200 ON THE ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY 



sericum. When, in consequence of interrupted commerce, the 

 empire laboured under the want of this luxury, intelligence 

 was brought, that it was produced in a region to the north of 

 India, from whence, in fact, the silk-worms were transported 

 to Europe. That region might then be very naturally called 

 India Serica or Serin da, changed by the Mahommedan conque- 

 rors to the Arabic term of Sirhind. But M. Gosselin himself 

 remarks, that the very names of Serinda and India Serica im- 

 ply that there is another Serica, and other Seres. These he 

 -finds on the other side of the Ganges, in Serinagur, a place 

 which certainly presents a somewhat curious coincidence of 

 name. Nagur being a common appendage to Indian names of 

 places, and signifying chief city, Serinagur represents almost 

 exactly the Sera Metropolis of Ptolemy. I must confess, that 

 I have nothing to oppose to any one who should conceive the 

 coincidence of a single name sufficient to invalidate all the ar- 

 guments on the other side which have now been stated. I 

 shall only add, that M. Gosselin's ideas of the territory of Se- 

 rinagur, are entirely derived from those erroneous views which 

 have been dissipated by the expedition to the source of the 

 Ganges ; the result of which, though known in this country, 

 does not seem to have reached him previous to the publication 

 of his last volumes. He mentions Serinagur as situated among 

 the frontier mountains, and even stretching into Thibet. He 

 is evidently not aware, that it is entirely enclosed within the 

 great mountain wall of India. Captain Raper and Mr Webb 

 notice, that on ascending a hill in its vicinity, they found 

 themselves indeed raised to a great height above the plain of 

 India ; but on turning northward, they beheld with amazement, 

 and almost with terror, a long succession of ranges rising over 

 each other, while high above all, towered the eternal snows of 

 Himalaya. That commerce should take its course across this 



barrier 



