u 



pices of the Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Hoyal Asia- 

 tic Society. 



The work in question will not however be confined to pa- 

 pers drawn from the archives of the Society ; nor is it in- 

 tended to be restricted to elaborate essays or scientific disqui- 

 sitions, but will be open to communications of a less formal 

 nature upon every subject tending to afford useful informati- 

 on in regard to the people and country of India. 



It is evident indeed that the work cannot prosper if depend- 

 ant alone on the hraited stores of the Society and that it must 

 mainly depend for success upon the support it may receive 

 from the community at large, who will find in it, a ready ve- 

 hicle for conveying to the world the result of their disco- 

 veries, researches, and observations, in all that relates to the 

 literature, arts, sciences, natural history &c. &c. of this coun- 

 try. 



That much has been done in the cause, is sufliciently evi- 

 denced by the numerous valuable works relating to India that 

 have, from time to time, been published, but still it cannot bd 

 denied that enough remains to afford an abundant and satis- 

 factory harvest to the labourer in the Indian vineyard. 



As every person of ordinary intelligence and observation 

 must have remarked that the natives have of late years sensi- 

 bly relaxed in many of their prejudices, and as our knowledge 

 of their character and customs as well as our facilities of com- 

 municating with them have at the same time materially in- 

 creased, it may likewise be added that Individuals in the pre- 

 sent day, enjoy advantages in the prosecution of their inqui- 

 ries that were not possessed by their Precursors in this field 

 of labor. 



It is not considered necessary to enter into a lengthened 

 dissertation as to the several points likely to reward the re- 

 searches of the intelHgent and the curious, in as much as, in 

 the Desiderata of the Royal Asiatic Society which are repub- 

 lished as an Appendix to this month's number, and to which 

 the attention of the public is particularly requested, are fully 

 specified the several subjects on which information is still 

 wanting. 



The mine there can be no doubt still contains an abundance 



