it. Of its antiquity there are but slight means of judging- ; 

 but its blackened condition and fibrous texture prove, 

 like that of Avood buried in bogs, that it must have been 

 for ages immersed in water. The extreme simplicity of 

 its construction indicates that it must have been tlie pro- 

 duction of an early and rude condition of man. It is of 

 much greater antiquity than the vessel found some years 

 since in the bed of the Kother, as it has the appearance 

 of having been hollowed by fire. From a combination 

 of cucumstances, it may, with safety, be regarded as a 

 relic of the aboriginal Britons, and wrought before or 

 soon after the arrival of the Romans. 



Passing from the court-yard to the entrance-ball of 

 the Museum, a variety of objects strike the eye, which 

 are well worthy of observation. On the right hand, the 

 figure of a celebrated E astern pliilosopher and saint is 

 seen, and deserves attention, not only from the singu- 

 laiity of the sculpture, but as the representation of a man 

 who, in all probability, existed prior to the age of Moses, 

 or the earliest of Hebrew prophets and leaders. . The 

 statue itself bears marks of considerable antiquity ; and 

 as the Hindoos and Birmans are religiously and strictly 

 bound never to alter the representation of their deities or 

 prophets, it probably is the copy of one of earlier date. 

 All the statues of this saint, which are known throughout 

 Hindostan and the more eastern parts of Asia, bear 

 close resemblance to each other. A brief account of his 

 doctrines, which though now, as many others in the 

 present age, are in some degree corrupted, may not be 

 misplaced here. 



