1854.] Literary Intelligence, 719 



Yajur Sheve Kumjee Doobeh, and on the literature of the Puranas 

 Harinama Kaula, who is mentioned as Harry Earn Cowl, and devoted 

 a particular attentiou to the examination and the acquisition of legal 

 works. The collection of pandit Govardhana Vyasa, which con- 

 tained among other works 6 Puranas, and also those of Devadatta 

 Ojha, of Krishnadatta and of Siva Lala Ojha, were purchased in 

 1783, and in 1785 Sir Eobert acquired a number of pieces of the 

 Sama Yeda from Ibrahim Vaha. 



" ' The 78 MSS. bearing dates from Samvat 1831 to 1855, are pro- 

 bably transcripts made by order of Sir Eobert. The copying of the 

 Vedas, according to a statement of the last owners, has cost about 

 £1000. The collection contains a few MSS. of the 14th century 

 and several of the 15th ; their number increases in the 16th, and 

 attains its maximum in the 17th, although it is still considerable in 

 the 18th century. Even in India it attracted great attention, and 

 many references were made to it. 



" ' In 1799 Sir Eobert returned to Europe with broken health, 

 and after his decease, in 1803, the collection remained in the posses- 

 sion of his family. Several negotiations to sell it to the British 

 Museum, the Eussian and Bavarian Governments, were not success- 

 ful. Oh. Wilkens drew up, in 1825, a catalogue for the British 

 Museum, but the sale of the collection was not effected in conse- 

 quence of the high price asked for it. Some years afterwards, 

 W. von Humboldt conceived the idea to acquire those MSS. for 

 Prussia, and proposed to the Government to make an offer of 30,000 

 T balers Courant. The sum, however, appeared too high, and the 

 proposal was declined. In 1829 Fr. Eosen, at the request of Lady 

 Chambers, made a catalogue of the collection, 210 in number, which 

 was published in order to bring the treasures of the collection to 

 public notice. This measure also failing, Mr. Eobert Chambers, 

 after the death of his mother, had a new catalogue prepared by Mr. 

 Forbes, which was printed in May, 1841. The public was 

 at the same time informed by it, that the sale of the collec- 

 tion would take place on the 13th April, 1842. Thereby induced 

 and on the urgent entreaties of Lassen and Hofer, Chevalier Bunsen, 

 then Prussian ambassador in London, again took the matter up, and 

 hy a cabinet order of the king of Prussia of the 20th May, the 



5 B 



