doubt but that it must be one of " Kamara Gupta," is of very inferior workmanship. Three of them have some of the letters of "NANO" or "PAO NANO" in front, and three at the back of the profile; and I have no hesitation in saying that these are coins of Kamara Gupta described by Mr. Thomas in his paper to the Royal Asiatic Society, to which I have above alluded.

"The era of the Guptas is not, I believe, fixed further than that they reigned from the 2nd to the 5th century A.D., and that Kamara Gupta was the 6th king of that dynasty.* In the time of the full supremacy of the family, their empire clearly extended from the foot of the hills of Nepaul on the N.E. to the extremity of the peninsula of Guzerat on the S. W.; and it is therefore only to be expected that some of their coins should be found, as these were, between Dundooka and Ahmedabad. I cannot claim any originality for the information I have given. It is all, I believe, to be found in the volume of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society above mentioned. All that I can claim is having deciphered these particular coins, and having applied to them the information received from others."

Of the seven gold coins from the Poona Collectorate submitted at the request of the Society by Government for their inspection, with their letter No. 2756, dated 24th October last, Mr. Frere observed :

"That the large one is a Joannese of 1784, Maria I. and her Husband and Uncle, Peter III., a common coin on this side of India, as might be expected from the neighbourhood of the Portuguese settle

ments.

"The other six are gold mohurs of the kings of Ahmedabad, viz:5 of Mohomed Shah bin Luteef Shah, whose reign commenced in A.H. 944. These differ slightly from the one of the same parcels and reign already reported on (antè, p. xl. et seq.); and, although the legend is the same on all, their differing in a few particulars shows that they were not all struck with the same die. On the obverse are the figures 947. "The other coin is of Moozuffer Shah II., son of Mahomed Shah I. Regarra, with the figures 924 on the obverse, and a different legend."

The Rev. Dr. Wilson, Honorary President, read an extract of a letter from the Rev. R. H. Th. Freiderich, Secretary to the Batavian Literary and Scientific Society, warmly thanking the Society for the

Since the above was written, Dr. Wilson, our Honorary President, has pointed out to me that Major Cunningham has placed the era of Kuma Gupta as A.D. 430.

favour and honour conferred upon him by his election as an Honorary Member, and mentioning some of his present antiquarian pursuits.

On this last subject, Mr. Freiderich writes as follows:

"The wish expressed by the Society that I might edit the Brahmananda Purana of Bali will, I hope, become a reality; but here again I must acknowledge the great obligations under which I am, principally to Colonel leGrand Jacob. The Vishnu Purana of Professor Wilson is certainly a very valuable, I might say inestimable, contribution for the prosecution of the study of the Puranas; but there is no text edited. The Bhagavata Purana being, as it seems, the youngest of all, will be of less comprehensive use. Both I possess; but only by receiving the text of some older Puranas, principally the Brahmnanda Vaya Agni Purana, I could hope to explain the certainly old Bali Brahmnanda Purana. By the kindness of Colonel leGrand Jacob, I shall soon receive the required works, and immediately commence the preparatory labours. Allow me yet to introduce to your notice the Rev. J. F. G. Brumund, of Batavia, member of the Direction of the Batavian Society, who has written formerly about Javanese antiquities and manners (“Indiana,” in two parts), and is now going to Holland to have a work printed descriptive of the magnificent temple of Boro Budo or Boro Budor. He is to leave Java at the end of this month; will stop at Ceylon about a month, and come to Bombay to get a glimpse of the wonders of your Cave-Temples.

"The Rev. Brumund will bring another letter from me, accompanied with three copies of an Essay' about inscriptions (written by myself), whereof the last sheets are printing.

"In my letter to Colonel leGrand Jacob, I have written something about the name Yava and Malon Kolon of Ptolemy. I differ in several points from my revered teacher, Professor Lassen. Also I cannot subscribe to his opinion that the island of Jambulos must be Bali, (I suppose you have received his Ind. Antiq. III. I.) Bali has not the Sago palm; and the civilization of Bali commences only a short time before the downfall of Majapabit when it was filled with Javanese fugitives, principally Brahmans. The common people in Bali retain, even to the present day, the remembrance of their having been cannibals (like the Battas and part of the people of Borneo, where, after all, some influence of the Hindoos is also visible, principally with the Battas). Now, if they were no more cannibals at the time of Jambulos than they are now, they would certainly not have kept the remembrance of a former state of life after two thousand years."

On the origin and authenticity of the Iranian Family of Languages. Part 2. By Dhunjeebhae Framjee, Esq.

"Continuing his dissertation, Mr. Dhunjeebhoy Framjee asserted that the Zend laguage was independent of the Sanscrit, and cited European authorities in support of this. He then contrasted the Zend with Sanscrit language by reference to comparative philology, in order to show that this was the case.

"After this, he analysed some of the Hajiographic words of the Zend Avesta and cuneiform inscriptions, to show that the Zend roots were met with in the latter; thereby concluding that the language of the inscriptions was no other than the sister Zend, and that the Zend Avesta existed prior to the Zoroastrians of India, quoting at the same time some of the Continental writers in favour of this opinion. He also maintained that the prophetic doctrine of Zoroaster was first promulgated in Bactria, and afterwards enthusiastically adopted by the ancient Persians, Medians, Soghdians, and Bactrians, in the reign of King Vistaspes or Hystaspes, also that the Hajiographic books of the Zend Avesta were composed by the Persian prophet Zoroaster, in Bactria; and that the Zend stands as a primitive Hajiographic language of the Anti-Bakhdi or Balkh; while the other stands as domestic, in which cuneiform inscriptions were recorded at Hamadan, Van, and Behistan, and used as a popular language.

“Mr. Dhunjeebhoy next called attention to the Huzvaresh, or proper Pehlvi language, which he compared with the bilingual and trilingual Pehlvi inscriptions of Hajiabad, Nukshi, Rustom Nukshi, Rujah, and Kirmansha, and showed that several Huzvaresh roots could be found in the inscription-language. He argued that Pehlvi was now a current language in Luristan and Kurdistan, and that the people inhabiting the village of Diginar up to this day use the Pehlvi language in their intercourse with each other.

"In conclusion, he stated that he had mainly, if not entirely, indented on the Continental authors of Europe for the support of his arguments, leaving aside the Persian and other national authorities, with a view to avoid prejudice."-10th December 1857.

Copy of a letter, dated 6th October last, from the Rev. R. Freiderich, to Colonel leGrand Jacob's address, forwarded by the latter to Mr. Frere.

In this letter Mr. Freiderich states that he has found out "the real old names of Java and Sumatra in inscriptions from those islands; and

that what was long suspected and principally indicated by Marco Polo, that there were two islands called Java, is now an undoubted certainty." Mr. F. then goes on to prove this by references to these inscriptions in connection with what Marco Polo has stated respecting them, and also with what is contained in Ptolemy, who, Mr. F. observes, knew more than one Java, as he speaks of three islands called in charts and in editions "Sabadiba." Many parts of the copy of Mr. Freiderich's letter, however, being illegible, the Secretary was requested to get a fair one of it made and sent to Colonel Jacob, for correction by the original, previous to its being recorded by the Society.-14th January 1858.

The following letters, with coins, were submitted by the Government, for the Society's examination and report

:

1. Letter No. 202 of 1858, from W. Hart, Esq., Secretary to Government, General Department, accompanied with seventeen silver coins discovered on the road between Ahmedabad and Dandooka in 1855.

2. Letter No. 270 of 1858, from W. Hart, Esq., Secretary to Government, General Department, accompanied with 1,395 silver coins, from Ahmedabad; also a letter, No. 159 of 1858, from G. Grant, Esq., Sub-Treasurer.

3. Letter No. 121 of 1858, from H. Morgan, Esq., Acting Collector of Tanna, accompanied with 181 silver coins (including two pieces of a broken coin); also letter No. 16 of 1858, from Dadobah Pandoorung, Esq.

4. Letter No. 247 of 1858, from W. Hart, Esq., Secretary to Government General Department, accompanied with two small gold mohurs.

5. Letter No. 186 of 1858, from W. Hart, Esq., Secretary to Government, General Department, accompanied with a large gold coin. The President having, at the request of the Meeting, kindly consented to examine these coins, the Secretary was directed to deliver them, with the Government letters, into his charge for this purpose.-11th February 1858.

With reference to Government letters Nos. 202, 247, and 186, mentioned in the Minutes of last meeting, which, together with the coins that accompanied them, were then submitted to the President for examination, Mr. Frere states as follows :

"No. 202.-The coins are so very much defaced, that I cannot

make out the legend on more than one of them, and that is so indistinct as to be of no use in a Museum. I would therefore return them to Government, with our thanks for their kind offer, of which, however, we do not wish to avail ourselves.

"No. 247.-These are two gold coins of Southern India, known in the Bazar (where the value of the larger is Rs. 3, and of the smaller half that sum) as Kristnaree Hoons. Marsden mentions the Krishna Raja at page 737, as well as several other kinds of Hoons and Fanams. The inscription on the reverse of these is "Shree Prutap Hurree." Marsden mentions no Hoon with that inscription. Nor do I find in his

"Numismata" any coin with the figures sitting in the same attitude, and the attitudes on these two coins are not the same. The Society have five or six different Hoons in their collection, and there are seventeen in mine, but none in either of these collections are the same as those sent by Government for report. We know very little of the history of these coins, though they are very various; and I should be happy to examine the other forty coins, which were discovered at Ausaree, to see if they resemble these or are of other varieties.

"No. 186.-On comparing this coin with the more perfect one on which I reported on the 18th December last, I find that the legend on both of them is the same, and that the legend as I read it on the 8th October last

Thus:

الدين الواثق باملنان عولف الدنيا و الواثق بالله املنان ناصر الدنيا و الدين ابو الفتح: Should be thus

"On returning the coin, and thanking Government for giving me opportunity of correcting my report, I would request them to oblige me by making that correction in it."-11th March 1858.

Committee Meeting.--The Secretary having laid before the Committee a list of the periodicals and newspapers due at different times during the last two years which had not been supplied by Smith, Taylor, and Co., although orders for them had been since repeated frequently, also a list of books which had been ordered for an equal length of time without having been received; and having also stated that, no invoices were even sent with the books that were supplied, and that the Society's bill, which was not sent in till after a period of two years, instead of one, as customary, showed much confusion in the insertion of many books which were never received; while during the two years preceding Messrs. Smith, Taylor, and Co.'s having become the Society's booksellers, Messrs. Longman and Co. had selected and forwarded to the