to use detached passage*;, and apply them to 

 any particular purpose. In the course of my pre- 

 sent work, I have collected carefully what I could 

 find in India concerning Ethiopia and Egypt. 



A ftw instances of the impositions of my pandit 

 v»'ill exemplify his mode of proceeding. The first 



