AMARYLLIDACEjE. 
265 
had accustomed me to look upon him as a dearly 
valued friend. His life was devoted to the diffu- 
sion of the Gospel ; horticulture, natural history, 
and botany, afforded the brief recreation he allowed 
himself from his daily toils. His favourite plants 
were the Amaryllidaceous family, and to him we 
are indebted for our knowledge of many of them. 
He was born in 1761, at Hackleton, in Leicester- 
shire, and embarked for India in 1793. In 1800 
he was settled at Serampore, and he closed the 
labours of his useful life in 1834, beloved by all 
who knew him, honoured by all whom his name 
has reached, having translated and superintended 
the publication of the gospel in forty oriental 
languages, which he had the perseverance to ac- 
quire for that purpose. Born in the humblest cir- 
cumstances, often uncertain of his daily bread, at 
first a journeyman shoemaker, then a village school- 
master, he had before his departure from England 
taught himself to read the Bible in Greek, Latin, 
Hebrew, French, Italian, and Dutch, and had be- 
come conspicuous by his eloquent preaching, and 
his ardent desire to bring about the mission to 
India which originated in his powerful mind. 
When he arrived there lie found it necessary to 
offer his services by a hand-bill to make or repair 
shoes, and after he had risen to the head of a flou- 
rishing establishment, and occupied the chair of 
three professorships, he was not ashamed to nail up 
the original hand-bill against the wall of his study, 
but took pleasure in considering from what a hum- 
ble grade he had been lifted up to a metre useful 
and distinguished station by the grace of God and 
his own virtuous perseverance. 
Var. 8. Insigne. — Am. insignis. Bot. Reg. 7. 579. A 
very fine plant, introduced to this country from 
Ceylon. It is of larger stature than any of this 
family, with more glossy and less undulated leaves 
than the rest. Dr. Carey had another kindred 
bulb, which he called C. ornatum, with pink- 
striped flowers, from Mauritius. He sent me a 
bulb of it, but it perished during the voyage. I 
have no particulars by which I can designate it. 
