had before appeared in the owner of the domain, was at once effected in him likewise, enabling him to give indubitable proofs of a very unwonted measure of intelligence, ability and valour. The reflecting monarch, readily conceiving that so singular an efficacy could not belong intrinsi cally to any ordinary seat constructed of common materials, any more than that so instantaneous an acquisition of talents and endowments of a truly royal character could ever be supposed natural in persons so inferior, especially when made under such singular circumstances, rightly inferred that more was at bottom than was apparent; and judging that some adequate cause might be discovered beneath the surface of the earth, on the spot where the stage had been erected, commanded search to be made accordingly. The ground was opened and dug down till, after some time, the workmen arrived at the long-lost and now forgotten throne! So resplendent, when laid open, was it, from the blaze of innumerable rubies, emeralds, sapphires of all hues and other precious gems, that the king and his attendants were absolutely blinded with the glare, and compelled to turn away their dazzled eyes from beholding it!

Delighted with his good fortune, king Bhoj gave orders for the removal of the discovered treasure to his capital; but lo! the utmost exertions of his attendants failed even to move it from its position! At length a voice as from heaven was heard directing oblations to be presented and a solemn religious reverence to be paid to the miraculous throne, which being done, it was readily removed, and finally placed in the royal hall of audience, or council chamber of the palace, itself sufficiently splendid, and rich in every precious ore and pearl and gem of price.

But ere taking possession of a seat of such stupendous magnificence and endued with so miraculous a power of conferring upon its occupant the highest qualifications befitting a ruler of nations, king Bhoj resolved to undergo a solemn service of inaugural consecration, or royal unction and inthronization. A fortunate juncture or lucky hour being fixed by the calculations of the astrologers, the valuable drugs and scented unguents required for the ceremonial being duly prepared, and the state umbrella, the tiger-skin marked with seven streaks corresponding to the number of the Dwipas or great divisions of the world, and other insignia of royalty, mirrors to be borne by chaste females in procession, and weapons of every various form, in readiness, the monarch, attended by his court-chaplains and priests, with many other learned brahmins, his counsellors, officers of state and commanders of armies, was about to ascend the steps of the throne, when at that precise moment, one of the two-and-thirty images which, be it remembered, formed its ornamental supporters, suddenly opening its before immoveable lips, addressed the startled sovereign, in the hearing of the whole astonished assembly, in a speech which forms the introduction to the tales that follow.

The intention of the work is to instruct sovereigns in the duties of their high station, and to incite them to the practice of virtues becoming those entrusted with the welfare of nations. With this design the author introduces the model of kingly excellence, the renowned Vikramaditya; setting forth, in the introductory chapter, his eminent qualities and almost inimitable virtues, his acceptance and favour with the gods, (one of whom, Indra, it was, who had bestowed upon him the celebrated throne,) his happy life and ultimate beatification; and each of the 32 succeeding tales severally illustrating, from the example of his unrivalled character and acts, one or other of the prominent duties and excellencies of royalty.

The history of Vikramaditya is succinctly this: Offended at some real or supposed slight offered to him at the coronation of his elder brother Bhartrihari king of Oujein, he left his country for distant travel and was

for some years unheard of. Bhartrihari meanwhile ruled his subjects as a father his children, a protector to the good, terrible only to the wicked. Afflicted by a discovery, made from a courtezan, of the unfaithfulness of his wife and the treachery of his favourite minister, who had secretly supplanted him in her affections, he conceived a disgust with the world and betook himself to a life of contemplation in the solitude of a desert, and so, being childless, left his kingdom without a ruler. As might be expected therefore, it was speedily overrun with marauders and was fast hastening to desolation.

At the same time a cannibal or body-demon, (a species of malignant spirit who takes possession of the fresh corpse of some newly defunct man) took up his abode in the now defenceless country of the mistaken ascetic, and successively devoured, on the very nights of installation, every young person of the Khyatriya or warrior caste, whom the ministers, anxious to remedy the anarchy and confusion which were ruining the country, had one after another raised to the vacant throne.

At length, the travelled Vikramaditya appeared, but in disguise; and his inquiries drawing the attention of the ministers, now desponding and at their wit's end, was chosen sovereign of Oude. By his providence and wit he not only contrives to preserve his own life, but also first deceives and then does battle with the sprite, and, worsting him, effects his removal from the country, obtaining from him besides, as the reward of his own valour, the promise of his presence and supernatural aid whenever they should be required. By timely forewarning from another of the same class of demons, whom his patient perseverance had disarmed of hostility, his life is a second time secured from a treacherous brahmini and obtaining possession of a magical image of gold, he derives from it an inexhaustible supply of wealth.

In these occurrences originated Vikramaditya's fabled magical powers, which he was enabled to exercise by the ministry of these corpse-demons— powers analogous to those attributed, in times of ignorance, to persons of other climes as possessed of superhuman energy through compacts with the devil. Unenlightened by true religion, the wanderings of the natural mind are alike every where and in all ages.

Thus at once immeasurably rich and able to command the services of powerful sprites to effect purposes beyond his own unaided ability to accomplish, and possessed of all the other sources of enjoyment which royal elevation and the most unrestrained license to self-gratification could secure, Vikramaditya was opportunely warned by a prudent brahmin against the abuse of his dangerous position. “O king,” said the prudent sage, "wealth (or prosperity in general) is a woman; she is yours. But, if she have arisen from yourself (or personal exertions), then is she your daughter: if from your father (as an inherited patrimony) in that case she is your mother: but if from another (obtained by gift), she is the wife of another! Reflect hereon, and you will perceive that it is never in any case allowable for a man to retain his wealth for his own enjoyment only (any more than it is lawful for a man to wed his sister, his mother, or the wife of another.) Therefore, when good men obtain wealth, they distri bute it to others. See then your duty."

Led by this address to reflexion, the king decided in his own mind that "to inhabit a splendid mansion, to ride on noble elephants and high-priced horses, or to enjoy the society of beautiful and accomplished females, will render no man really great: whereas he is truly great and worthy to be extolled, who, as little appropriating his own wealth as another's, freely distributes it."

From that time forward therefore, he exercised himself in acts of inces

sant beneficence and charity-poverty fled from his dominions and his fame reached even to heaven! And so pleased was Indra, that he it was, who presented him with the magnificent throne which has been commemorated, and which, by virtue of its celestial origin, supernaturally inspired its now human though royal occupant with so many eminent quali ties. Thence flowed "wisdom, valour, temperance, gravity, capacity, activity, intelligence and learning, unparalleled even among sovereigns, equal only to Indra's himself!"

Nor was Vikramaditya, like too many among kings and men in general, deficient in gratitude, amid this profusion of good fortune. Thankful to the brahmin whose counsels had led him to a course of conduct that had been followed by such signal blessings, and procured for him the magic working throne with all the influence it exerted over him, he raised him to the post of head pandit in his court.

After a long and prosperous life of 100 years, Vikramaditya, aware of his approaching death, resolves to fall in battle, and attacking Sháliváhan, (a contemporary sovereign, and institutor of the era called from another of his names, Shak, commencing B. C. 78 or 12 years antecedently, to that of Vikramáditya) was slain in battle. He was succeeded by his posthumous son Vikramasen. He however, being every way inferior to his father, did not venture to ascend the famous throne, which a voice from heaven directed should be buried in the earth till one worthy to occupy it should appear.

The 32 images, it subsequently appears, were animated and intelligent beings who had been condemned to the inanimate and immoveable condition in which they appear as supporters of the throne, by the curse of a muni, but from which curse they were now delivered through its discovery and disinterment by king Bhoj. In gratitude to him, they are represented by the author to have related, on successive days, the 32 tales that follow the introduction thus detailed, and so to have diverted him from occupying a seat which would certainly have proved fatal to any unworthy possessor. Such is the history and machinery of the work, which in its construction does considerable credit to the skill and ingenuity of the author.

In the Calcutta Christian Observer for February the reader will find a translation of the last of the 32 tales exhibiting the arguments of a Hindu skeptic and their refutation. In a small volume entitled, "The Orientalist or Letters of a Rabbi, by J. Noble, Edinburgh 1831," is one, tolerably well executed, of the 29th story, as illustrative of the practice of Satí now happily at an end. These may suffice as specimens of the general character and execution of the work.

The tales exhibit much of eastern modes of thought and feeling, as well as many peculiarities in the usages of society and private life, and will well reward an attentive perusal. They usually illustrate some moral principle, such as gratitude, generosity, or selfishness; with a particular view indeed to the instruction of kings, though in truth all ranks and conditions of men may derive many a valuable lesson from this excellent little volume. As specimens and proofs we subjoin the following:

1. The self-satisfied Bhoj, applauding himself for a single virtue, is thus reproved for his self-conceit: "O king, a man of true excellence commends not himself: since you boast of your liberality I must deem of you but lightly; he is great whom others extol, but not his own lips: the man who vaunts of his good qualities, meets, as he deserves, with both shame and disappointment."

2." Aid given to a man of no principle is often attended with disastrous consequences to his benefactor."

"The fool, in his selfish cupidity, for a little present gratification will

commit sins whose penal consequences will be much suffering through many future transmigrations."

4. "As the serpent, though swimming in a sea of milk and fed with no thing else, will yet turn it into poison only, never into nectar—so the man whose heart is depraved will be unamended though he live in an ocean of virtue; i. e. abound in the incitements to goodness."

5. "The king who allows none but virtuous men to be about him, will never be finally unfortunate-he finds safety in many dangers."

6. "What is the use of grieving for that which is lost?" meaning that instead of sitting down and lamenting, one should up and be doing.

7. " To die is unavoidable to those who are once in the body. Inevitable death is then the happiest, when it is incurred for advantage to others." 8. "If you do a kindness to a good man, you bind him to you for life; he never forgets it."

9. "My son, if the soul that is in man's body acquire (spiritual) wisdom, then is the object of its birth into the world attained: otherwise is that man but a brute in human shape. Consider that to sleep, repose, eat, &c. are things common alike to men and beasts: the real difference between them consists in this, that brutes have no knowledge and the man who has none is surely but a brute."

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10. Learning is better than royalty for even a king is not regarded as much without his own dominions as within them; but the learned is respected alike everywhere. Wisdom is better, too, than all the wealth in the world. Wealth occasions many fears-fire (may consume it), the king (dispossess you of it), thieves steal it from you; no such fear for wisdom. All other kinds of wealth may be expended likewise, and so fail; but wisdom is augmented by expenditure. No other species of riches continue always with one; wisdom never deserts one. Of all ornaments wisdom is the greatest for other ornaments are valued in youth alone, but in age are useless; whilst wisdom retains its worth through all the periods of life. My son, you have not amassed this treasure of wisdom, therefore your very life is a kind of death.

"Truly, of these three trials-being childless, or losing a child after its birth, or having a son who lives but is a fool,-the last is the worst to bear. For one may be reconciled to the first by referring it to the ordinations of fate the second occasions grief indeed, but only for a few monthswhereas a foolish son is a continual affliction to his unhappy parents.

"What care I for favour with kings? The man who is without desire looks upon a beautiful female as he would on a blade of grass : he who is free from offence, cares not a straw for the messenger of death: he who is without concupiscence, values royal wealth as little as a wisp of hay; and he who wants nothing, looks upon kings as no better.

"The wealth which, though preserved with care, abides not, you may readily expend to no good purpose-but if a man be rich in generosity and greatness of mind, he is rich indeed.

"What is of necessity to happen, will come to pass without any effort (on our part), like the water which is found within the cocoanut-so what is to fail (as prosperity) disappears you cannot tell how or when, like the kernel of a hard wood-apple swallowed (whole) by an elephant. To what end then guard one's substance with solicitude?

"What is the use of anxiety? What must be will be.

"Better for a poor man to dwell among wild beasts in a forest, with the foot of a tree for a homestead, its leaves for his food, and its bark for his clothing, than to continue amongst purse-proud friends!

"It is a really learned man's part to fix the true sense of Scripture; but to babble about truth and contend only for one's own opinion, is not

learning. He who pertinaciously labours at this, omitting regard to the real sense of the shastras, both meets his own destruction and occasions that of those who listen to him.

"He is a friend who assists one in time of adversity.

"The true praise of a great person is, to take care that the benefits he has conferred on others be not afterwards, through his means, diminished. "This body made up of blood, flesh and excrementitious matter, and subject to so many diseases, quickly perishes. So-of children, friend, wife, &c. none is permanent. Therefore to be excessively attached to these, is unworthy of a wise man. As love of them occasions enjoyment while present, so does it cause the severer suffering in separation from them. wise man should therefore give his mind to what is abiding.

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"But nothing is permanent save the First Cause, the ever-wise and blest : when the mind is fastened on Him, the soul is emancipated from the prison of an unsubstantial world.

"All worldly things continue only as long as life lasts—after death no one has any connexion with another.

"The man who speaks so as to please and benefit others has no enemies. "The man who injures his friend, the ungrateful and the betrayer of confidence, these all will experience the torments of hell for as long as the sun and moon endure.

"Virtue (in a king) is the principal cause of a nation's prosperity. "Be sure that he who talks much has an empty mind.

"These three are afflicted by fate with mental folly—the man who seeks wealth by gambling, he who lives by begging, and he who strives after elevation by fawning upon the great.

"What an affliction it is that a man on coming into this mortal world, instead of labouring after a sound understanding, a clear judgment, and useful qualifications, making laudable exertions and performing good deeds, should vainly waste his life in gambling for what is of no value in order to secure a little false enjoyment!

"What must be will be and cannot be prevented.

This sentiment

is opposed to the ethical shastras, which teach that he is truly a man who never relaxes his exertions. Only cowards and timid-minded persons will say, what must be will be and no efforts can effect what is not to be. No great deed is to be accomplished without a manly courage. He is a meanspirited wretch who is without energy and perseverance.

"We never saw the man like you who, to rescue the life of a person altogether unconnected with you, are ready to throw away your own life as if it were a blade of grass! A man (usually) will rather, when his home is on fire, flee to save his own life, abandoning the gains of his labour, a devoted and handsome wife, a virtuous and learned son, any thing else most valued by him for self-preservation.

"Things beyond the reach of the senses are made evident by their effects as the One Being God, by whom is he perceived? Yet by the universe of his creation is he proved to be, as surely as if he were manifest to the senses of all.

"As no efforts avail to prevent a stream of descending water from falling, so is it a useless endeavour to divert the fixed purpose of the mind from its object.

"Riches and the wind are alike-no one can understand whence they come and whither they go."

Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, the defectiveness of the Hindu system of ethics is very manifest in this generally excellent work. Like all human systems, it not only wants breadth and depth and consistency, but, above all, it wants power; it is deficient in the sanctions necessary to VII.

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