Vol. VI, No. 8.] The Marsden MSS. in the British Museum. 451 



[N.S.] 



157. From Agra, July 16, 1684. 



158. A Portuguese translation from the Persian. Date 

 [of translation ?] : Agra, 23 July, 1684. 



159. A folded document in Persian characters. 



160—163. Pencil date at top : 20 Aug. 1684. 

 Written from : Ugoly. 



164. Pencil date : 20 Aug. 1684. 

 Written from : Ugoly. 



168. A folded document in Persian characters. 



169-170. A letter written from : Ugoly. Date : 20 Dec. 1684. 

 The seal and address intact. 



Mr. P. wrote in 1892 that, as far as he knew, the Marsden 

 MSS. had never been referred to except by Whitehouse and 

 Hough. Whitehouse used only the document about Todamald, 

 and Hough, though he mentions the Marsden MSS. on p. 209 

 of his History of Christianity in India, London, 1839, Vol. I. 

 does so in such a way as to show he did not use them, even if he 

 ever saw them. 



Before bidding farewell to Mr. Philipps' excellent memo- 

 randum, it is interesting to hear under what conditions research 

 work is done at the British Museum. English MSS. of early 

 in the seventeenth century have difficulties for Englishmen, 

 much more Portuguese MSS. faded and damaged, often badly 

 written and full of old spellings and abbreviations. The 

 difficulties are somewhat increased by the conditions under 

 which we work at the British Museum. We are not allowed 

 to put a MS. flat on the table. It is placed on a book-stand 

 in front of one, but must not be removed from it. Nor are we 

 allowed to touch the MS. except to turn over the page 

 Under these circumstances it is difficult sometimes to get the 

 eye near enough, when the writing is small or bad, or the day 

 is cloudy, and in the large pages of closely written matter on* 

 often loses one's place, when one cannot keep the hand on the 

 MS. as a guide. Then again, as in the case of Vol. 9853, the 

 letters or reports in it were not written with the idea that they 

 would ever be bound up : consequently, some of the writing 

 is so close to the binding that it is difficult to open the volume 



far enough to read it all." 



* 

 * * 



.Mr. H. Be ve ridge's remark relate to Nbs. 9s. IS— 56 of the 

 Mai -den M S. We reproduce them integrally, adding wme 



foot-notes. 



