fc3& Catalogues of Oriental Libraries. [No. 6. 



Several of the treasures contained in the chapter on Arabic poetry 

 are already known to the public, at least by name, as the Hamasah, 

 the Dywan of the Hodzaylites, the collection of ancient poems of 

 Ibn al'araby, &e. A splendid old copy of Tibryzy's commentary 

 on the Hamasah is at Cawnpore, and I possess a copy of the com- 

 mentary of Abu 'alyy. 



The only poetical work in Persian which deserves notice is the 

 Kawshanay namah of Nacir Khosraw whose takhaluc was i?ojjat 

 (No. 630). It is stated that it was composed in 343, but a^lxm* must 

 be a mistake of the copyist for j^c U.^ for Nacir Khosraw was a con- 

 temporary of the Eatfimite Khalyfah Mostancir who succeeded in 427 

 and died in 487, and many poems of his Dywan are in his praise. 



The library of Leyden possesses great treasures in history and 

 geography, but owing to the liberal rules of the university, they 

 have been much explored by orientalists of all countries, and are 

 therefore generally known. 



And what has India done in the way of preserving a record of the 

 thousands of books which are moldering in its libraries, and annually 

 destroyed by insects ? I should not have ventured to ask this question 

 if it could not be satisfactorily answered. Sir Henry Elliot's Indian 

 Historians is a work of too high an order than that it could be called 

 a catalogue. It is a historical book. But there are other works in 

 progress which in extent will far surpass any thing that has been 

 done in Europe. Dr. Ballantyne and Professor Hall are preparing a 

 catologue raisonne of the Sanscrit MSS. of the Benares College, 

 which in fact will be a general bibliography of Sanscrit literature, 

 and Professor Hall is preparing at the same time a detailed account 

 of near two thousand Hindi works of which hitherto hardly two 

 dozens have been imperfectly known. The value of this publication 

 for India will be incalculable. He has promised us an account of 

 his labours, which, I hope, we shall soon receive for insertion in this 

 Journal. 



The Honourable Court of Directors has sanctioned the publica- 

 tion of the Catalogue of the Lucnow libraries, and 448 pages of it 

 are printed. The sciences are not classed according to any logical 

 arrangement, but those which are usually cultivated by the same 

 class of men are grouped together in separate volumes, so that every 



