1868.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 219 



appearances at the same place. With regard to the frequently noted 

 effects of an eclipse on animals, Mr. C. Oldham, who saw the eclipat at 

 Madras, writes " the crows roosted ; my fowls went on as usual picking 

 up their food, and apparently undisturbed, but as the light returned 

 again, my neighbour's fowls commenced crowing furiously. — Dogs were 

 totally unaffected." It was remarkable that every observer agreed in 

 noting that the darkness resulting from the eclipse was not by any means 

 so great as they had anticipated. This might be due to the hazy state of 

 the atmosphere, diffusing the light very 1 argely. The beautiful drawings 

 which had been laid before theSociety all agreed also in a very remarkable 

 way in the position and character of the red protuberances ; whether 

 in those from Beejapoor on the west side of the Peninsula, those from 

 Bezwarra on the east, or those from the Bay of Bengal still further to the 

 East. The latter, the sketches taken from the deck of the steamer La- 

 Bourdonnais,were peculiarly interesting and valuable as shewing the very 

 marked elongation of the corona in a given direction, a fact also noticed 

 by Mr. C. Oldham at Madras ; and which had frequently been obser- 

 ved before. The Society he was confident would join with him in 

 thanking Major Macdonald and Cap. Tanner for their communications, 

 and also in expressing a hope that they would obtain a record of the 

 more detailed observations with the spectroscope, and the polariscope. 

 As yet they were only aware that these observations had been for- 

 tunately successful. It was a great disappointment and a source of 

 deep regret that the admirably equipped party sent out by the Prus- 

 sian G-overament had been so unfortunate. 



The paper by J. Avdall, Esq., On Armenian Grammars, the receipt 

 of which was announced at the last meeting, was laid before the 

 Society. It contains a valuable list of all grammars of that language, 

 with short critical notes. 



The President then called upon Babu Rajendralala Mitra, to read 

 his Notes on Inscriptions from Mathurd. 



(Abstract.) 



Sometime ago in digging into a mound, while clearing a site for a 

 new kutcheri for the collectorate of Mathura, the workmen came to what 

 turned out on further excavation to be the remains of a large Buddhist 

 monastery. The building was of the red sandstone now so common in 

 Delhi and Agra, and contained a number of statues more or less muti- 



