242 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Oct. 



Cnttack, on Meteorological observations taken by him during the late 

 eclipse, and remarked that the chief interest attaching to these was in 

 the thermometric observations. At the commencement of the eclipse, 

 9h. 6m., the thermometer stood at 87° 5'; at 9h. 42m. it had fallen 

 to 85.5; at lOh. 6m., to 84.0, after which it rose again, showing 

 88.0 at llh. 29rn., when the eclipse was quite over. A blackened-bulb 

 thermometer in vacuo was exposed to the sun's rays, one foot from 

 the ground ; at 8h, 30m. it indicated 126 ° 00 : it was then reset and 

 exposed to sun's rays for half an hour, when it only indicated 98° 0. 



The Philological Secretary then read a letter received from J. 

 Beames, Esq., Twickenham, near London, on the proposed edition 

 of the Poems of Chand. 



" With reference to the discussion on Chand which took place at last 

 February's meeting, at which I was present, it may interest some 

 members to know that I have found in the Royal Asiatic Society's 

 library two very fine MSS. of the Prithviraja-rasa, which I have 

 commenced copying and collating. The differences between the two 

 MSS. are slight, chiefly in the spelling which, as in all Hindi works, 

 is very unsettled. One, which I call MS. A, is in one volume bound in 

 kimkhab, and prefaced by a beautiful picture of Prithvi Raja in full 

 warrior's costume. It is by a native artist, and for delicacy of execution, 

 is not surpassed by anything of the kind I have ever seen. It 

 contains 65 prastavs, or cantos, with the headings and conclusions in 

 red. It was written at Kotah, and completed on Thursday, Bysakh 

 Sudi 3rd, Sambat 1883, by order of Maharaja Kishor Sinh, and 

 was presented to the Society by Major Caulfield, November 3rd, 

 1827, which must have been very shortly after it was written. It is 

 the work of three scribes. The first, who writes in rather a Marwari 

 hand, has copied the first 18 prastavs, down to the end of the famous 

 u Anangapala Dillidan." The second, who writes a large coarse hand 

 more of a Delhi type, takes from the 19th or " Madho Bhat Katlia" 

 to the 36th or " Hansavati vivaha" inclusive. The third is very 

 unequal hand, sometimes carelessly, and sometimes very neatly written, 

 more Marwari than No. 2, but not so much so as No. 1. It finishes the 

 work. This is a magnificent MS., quite complete, and in perfect pre- 

 servation, on thick Sialkoti paper. 



" The other MS. is in three volumes, in a clear Marwari hand, on thin- 



