1869.] Bad&oni and his Worlcs. 107 



particularly of the motives which actuated the greatest sovereign that 

 has ever ruled the destinies of India, in many of the measures of his 

 government." It is one of the objects of this paper to vindicate Ba- 

 daoni, and to shew that with the exception of the third statement, 

 which is a personal matter, every one of the remaining six points is a 

 statement capable of being disproved by quoting from his works. 



But before proceeding to my task, I shall give a short outline, because 

 I have chosen a historical writer for my first essay, of the history of 

 our editions, as I can trace it from the records and journals of our 

 Society. The following remarks then may serve as an introduction 

 to the Historians of our New Series.* 



II. — Sir Henry Elliot's Scheme and the Bibliotheca Indica. 



It may at first sight seem surprising that before the appearance, in 

 1849, of Sir H. M. Elliot's Index to the Historians of Muhcmmadcm 

 India, but little was done for determining the sources from which 

 the history of the Muhammadan period should be compiled. When cir- 

 cumstances lead inen to pay attention to a new branch of knowledge, 

 it is outlines rather, and comprehensive sketches, which are required, 

 than critical details. But when, in the course of time, a fair know- 

 ledge has been gained of the subject and its scopes, men will proceed 

 to analytical enquiries; and after gaining an insight into the sources, 

 they will exercise the power of selecting that which is original from 

 that which is borrowed. The attention which scholars before and at 

 the time of Elliot paid to Indian History, was, however, by no means 

 slight. This is shewn by the numerous translations which have been 

 made by Anderson, Bird, Briggs, Chalmers (MS.), W. Davy, Born, 

 Erskine, Gladwin, W. Hollingbery, C. A. Mackenzie (MS.), Miles, B. 

 Prize, H. T. Prinsep, J. Reynolds, Rowlandson, C. Stewart, B. Shea, 

 A. Troyer, White, «T. Wilkins, &c, several of which translations were 

 printed at the cost of the Oriental Translation Fund. 



But it is the works of Sir H. M. Elliot, and his posthumous pa- 

 pers which, for years to come, will form the sound basis of critical 

 studies. Sir H. M. Elliot, shortly before 1847, if I am not mistaken, 

 proposed to the Government of the North West to lithograph a uni- 



* Since writing the following remarks, the New Series of our Bibliotheca 

 Indica was reviewed in the Times of the 26th March, 1869. 



