49 
1893.] G. A. Grierson — Study of Indian Vernaculars in Europe. 
Europe from types in that character. 1 It has an interesting preface 
summing up the knowledge on Indian subjects gained up to that time. 
Mention is made of a MS. Lexicon Linguce Indostanicce, ‘ Quod Auctorem 
habet Eranciscum M. Turonensem,’ a monk of the Surat Mission, 
which was written in 1704 A.D. 2 There is also a careful and accurate 
description of the various appliances adopted in India for writing, and 
the manner of their use. One hundred and nine pages are devoted to 
a full account of the Dcvanagari alphabet, as written ‘ at the Univer- 
sity of Kasi.’ This is followed by an account of the Kaithi, or (as it is 
called in the book) the Nagari alphabet. For this character also types 
were cast, more than a hundred years before they were again cast, 
under the supervision of the present writer, at the Bengal Secretariat 
Press. We have then a chapter on numerals, and the little volume 
concludes with two versions of the Lord’s Prayer, — one a translitera- 
tion of the Latin into Devanagari, and the other a translation into 
very fair Hindi, followed by an Ave Maria, and Apostle’s creed in the 
latter language. 
In the following year (1772) appeared in London, Hadley’s ‘ Gram- 
matical Remarks \ on the I Practical and Vulgar Dialect \ of the \ Indostan 
Language | commonly called Moors An account of this work will be 
found in the Anglo-Indian Dictionary, 8 It is a very incomplete work, 
and far behind the one to be next noticed. As Col. Yule gives full 
particulars of this, the first English Hindustani Grammar, a passing 
notice will suffice here. 
Six years subsequently, in 1778, appeared the first attempt at a 
scientific treatment of Hindustani. It was in Portuguese, and the 
title page runs as follows: — Gramatica 1 Indostana I a mais vulgar \ que 
e practica no Imperio do gram Mogol\ offerecida\ aos muitos reverendos l 
Padres Missionaries \ do ditto Imperio I em Roma MDGGLXXVIII I 
na Estamperia da Sagrada Gongregagao de Propaganda Fide. I Like 
the Alphabetum Brammhanicum, this work was published in Rome. 
It is altogether an excellent work : and the author or authors had 
evidently 0 a good grip of the language. The transliteration is 
scientific, though on a system widely differing- from that of Sir 
W. Jones. As an example 1 turn ho hahut piar harta Mon ’ is given 
as ‘ tom ho h'ohot pear cartahu.’ For the first time attention is drawn 
to the use of the particle ne with the past tenses of transitive 
verbs, and the difficult question of compound verbs is treated with 
1 The Sprachmeister is a collection of copper plate engravings. 
8 I searched for this in the College Library at Rome, but could not find it. 
3 S. V. Moors. 
J. X. 7 
