212 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.- [Oct. 



The question at issue is, whether or not the two words had ever been 

 used in a mystic sense ; and it is abundantly evident that at one time 

 in their history they were. 



" The argument embraced in the remark that l the idea of Beni 

 Israel at, say 2,000 B. C, having any means of communication with 

 the authors of the Vedas is out of the question,' is equally thrown 

 away. My hypothesis is, that at a time anterior to history, when Beni 

 Israel and the Aryans lived in a common home or were next door 

 neighbours, that they got the word, and the more primitive times we 

 go to, the more favourable would it be to my theory. To meet it by 

 saying that it was ' out of the question,' is not to meet it at all. 



11 1 admit that my hypothesis is thrown out as a mere conjecture, for 

 of times before B.C. 2000, we can have, in a matter of this kind, nothing 

 but conjectures, only more or less probable according as they are based on 

 premises more or less consistent; and I shall not deny that as yet philolo- 

 gical researches have not found more than a few faint traces of a com- 

 munity of origin between the Semitic and the Aryan ; but Bunsen, Max 

 Miiller and a number of other distinguished philologists are in favouu 

 of the theory which would assign a common origin to the two langu- 

 ages, and therefore the fact can no more be used as an argument on the 

 one side than on the other." 



The following communications were announced : 



1. From the Assistant Secretary Government of Bengal further 

 communications on the Earthquakes of India. 



2. From Baboo Gopinath Sen, Abstract of the Hourly Meteorologi- 

 cal Observations taken at Calcutta for June, 1866. 



3. From D. Waldie, Esq., Supplementary Observations to experi- 

 mental Investigations connected with the water supply to Calcutta. 



The Report on Barren Island received from Major Ford, and acknow- 

 ledged at the meeting held on the 4th July, 1866, was read, as follows: — 



In accordance with instructions received, we embarked on board 

 H. M.'s Steamer " Prince Arthur" on the evening of the 18th April, 

 steamed towards Barren Island, and were lying off it by daybreak 

 llext morning. We at once landed the coolies we had brought with 

 us, as also their rations, water, &c. and proceeded to examine the 

 Island. 



