622 Continuation of Observations [Nov, 



persevering labour and true antiquarian zeal, which have alone 

 enabled him to gather together such a rich collection of this peculiar 

 and rare type, and for the disinterested readiness with which he has 

 placed them at my disposal, to select from and publish at once, 

 thus depriving him as it were of the first fruits of his enterprize and 

 toil. It is true that so far at least as regards the merit of discovery, 

 his title will rather be confirmed than injured by early publicity ; 

 but the employment of another hand to illustrate his materials may do 

 injustice to his own careful classification ; and modify the opinions and 

 deductions regarding the origin, connection, and antiquity of various 

 groups, which he may have derived from a larger and more intimate 

 study of the subject, and from the actual inspection and handling of 

 thousands of coins, that have been withheld from insertion in his 

 select cabinet. 



The home collector, who like myself, but receives contributions 

 from others, may learn, from the superior fulness and novelty of 

 many of the following plates, to appreciate the advantage of per- 

 sonal exertion over second-hand acquirement. In further proof of 

 this, I could produce some of the letters now lying before me, re- 

 ceived from Colonel Stacy on his several coin excursions. Here 

 he would be seen putting up with every inconvenience, endur- 

 ing the burning heats of May, or the cold of December, under trees 

 or in common serais in Central India ; digging in deserted ruins, or 

 poring over the old stores of village money-changers, after having 

 (the principal difficulty and art), won their confidence, sometimes 

 their interest, in the object of his pursuit : sparing neither money nor 

 time to gain his end, and after a hard search and fatigue, sitting down, 

 while his impressions were still warm and vivid, to communicate the 

 results of his day's campaign. 



Col. Stacy felt himself for a moment disheartened on beholding 

 the treasures of Gen. Ventura and his followers : but although the 

 character of the Bactrian relics necessarily eclipses all that can 

 be expected from a Hindu source, while their prolific abundance 

 astonishes the gleaner of Hindu relics, a moment's reflection should 

 restore a full or even increased degree of satisfaction. Hindu his- 

 tory is even more in need of elucidation from coins than Bactrian. 

 The two countries are in fact found to be interwoven in their history 

 in a most curious manner, and must be studied together. The alphabe- 

 tic characters, the symbols, and most especially the link-coins, (empha- 

 tically named so by Colonel Stacy,) are fraught with information on 

 this head, which can only be extracted by multiplying the specimens, 

 and thus completing the chain of evidence. It will be seen shortly, that 



