consequence of this failure, were, in the eyes of the undiscerning few, whose hopes took the colour of their wishes, at a discount. She, however, had not been left for a moment in doubt of the stability and extent of Conway's affection, nor, though regretting, could she blame, the resentment which he evinced towards those who had caused them both so many pangs. Accepting an invitation given by Mrs. Brudenell, she was married from her house; the same party assembled; the same dresses, with the exception of those of the bride and of her friend, were displayed; the bridegroom kept his appointment, and Drax Lessingham's new chariot conveyed the happy pair to the place of their temporary residence.

THE BIRTH OF UMÁ.

THE "Birth of Umá, a Legend of Himálaya," the first canto of the great poem of Cálidása, Cumára-Sambhava, has been translated by an able pen in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, the Sanscrit text being rendered into corresponding English measure. We subjoin, as a specimen, the stanzas 23 to 28, inclusive, commemorating the birth of the fair "Oh No!"

Himálaya.

For blest was that birth-day,-its sky beaming fair;
No cloud of earth's dust ever soil'd its pure air:

Loud conchs' swelling blast, follow'd close by sweet flowers
Rain'd down from glad skies, usher'd in its gay hours:

And moving or fix'd, ev'ry bodily thing

Partook the loud joy of the great mountain-king.*

And gloriously well, with a daughter so bright

As seem'd a new orb of pure orient light,
Did she, the fair mother, herself doubly shine:
So glows with fresh splendours Vidúra's† fam'd mine;
When, cleft by electric new clouds' starting sound,
Its thunder-struck jewels dart out from their ground.

As first, a thin streak of soft silvery light,

The gleaming new moon in the West meets our sight,
So she, the sweet infant, appear'd: but full soon,-
As daily new digits annex'd to the moon

Give birth to new phases, so she, day by day,
Grew still to fresh forms of more lovely array.

Her, dear to her kindred, the relatives all,
As mountain-king's daughter, did Párvatí call:
But after, when bent upon mortification

Most strict and religious, the fond deprecation

Burst forth from her mother, "Oh no!"-thence it came
That UMA', "Oh no!" was the lovely girl's name,

Though blest with a son, not on him did the sight
Of th' earth-bearing hill-monarch dwell with delight:
For thus in the genial spring season, when flowers
All various invite from its numberless bowers,
The swarm of fond bees will there only, where grows
The sweet mango-blossom, with pleasure repose.§
As lamps by their radiant crest of sharp flame,-
As heaven's path by Ganges, of far-flowing fame,-
As scholars by th' eloquent charm of pure speech,-
Their last and best forms of accomplishment reach;
So he by this daughter, the crown of his race,
Was cleans'd from all stain and adorn'd with all grace.

A mountain said to produce the lapis lazuli.'
Maináca, a mountain supposed to have been sunk in the Gulf of Manar.

§ The attachment of bees to the blossom of the mango, is one of the common-places of Hindu poetry.

ON THE USE OF TEA IN CHINA.

BY M. KLAPROTH.

THE (Roman Catholic) Missionaries have furnished full details concerning the culture and use of tea, but it is surprising that we find nothing in their writings which can enable us to fix the period when the custom of taking this beverage became universal in China. Indeed, even the Chinese books contain very little information upon this point. Some passages in ancient authors, however, inform us that the use of tea began in the time of the Tsin dynasty, which reigned from 265 to 419 A.D. In a work entitled She-shwo, we read that Wang-mung, a minister of public works under the Tsins, was very fond of drinking tea; that he offered it to all who came to see him, and thus the custom of taking this beverage became prevalent. Wang-mung lived in the latter portion of the fourth century.

The history of the Suy dynasty mentions that the Emperor Wan te, in the latter part of his reign, about the year 600, dreamed that a shin, or spirit, had changed his skull; from which period, he was constantly tormented with pains in the head. A Buddhist priest thereupon advised him to cause search to be made in the mountains for the leaves of the plant ming, and to drink an infusion of it. This specific cured him, and thence-forward the use of tea prevailed generally. It is here proper to remark, that ming, is a synonym of cha, or 'tea.' Anciently, the latter character was written and pronounced both too and cha. The word "tea," employed by Europeans, there can be no doubt, is the Malay teeh, which appears to come from the too of the ancient Chinese.

In 780, a member of the ministry of finance proposed to the emperor Tetsung, of the Tang dynasty, to lay a duty of ten per cent. upon tea, varnish, and wood. This plan was not, however, carried into execution in respect to tea till 793; but the duty was levied only upon the tea sold beyond the mountains where it grew. Under the reign of Moo-tsang (from 821 to 824), the imperial exchequer being nearly empty, Wang-po, inspector-general of saltworks and mines, raised the duty upon tea to fifty per cent.

Under the Sung dynasty, the local officers of Ho-nan, charged with superintending the harvest of new tea, proposed to the founder of this dynasty to augment the price of this commodity; but Ta-tsoo replied, "Tea is an excellent article, which must not be rendered dearer, lest we oppress the poor."

In the reign of Jin-tsung, of the same dynasty (from 1023 to 1063), large factories of tea were established. This commodity was then of two kinds : the first was called Pëen-cha, being the leaves dried by the action of fire, and combined in a mass in the form of a board; the other sort, called San-cha, was made of the leaves dried in like manner by the fire and reduced to powder. It was kept in porcelain bottles, like perfumes.

In the reign of Shin-tsung (from 1068 to 1086), Le-khe proceeded to the country of Shoo (Western Sze-chuen), purchased tea there, and bartered it for horses in the cities of Tsin-chow, Fung-chow, He-chow and Ho-chow (in Shan-se). It was under the Sungs that markets began to be formed, in the frontier provinces of the empire, where tea was offered to the Tibetan nations, in return for the horses they brought thither.

Under the Yuens, or Mongols, in China, there were mo-cha, or powdertea, and yě-cha, or leaf-tea. This dynasty likewise established markets, in which tea was bartered for the horses of the nomade tribes in the north-west, which, the history adds, have always been very fond of it.

Under the dynasty of the Mings, a similar market was established in Szechuen, for the Tibetans, and four others, in Shan-se, for the Mongols.

The mode employed by the Mandchoo dynasty, now reigning in China, to secure the receipt of the tax on tea, is extremely simple. No person can buy or sell any tea without the permission of the government; the authority is contained in duplicate permits, or licenses, which the officers of the treasury issue to traders who wish to purchase tea and who have paid the duty. The following is a copy of the certificate:

Tea license given by the Ministry of Finances.

The Ministry of Finances, having received a report from the tea-department in the district of has carefully examined it, and finds that it is perfectly conformable to the imperial decree respecting teas, as well as to all the other regulations issued from hence and generally promulgated. The ministry has, therefore, caused this tealicense to be printed, which is given to the merchants, to certify that they are authorized to sell tea.

First, the merchant receives one of these certificates for each box or basket of tea weighing 100 kin, or Chinese pounds, whatever be the quality of the tea. Upon one of these documents is marked the weight; the other, bearing half the impression of the seal, authorizes the sale of the tea. These papers are a sufficient guarantee to the merchants, if they have paid for them at the treasuary.

Secondly, the merchant who sells tea must have in his possession the necessary certificates (of the quantity of the commodity); if he omit to take this precaution, his tea comes under the character of a prohibited article, and the proprietor incurs the same punishment as those who sell contraband salt.*

Thirdly, when tea arrives at a custom house, the officer must carefully examine the certificates which accompany it; if he find them regular, he tears a corner off, and the tea may then pass, if there be no other goods not declared packed up with it.

If any person conceals tea in a house, and covers it therein 'with an old permit, the master of the house, as receiver or concealer, is liable to the same punishment as the person guilty of the fraud.

Fourthly, when tea is brought into a city, the chief municipal officer must examine the permits; if he find them good, he tears off a corner, and allows the sale of the commodity.

Fifthly, fabricators of forged permits of tea will be decapitated, and all their goods will be confiscated to the state. The informer receives a reward of twenty ounces of silver.

Sixthly, if the proprietor of a plantation of tea sells some to a merchant who is unprovided with the necessary certificates, he will receive sixty blows of the large bamboo, and the money he received for the tea will be forfeited.

The use of tea was introduced into Tibet in the beginning of the ninth century. At this period, Chang loo went as ambassador to that country. The Tibetans, observing the preparation of tea in his tent, inquired of him what it was. He replied: "it is a beverage which not only quenches thirst, but dissipates sorrow." The Tibetans thereupon desired to have some; he,' in consequence, distributed some tea amongst them, pointing out the distinction between the tea of`Shoo chow and that of King-men.

* This is, strokes of the bamboo and confiscation of the goods. The 144th section of the 5th book of the 3d division of the Ta tsing leu lee, directs this punishment, and also that the use of an old license to procure a fresh supply of tea from the plantations shall subject the party to all the penalties of smuggling tea in the ordinary manner.

According to the Tung kwo tung keen, or Annals of Corea, the introduction of tea into that country took place in the year 828. At this period, an ambassador of the king of Sin-lo brought from China some young shoots of the tea-shrub, which the king directed to be planted on the mountain Che-e-shan. Tea was known in Japan in 810, in the reign of the daïri Saga-ten-o, but the plant which produces it was not introduced there till 815. Two Buddhist priests, Mio-sio-nin and Ye-sio-nin, of the monastery Toga-no-o, proceeded to China, from whence they brought some young shoots, which were planted upon that mountain. From that period, the use of tea became general in Japan.*

* Journal Asiatique of Paris.

CONFUCIUS'S PREDICTION OF OUR SAVIOUR.

THE Jesuit Intorcetta, in his Life of Confucius, mentions that this philosopher (who lived five centuries before Christ) often spoke of a saint or holy man (shing), who existed, or was to exist, in the West. These expressions, however, are not found in the King, or classical books, nor in the Sze-shoo, or moral books; but they are attributed to him in several original Chinese works. M. Rémusat✶ has given the following curious extract on this subject from the Ching-keaou-chin-tseuen, 'True Interpretation of the Right Law,' a Chinese tract on the Musulman Religion, published A.D. 1657, of indubitable authenticity :—

"The minister Pe consulted Confucius, saying, 'master, are you not a holy man ?' He replied: 'Whatever effort I make, my memory cannot recall any one worthy of this title.' 'But,' returned the minister, 'were not the three kings (founders of the early dynasties of Hea, Shang, and Chow) saints?' 'The three kings,' replied Confucius, 'endowed with excellent goodness, were filled with enlightened prudence and invincible force; but I know not that they were saints.' The minister again asked: 'were not the five lords (five emperors who reigned in China antecedent to the first dynasty) saints ?' The five emperors,' said Confucius, 'endowed with excellent goodness, exerted a divine charity and an unalterable justice; but I know not that they were saints.' The minister still asked: 'Were not the three august ones (personages in Chinese mythological history) saints?' 'The three august ones,' replied Confucius, ' may have made use of their time (i.e. well-employed a long life); but I am ignorant whether they were saints.' The minister, astonished, said to him: "If this be the case, who can be called saint?' Confucius, somewhat moved, replied with gentleness: 'I have heard say, that, in the Western countries, there has been (or there will be) a holy man, who, without exerting any act of government, will prevent troubles; who, without speaking, will inspire spontaneous faith; who, without working any (violent) changes, will produce an ocean of (meritorious) actions: no man is able to tell his name; but I have heard say that this was (or will be) the true saint.”” In the Chung-yung, one of the moral books, which was written by a grandson of Confucius, it is said (ch. xxix.): "A good prince lays the basis of his conduct in himself; he establishes amongst his people the authority of his own example; he regulates himself, though without blind obstinacy, by the founders of the first three dynasties; he directs his actions unceasingly according to heaven and earth; he rules over minds, and finds no reason for doubt or inquietude, confidently expecting the holy man, who is to appear at the end of ages (lit. centum sæcula ad expectandum sanctum virum et non dementatur).”

*Notices des MSS. du Roi, t. x. p. 407.

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CASE OF THE LUCKNOW BANKERS.

ALTHOUGH the attention of our readers has already been directed to the case of the Lucknow bankers, which has suddenly found so much favour in the sight of the present Board of Control, yet we think it part of our public duty not to dismiss such a case with a slight and superficial notice. We are the more disposed to re-enter upon the subject, because it may be done without dragging the reader through a labyrinth of official documents, by laying before him the substance of a very able and perspicuous pamphlet, by Mr. Eneas Mac Donnell,* which is a digest of those documents, demonstrating the "injustice, impolicy, and danger" of this "arbitrary measure."

Mr. Mac Donnell, very appropriately, begins his letter to the President of the Board of Control by referring to the expression of apprehension by the Court of Directors, during the late negotiations, lest the Company, under the new plan, instead of forming, as they had done, an integral and independent part of the machinery of Indian government, would be reduced to a state of weakness and dependence; and lest the Court should become “merely an instrument for giving effect to the views of the Indian minister;" and he quotes that part of the correspondence between the President of the Board and the Chairs, which respects a "rule of publicity" in matters of difference between the two bodies," so that, if any Indian minister should take upon himself acts which appeared to the Court to be unconstitutional, to militate against the principles of good government, or to interfere with substantial justice to our allies, there should be some appeal against such exercise of authority, or, at the least, some means of enforcing the personal responsibility of the act;"-to which system of publicity the President of the Board, albeit member of a liberal and popular government, evinced what appeared then to be an unaccountable aversion, and which he ultimately succeeded in preventing. It now appears (from the documents in the matter of the Lucknow bankers) that this case, which appears to realize the worst apprehensions of the Court, and to afford an intelligible, though not very satisfactory, practical comment upon the important parts of the late discussions to which we have alluded, was actually in progress at the very moment of those discussions. The despatch, framed by the Board of Control, requiring the Indian government to insist upon the King of Oude's discharging claims which had been scouted for many years, is dated the 15th December 1832. The admirable letter from the Court, showing the utter groundlessness of these claims and the gross impolicy and injustice of an interference on their behalf by the British Government, is dated the 1st March 1833. The letter of the Court to Mr. Grant, wherein they suggest the necessity of a power of appeal being continued to the Court, or some means being given to them of

* Letter to the Right Hon. Charles Grant, President to the Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India; demonstrating the Injustice, Impolicy, and Danger of the coercive and arbitrary Measures instituted by that Board, against the Directors of the East-India Company, for the purpose of enforcing the hostile Interposition of the Company's Influence and Authority against an unoffending and friendly Native Prince, the King of Oude, &c. &c. By ENEAS MAC DONNELL, Esq. With an Appendix. London, 1834. Ridgway.

Asiat. Journ. N.S. VOL. 14. No.53.

H