310 Gracilis ad Aomon. [No. 4r. 



Edward Conolly (brother of the traveller and martyr Arthur Co- 

 nolly, whose name must ever be mentioned with reverence) was an 

 enthusiastic antiquary. He possessed an excellent and choice library 

 and had means of access to the Greek and Latin historians without 

 aid of translations. His industry and enthusiasm, however, seem to 

 have availed him little in the quest of Aornos. He may have made 

 guesses, but it is certain that he did not see the Eock Aornos 

 which " is so easily found by any traveller who proceeds up the 

 right bank of the Indus." He may probably have been struck with 

 the name Umb* as the first syllable of that Umb Balimah where 

 Alexander fixed his camp for the attack of Aornos. But it is impro- 

 bable that Balimah, which is invisible from Umb, should have been 

 discovered by him. 



Another English traveller Capt. Leachf followed Edward Conolly's 

 steps a year or two after him. He was probably more general in 

 his enquiries. He met with the same attention as Conolly : but, if 

 either had purposed proceeding higher up the Indus, he found on 

 enquiry that such a step would be madness. 



Yigne had come to Torbaila and had been struck with the name 

 of Umb, but failed to discover its adjunct Balimah. Being a liberal^ 

 minded man, he allows his reader the choice of many sites scattered 

 over the Eusufzye, the Wuzzeeree country, and the Punjaub even to 

 Iskardoh beyond Cashmere. If in so ample an area, filled with 

 rugged rocks and impregnable fortresses, no Aornos worthy of 

 Hercules and Alexander is to be found, we hold the ease to be 

 indeed hopeless. 



Now, it is very certain, that if Curtius's history be a faithful nar- 

 rative of Alexander's movements, Mr. Williams' directions for 

 finding Aornos are infallible. Eor since the assailants were hurled 

 from the rock into the Indus, the rock must have beetled over the 

 right bank of the river. Yet, not only Conolly, Leach and Yigne 

 have failed to discover any such rock answering to the description 



* The name Umb seems to have struck several travellers. Genl. Court is, I 

 believe, the first who observes upon it : Vigne the second. 



f I write this name with some hesitation from memory, having forgotten to 

 make a memorandum of it when the certificates given by this traveller to Poynda 

 Khan were brought to me. 



