MAJOR MACDONALD, 



55 



Saniassies acquaint themselves with particular words and 

 vests. They wear a brick red garb, and shaven pates. On 

 these they pride themselves. Their heads look very pure ; 

 but are their hearts so 1 



It seems strange, amidst these numerous attacks on Hin- 

 dooism, to come across a passage like the following : 



tixifttftolf K9ooaf>T$b ■sr>"^> > s$x>$x>£Z£o~£&r°\\ II. 53. 



He who in the first place swerves not from his own reli- 

 gion ; who in the second place reviles the creed of no other 

 man ; and who cautiously refrains from forming any evil de- 

 sire. He shall live in happiness. He is the first of men. 



The above specimens sufficiently illustrate Vemana's style 

 and manner. It seems therefore unnecessary to quote any 

 of his reflections on friendship, marriage, gratitude, charity; 

 wealth, poverty, debt, sorrow, gluttony, theft, adultery, back- 

 biting and the numerous other topics on which he has 

 touched. 



Dr. Pope in his edition of the Abbe* Dubois work on the 

 manners and customs of the people of India, remarks that 

 " nothing can exceed the sweetness and rhythm of Vemana's 

 versification," Mr. Brown's verdict on him is that he is " a 

 familiar writer, useful to a beginner, though neither poetical 

 nor classical" and he not only comments on his prosaic versifi- 

 cation (p. 32 and 81) but points out numerous instances in 

 which Yemana has been guilty of using false elisions and 

 rustic (gramia,) forms (p. 30,32, 33,34, 42,43, 49, 53, 59, 63, 

 64, and 79.) Singularly enough no less than two of these 

 false elisions occur in the very verse which Dr. Pope quotes 

 as a specimen of the beauty of Vemana's versification and 



