that in most or all of our schools for natives, English has been taught at once from English books. As long as the teachers themselves are English also, this mode is both the less difficult to them, and the less ineffective to their pupils; but there can be no doubt that to teach the grammar of any language, in that language itself, (as, till of late years, was the system on which the Latin language was, at the point of the birch and by dint of long perseverance, with no little torture both of mind and body to the scholar, infixed in his memory if not his understanding,) is yet unreasonable and preposterous in the extreme, at once circuitous and unjust. Who does not now see and admit the monstrous absurdity and cruelty of such a system, when spoken of in relation to Latin and Greek, German, French, &c. ? A system that, were it not for the exceeding ardour with which the study of English is pursued by the native youth of Bengal, would never have answered at all in this country. Meanwhile, all our efforts are cramped for want of proper initiatory books; the labours of the best teachers are manifestly exerted on a system of expedients alone: and we notice this subject, under the present head, in the hope that some intelligent friend of native education may be induced to take it into serious considertion, and be led to devise some effort for the supply of what is so much required.

2ndly. If Mr. Pearson's Primer be so defective, the grammatical portion of his work is, in our judgment, open to quite as serious objections.

First, because he retains the heterogeneous latinizing plan and nomenclature of Murray and his school, which originated in the exclusive study formerly of the Roman Language, to the neglect of our vernacular English. But to apply the rules of a polysyllabic, terminational, and transpositive language like the Latin, to one, like the English admitting but of a few slight variations for declension and conju gation; in which juxtaposition is the essential principle of syntactical construction; in which a few auxiliary verbs and prepositive adverbs, &c. perform all the purposes of an elaborate system of termination; and whose accidence and syntax are the simplest perhaps of any language on earth, the Persian alone excepted, was surely as great a solecism as was ever committed in this branch of literature. Yet were absurdity the only charge to be brought against so procrustean an expedient to make long and short fit one bed, we should only wonder and laugh at its authors and preceptors. But when its effect is to corrupt the simplicity and purity of our language, to confine all our notions by the introduction of a profusion of cases, modes, tenses, &c. which have no meaning but as a meaning may be transferred from a foreign grammar and forced upon our native idiom, fitting it about as well as the armour of Goliath might have sat upon the stripling David; when it confounds things the most diverse, and contradicts all natural perceptions, as when it tells the hapless learner that' walk' is a neuter verb, i. e. neither active (!) nor passive, while 'beat' is not; or that have' is active whilst howl' is neuter; when it renders his grammar an object of horror to the poor urchin who must be flogged into a dim perception or mechanical recollection and recitation of innumerable contradictions;

then we cannot longer forbear to express our equal contempt for the absurdity and disesteem of the cruelty that would perpetuate its inculcation. And, once for all, would we most earnestly deprecate its introduction into the system of teaching by which the blessings of an enlightened education are to be conferred on our Bengálí youth.

Again, how is a Bengálí to perceive any reason for calling a and articles, whilst, 13, &c. are adjectives, and 9, 4, (, &c. pronouns ? How is he to distinguish, as in this grammar, p. 65, between sta fa, to have loved,' as an infinitive mood, and stattfagi, having loved,' as a participle? unless it be intended to mark the distinction without a difference,' by the existence or absence of a space between the components, that being the only variety our eyes can distinguish. Evidently we want an English grammar for Bengalies, composed on true principles, those on which our language is formed, not on the wretched nonsense of pedants transferred from dead to living languages as diverse inter se as any of the tongues of Babel. And even such a grammar, fully to answer all the purposes for which it is required, must have special reference throughout to the grammar of the Bengálí also; so as to enable those whose vernacular speech is regulated by this to enter with translational accuracy and facility into the former; without either indistinctness in their general ideas or habitual difficulty in rendering their thoughts into one from the other, and back again, as may be required.

Mr. Pearson's radical error of impurity, i. e. of a mixed phraseology and foreign idiom, is glaring in this as in his other works. Some singular inadvertences too we have noticed, as e. g. in p. 34— Widower, ৰিবা, widow, বিধৰা স্ত্রী.” Now বিধবা is formed of বি without, and a husband, q. d. husbandless, and cannot certainly be applied to the husband himself as wifeless!

The syntax in this grammar, is very inadequate and ill expressed, and the examples are often most unidiomatically rendered.

The book was originally published at two rupees, but is now to be obtained from the School Book Society's Depository at ten annas a copy. The impression is nearly exhausted. If no better work appears meanwhile, we trust the agents of that Society will have the work thoroughly revised ere they reprint it.

No. 2. A SELF-GUIDE to the knowledge of the English Language, in English and Bengalee, containing words of one to seven syllables with their pronunciation and meaning; to which is added A SHORT EnGLISH GRAMMAR, &c. &c. chiefly intended for natives of all capacity, by J. D'Rozario, S. N. S. Calcutta, printed at the Bengalee Press. This work, as its lengthy title indicates, is both a spelling-book, and a grammar, for natives, of the English language. Like Mr. Pearson's, it exhibits the radical defect of not proceeding on any systematic attempt to fix the equivalents, in Bengáli letters, of the various sounds of the English alphabet. Consequently, a true English pronunciation cannot by possibility be acquired, even by the most intelligent native, from the Bengáli exhibition of it given in this volume. To the inherent difficulty arising from the incommensurateness of the

two alphabets, including both deficiency and redundancy, (for which no remedy being provided, Mr. Pearson's attempts also failed,) are to be added in the instance of the " Self-guide, a vicious employment of the native letters among themselves, including some of the most ignorant vulgarisms in Bengáli pronunciation that are current among uneducated natives; e. g. a for, at for 2, fas for , for 1, ca for a, &c. Besides these, the distinctive sounds of ♬, and a are altogether unobserved, and many most glaring violations are committed of the clearest proprieties of Bengáli enunciation; as when

1 (shno) is given as the equivalent for sno; sat? (o-yai, without the aspirate) fort, whi; v, thu-i, for yì, thwi; (xr, fyet, for æ, fat; cur, yekt, for at, act, &c. Long and short vowels mingle also in endless confusion; the short vowel for ex: supplying alike the sounds of ea long in beat, and of short i in big, thus represented-ft and fast! Then again the slurred sounds for ex: of rn, rst, &c. as in burn, burst, are expressed T4, Ty, i. e. baran, burast, where the easy expedient of closing the would have given the true sounds; thus, , or else of closing the and in 4, making which would perhaps be neater. But, whatever system be pursued, it is essential that it be distinctly laid down and rigidly adhered to, or none but an indistinct, course, clumsy, and incorrect pronunciation can be acquired. The simple and double consonants, simple vowel and diphthongal sounds, in all their variations, as produced from the five poor alphabetic characters we are compelled to employ for them, must be clearly exhibited, with equivalent Bengáli sounds, (as far as the vernacular pronunciation or inherent proprieties of the native alphabet can furnish such,) or with others arbitrarily fixed according to the purest analogies, and falling in with the easiest capabilities of the Bengálí letters. Till this is done, the slow and clumsy expedient of teaching a foreign language in that language itself, i. e. ignotum per ignotius, is both the safer and the easier course; in every way preferable to the most laborious and, after all, to a great extent vain effort to make the Bengálí letters, as they now stand, express all the minutely various sounds of the English language.

The first part of the SELF-GUIDE, is far fuller than the similar portion of Mr. Pearson's, and shews much care and labour on the part of the compiler. It occupies more than three fourths of the entire volume, and is divided into 12 chapters, regularly advancing from the alphabet, through syllables of two, three, four and more letters, to words of one, two, or more syllables (as far as seven), up to progres. sive reading lessons, followed by the numerals, months, &c. and ending with punctuation.

The spelling lessons are ranged in three columns; the English word, its Bengálí pronunciation, and its Bengálí meaning: as-" hope, CT, ; Blemish, fafa, zatfa, &c." The last examples will serve in proof not only of several of the defects already noticed, as faf for fa, but also of another, the introduction, in an elementary work, of impure, i. e. foreign words, the Persian atfa, e. g. being given instead of the Bengálí

The grammar occupies only the last 33 pages of the volume. In this portion of his work, Mr. D'Rozario gives his explanations and rules both in English and Bengálí. The latter is evidently a translation of the former, as shewn by its idiom and construction, in which it is very defective and closely follows the former. It includes, besides, no syntax whatever, containing nothing beyond an exposition of the Paris of Speech, the declension of nouns and pronouns, and conjugation of a regular verb. The grammatical nomenclature is miserably defective and erroneous. In short the Self-guide can scarcely be of any assistance to a learner, in this portion of its contents.

We may observe that it has a preface of several pages in Bengálí verse! The original cost was three rupees; it is still to be had in the bazars at various prices.

No. 3. A GRAMMAR in English and Bengalee, and what is necessary to the knowledge of the English tongue, to which is added a translation of words from one to three syllables; laid down in a plain and fami liar way. By Gungakissore Bhutachargee. Calcutta, from the press of Ferris & Co. 1816, pp. 216.

This is a diglot, having the English on one page, and a Bengálí version throughout, on the opposite. It is also in the catechetical form in both. We will first dispose of the English, which is an original English grammar, (whose we are not able, without reference, to determine,) and which has been assumed, without acknowledgment, by the Bengálí Editor, and simply translated by him into his native tongue.

The English is a somewhat elaborate work, well written, but entirely on the model of the Greek and Latin Grammars, assigning, for ex: to the English verb six moods as well as six tenses! It is needless to say how ill adapted this system is to enable a Bengáli to enter into the more than Hebraic simplicity of our Saxon tongue.

But, were the English portion of this work better adapted than it it is to its purpose, the Bengáli version must utterly fail of enabling the native student, yet a tyro in the idiom of the foreign rulers of his country, to acquire a correct acquaintance with it. The translation is almost the worst that we have yet seen in any line of literature. It is evidently made by one who, besides failing to enter into the spirit of his original, was incompetent to express himself, we will not say with neatness and elegance, but even with correctness in his native tongue; it is a version so literally ad verbum, as to be in many places, apart from the original English, unintelligible; in all coarse, vulgar, and faulty: e. g.

পদ্য জেন্দ হয় এবং প্রকারে শব্দের বর্মন সকলের বিন্যাস যেমন উৎপত্তি করে সেই af যে পদ্য হইতে গদ্যকে বিশেষ করে !!! Who could divine the meaning of this? Yet is it intended as a rendering of the following: "Versification is the arrangement of the syllables of words in such a manner as to produce that melody which distinguishes verse from prose !" Mis-spelling, mis-position and mis-translation are equally glaring. So, in the following ; এক ক্রিয়া ভাষার এক খণ্ড যে সংকেত করে অপরিস্পন্দন পরিস্পন্দন আর পাপন যেমন আমি থাকি আমি ভালবাসি আমি হই ভাল ৰাসা,

This is intended to mean, gentle reader, that a verb is a part of speech that denotes being, doing, or suffering; as I live, I love, I am loved!' Once more; অনুরাগ যত্ন করে মর্যাদা চেতন হোক, Glory strives, Fame revives!!" Yet in this way have many translations been made, taking sentence by sentence, member by member, and word by word, and rendering verbatim et literatim; instead of taking the whole sense and spirit of a passage, and conveying it as a whole idiomatically, neatly, and forcibly, in the language of the translation.

A little more than one third of this volume is occupied with columns of English words, arranged in the order of the alphabet, rising severally from one to three or four syllables, with a Bengálí rendering. The whole number of words so given is about 2000, each accompanied by from two to four native synonyms. Many of these however are impure, i. e. Hindustani, &c. many are most inaccurate renderings indeed; indistinct, inadequate, or erroneous. Errors in spelling swarm through the entire work.

Its original cost was eight rupees. It is now scarce and little deserves to be sought for or revived.

We have not been able to learn any thing of the author.

CINSURENSIS.

III.-Chapter of Correspondence.

1.-IMPORTANT FACTS IN CONNEXION WITH TRACT DISTRIBUTION.

This very sensible and important communication well deserves and will, we doubt not, obtain the most attentive consideration of the Calcutta Religious Tract Committee. Our correspondent has our hearty thanks for his valuable analysis.

DEAR SIRS,

To the Editors of the Calcutta Christian Observer.

I have lately perused with much interest, Mr. Adam's last Report on the state of education in Bengal and Behar. As this valuable work has already been reviewed in several newspapers of the Presidency, it is not my object to give any general abstract of its contents, or to remark on the plans proposed by Mr. A. for the diffusion of learning and European know. ledge throughout all classes of the native community. I would rather solicit the attention of the friends of Missions to a few statistical results (contained in, or easily deducible from Mr. A.'s Report), which have an important bearing on the grand work of circulating the knowledge of salvation among the inhabitants of Bengal.

2. It appears that education is, on the whole, advancing among the people, both Musalmans and Hindus; the proportion of the young under instruction to the educated adult populution*, being rather more than two to From this it is manifest that the sphere of the Bible and Tract Societies's operations is yearly enlarging, and will probably continue to enlarge, even though nothing may be done by Government for the furtherance of vernacular education.

one.

*Under the former designation are classed all below 14 years of age; by the "educated adult population" is meant all above that age, from the maulavi and the pandit to those whose acquirements extend merely to reading and writing.