A HUNTING PARTY. 
41 
Mackenzie’s friend and early patron, the fifth Lord 
Napier — and who, in consequence of her father’s 
death, had determined to execute the plan which he 
had formed of writing the life of the inventor of loga- 
rithms* — resided at that time with my father at 
Madura, and employed the more distinguished Brah- 
mins in the neighbourhood in collecting for her, from 
every part of the peninsula, the information which 
she required relative to the knowledge which the 
Hindoos had possessed in ancient times of mathe- 
matics and astronomy. Knowing that Mr. Macken- 
zie had been previously employed by her father in 
pursuing the literary inquiries in which she herself 
was then engaged, and wishing to have his assistance 
in arranging the materials which she had collected, 
she and my father invited him to come and reside 
with them at Madura early in 1783, and there intro- 
duced him to all the Brahmins and other literary na- 
tives who resided at that place.” 
During our stay at this celebrated city, we join- 
ed a party of sportsmen in pursuit of small game in 
a jungle about six or seven miles’ distance. The officers 
of the garrison made up the party, in order to give us 
some idea of the sport which the neighbourhood af- 
forded, and we started soon after daylight for the jun- 
gle. Several natives of rank, belonging to the Nawaub 
of Arcot’s court, joined us on their elephants ; while 
our’s were hired from a sort of jobbing merchant in 
the town, who was accustomed to lend them by the 
day for a tolerably extravagant remuneration. The 
ride before we came to the place where we had agreed 
* Lord John Napier, of Merchiston. 
E 3 
