166 Obituary notice of Mr. Blochmann. [Auci. 



the Kreuz-Schule o£ that city. From 1855 to about September 1857, 

 he studied Hebrew and Oriental languages at the University of Leipzig 

 under Professor Fleischer. He afterwards studied for a short time in 

 Paris, and in 1858 he left Europe for India, being chiefly induced to 

 this step by his love for oriental studies, and he landed in Calcutta, 

 nearly 20 years ago, in September, 1858. At first he appears, for want 

 of employment, to have been reduced to great straits, and he at one time 

 enlisted in the army, but he soon found a friend in Captain Nassau Lees, 

 then Principal of the Calcutta Madrassa, by whose assistance Mr. Bloch- 

 mann was appointed to a subordinate post in the Madrassa College in 

 1860. He left this post in the beginning of 1862 to become Professor 

 of Mathematics at the Doveton College, a post he held for about three 

 years. He studied meantime energetically, and in 1865 took the degree of 

 Master of Arts in the Calcutta University, having chosen Hebrew as the 

 subject for his examination. It is related that when, after some difficul- 

 ty, examiners were found competent to decide upon his proficiency, they 

 found the student was far better acquainted with the language than 

 they were themselves. In the same year Mr. Blochmann rejoined the 

 Madrassa as Assistant Professor, Captain Nassau Lees remaining as the 

 Principal until 1869, when he retired, and at first no successor was 

 appointed, but a committee exercised supervision, whilst Mr. Blochmann 

 was placed in charge of the College, retaining his title of Professor. He 

 was appointed to officiate as Principal in 1870 and was made Principal 

 in 1875. How, in the course of the time that he has held the office, he 

 has endeared himself to the Students of the College and to the whole 

 Muhammadan community, is shewn by the general sorrow for his death 

 and by the Muhammadan meeting of last week to do honour to his 

 memory. 



Mr. Blochmann joined the Society in 1864 and entered the Council, 

 when he became Secretary in succession to Mr. Heeley, in 1868. He 

 retained the office until his death. He had been ailing slightly for about 

 a month, and although, as all may remember, the most regular of 

 attendants at our monthly Meetings, he was absent on the last occasion 

 in July. Still no danger was suspected, he was supposed to be suffering 

 from a slight attack of fever, and he had made arrangements to leave 

 Calcutta for a short time and go to Dalhousie. 



Only three or four days before his death, was there any suspicion of 

 the real cause of his illness, renal disease, and even then no acute symp- 

 toms presented themselves. On the very day when he had proposed to 

 leave Calcutta his illness increased, and the next morninor he was found 



