tered by one of an inferior caste is dreadful to the ear of a brahmin; and Major Moor mentions that an English gentleman who had the letters and the sound of the Gayatri, something similar to the above, and who, without knowing the result, began to recite it audibly in the presence of a pious pundit, the astonished brahmin stopped his ears, and hastened terrified from his presence. Allowing therefore this spiritual worship, and these sublime conceptions, to the brahmins, which is every thing that can be expected, how few among thirty millions of Hindoos are admitted to this high privilege! how few, comparatively, even worship the triad deity, to whom the Supreme Being is supposed to have delegated his power, from being himself removed above all concern for his creatures! Julius Cæsar assigns it as a reason why the ancient druids would not allow their laws to be committed to writing, that their mysteries might not be rendered common to the vulgar, and profaned by them. The same pride and uncharitableness, pervading the institutes of Menu, enjoins that "if a Suder reads the Vedas to either of the other three castes, or listens to them, heated oil, wax, and melted tin, shall be poured into his ears, and the orifice stopped up; and that if a Suder gets the scriptures by heart, he shall be put to death."

How different is this rejection from the gracious invitation by the evangelical prophet: "Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price! Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live!" How opposite is this cruel distinction of the brahmins, to these gentle words of the benevolent Saviour: "Come unto me,

all

ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest! Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven!"

From the preceding passages it clearly appears, that a large part of the Hindoos are not only kept in ignorance, but are absolutely compelled to idol worship, and the darkness of paganism. It is probable I exalt them too highly, when I say it places the Hindoos in the condition of the Greeks and Romans, at that period when the Sun of Righteousness arose with healing on his wings, to dispel the darkness in which those elegant nations were enveloped; to whom the truths of Christianity were commanded to be preached, that they might turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God! Instead of worshipping Jupiter, Minerva, and Diana, they were to adore the great Jehovah; the balmy comforts of the gospel were to reach their hearts; by a living faith in the merits and mediation of a crucified Redeemer, they were to enjoy a holy intercourse with the greatest and best of beings, and to be at length admitted to his beatific presence, where alone there is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand there is pleasure for evermore!

Sir William Jones has been frequentiy mentioned in these memoirs with the admiration, esteem, and respect due to his memory. I must here introduce him in another point of view, and express his sentiments on the conversion of the Hindoos, and the other subjects which form the basis of this conclusive chapter. They will be given chiefly in his own words, or those of Lord Teignmouth, his most excellent biographer; whose opinion on these sublime and interesting truths were so congenial to his own exalted

mind, and whose words I now use in saying I shall not apologize for these extracts, nor for the reflections to which they naturally lead. Sir William Jones is a host on the present occasion; as such I take the liberty of bringing him forward, without discriminating which are immediately his own sentiments, or which are the words of his noble commentator. The names of Sir William Jones and Lord Teignmouth should not be separated; nor could I hold myself excusable did I not call in the aid of such champions, and shield myself under their panoply.

It was a remark of Sir William Jones, that if life were not too short for the complete discharge of all our respective duties, public and private, and for the acquisition even of necessary knowledge in any degree of perfection, with how much pleasure and improvement might a great part of it be spent in admiring the beauties of this wonderful orb, and contemplating the nature of man in all its varieties. But his thoughts and attention were not confined to the perishable concerns of this world only; and what was the subject of his meditations in health, was more forcibly impressed upon his mind during illness. He knew the duty of resignation to the will of his Maker, and of dependance on the merits of a Redeemer.

"If we sometimes suffer the humiliation of seeing great talents and extensive erudition prostituted to infidelity, and employed in propagating misery, by endeavouring to subvert the basis of our temporal and eternal welfare, we cannot but feel a more than common gratification at the salutary union of true genius and piety. Learning, that wantons in irreligion, may, like the Sirius of Homer, flash its strong light upon us; but though brilliant, it is baneful;

and while it dazzles, makes us tremble for our safety. Science therefore, without piety, whatever admiration it may excite, will never be entitled to an equal degree of respect and esteem, with the humble knowledge which makes us wise unto salvation. The belief of Sir William Jones in revelation, is openly and distinctively declared in his works; but the unostentatious effusions of sequestered adoration, while they prove the sincerity of his conviction, give an additional weight to his avowed opinions.

"It would be unnecessary to adduce proofs in support of this assertion; but the beauty and piety of his prayers and supplications evince such solemn awe and purity of soul as cannot easily be exceeded. The following sublime address to the Deity is reluctantly curtailed.

"Eternal and incomprehensible MIND! who, by thy boundless power, before time began, createdst innumerable worlds for thy glory, and innumerable orders of beings for their happiness, which thy infinite goodness prompted thee to desire, and thy infinite wisdom enabled thee to know! We, thy creatures, vanish into nothing before thy supreme Majesty; we hourly feel our weakness; we daily bewail our vices; we continually acknowledge our folly:-Thee only we adore with awful veneration; thee we thank with the most fervent zeal; thee we praise with astonishment and rapture:-to thy power we humbly submit; of thy goodness we devoutly implore protection; on thy wisdom we firmly and cheerfully rely.-Impute not our doubts to indifference, nor our slowness of belief to hardness of heart; but be indulgent to our imperfect nature, and supply our imperfections by thy heavenly favour. Suffer not, we anxiously pray, suffer not oppression to prevail over

innocence, nor the might of the avenger over the weakness of the just. Whenever we address thee in our retirement from the vanities of the world, if our prayers are foolish, pity us; if presumptuous, pardon us; if acceptable to thee, grant them, all-powerful GOD! grant them. And as with our living voice, and with our dying lips, we will express our submission to thy decrees, adore thy providence, and bless thy dispensations, so in all future states, to which we reverently hope thy goodness will raise us, grant that we may continue praising, admiring, venerating, worshipping thee more and more, through worlds without number, and ages without end!"

COMPOSED ON WAKING AT SEA, IN HIS VOYAGE TO INDIA.

"Graciously accept our thanks, thou Giver of all good, for having preserved us another night, and bestowed on us another day. O grant that on this day we may meditate on thy law with joyful veneration, and keep it in all our actions with firm obedience."

COMPOSED IN SICKNESS, IN INDIA.

"O thou Bestower of all good! if it please thee to continue my easy tasks in this life, grant me strength to perform them as a faithful servant. But if thy wisdom hath willed to end them by this thy visitation, admit me, not weighing my unworthiness, but through thy mercy declared in Christ, into thy heavenly mansions; that I may continually advance in happiness, by advancing in true knowledge and awful love of thee.. Thy will be done!"