from the mission to Abyssinia, in which I had been engaged, to recommend him to the Marquis Wellesley, as the only person in the British dominions, in my opinion, adequate to translate an Ethiopic letter, which I had brought from the Ras Willida Selassè, addressed to the King. My recommendation was attended to, and Mr Murray finished the translation in the most satisfactory way.

Mr Murray has since undertaken the very difficult task of translating, for the use of the British and Foreign Bible Society, an abstruse dissertation in Ethiopic, on Doctrinal Points, written by the Patriarch of Alexandria, and presented to me by the Prime Minister of Abyssinia; and the Society felt so greatly obliged to Mr Murray, that, at a General Committee, the thanks of the Society were presented to him, and an order given, that he should be furnished with copies of all the foreign versions of the scriptures, published by the Society.

To such honourable testimony as this, my individual opinion can add but little weight, though I cannot help taking the liberty of stating, that I think the University, by such a choice of a Professor, would do honour to itself, as well as a benefit to the literary world, as Mr Murray's superior attainments in the various branches of the Oriental Languages, seem to me to qualify him particularly for such a situation.

Professor Alex. Hamilton, at Hertford-College.

79, Prince's Street, June 29.

My Lord, As I know well how gratifying it must be to the Honourable Patrons of the University, in their selection of the candidate of greatest merit for the Professorship of Oriental Languages, to receive the opinion of one of the very few judges who are qualified to appreciate fully the merits of a competitor for that important office, I have great pleasure in inclosing, for the perusal of your Lordship and the Council, a short note, which I received on Saturday from my friend Mr Hamilton, one of the most profound Orientalists, or rather, perhaps, I should say, the most profound Orientalist in our island, or even in Europe. The situation which he fills as a Professor of Oriental Languages in the East India Company's College at Hertford, is itself a proof that any testimony on the subject, given by him, is the testimony of a very competent judge.

It was my good fortune, my Lord, to live in habits of peculiar intimacy for many years, with another very distinguished Orientalist, Dr John Leyden, who, before leaving Europe, had already made great acquirements in the Languages, which he afterwards cultivated with almost unprecedented success in the East, and whose recent death, in the midst of his extensive researches, has been a subject of public lamentation. He was well acquainted with the candidate to whose merits I have inclosed so favourable a testimony; and tho' unfortunately he cannot now join in such a testimonial, I remember well the strong terms of praise in which he was at all times accustomed to speak of Mr Murray's talents and acquirements.

Unacquainted, as I must confess myself to be, with the languages of the East, I feel that it would be presumptuous in me to add any recom

men

mendation of my own; since I could do nothing more than repeat that general voice of praise of Mr Murray's profound and extensive knowledge of those languages, which must already have reached your Lordship from every quarter. It is much more pleasing to me to have it in my power to offer the opinions of those who are qualified to speak, not from report only, but from their own personal knowledge. In such a case, I flatter 'myself, that the liberty I have taken, in submitting those opinions to your Lordship, will not be considered as intrusive, but as arising only from a zealous interest in the honour of the University, and from my sincere conviction of the anxiety of your Lordship and the Council, to appoint to the vacant Professorship, the candidate best fitted to confer celebrity on the chair which he is to fill, and additional reputation on the University of which he is to be a member.

I have the honour to be, my Lord, your Lordship's very obedient servant, THOMAS BROWN.

No. XV.

Note from Alexander Hamilton, Esq. Professor of Oriental Languages in the East India Company's College at Hertford, to Dr T. Brown.

92, George's Street, Saturday. My Dear Sir-I learn with great pleasure from your note, that there is a probability of Mr Murray's being elected to fill the chair, vacant by the death of Dr Moodie. I happened last week to meet with him in Galloway, and found his acquisitions in Oriental Literature and Languages so extensive and various, as greatly to exceed my power to appreciate them accurately. With the few languages in which I am conversant, he discovered an acquaintance that surprised me exceedingly; but the range of his studies included many of which I am completely ignorant. May I beg

you will write me at "Grange, near Irvine," as soon as his appointment takes place it will afford me a real gratification, from a conviction, that the University of Edinburgh could not more effectually support its high reputation, than by supplying the vacancy with so accomplished an Orientalist.

I am ever, with perfect esteem and affection, my dear Brown, faithfully yours, A. HAMILTON.

No. XVI.

Letter, Principal Baird to the Right Hon. Wm. Creech, Lord Provost, as to Rev. A. Murray's knowledge of Hebrew.

Edinburgh, 30th June 1812. My Lord, I beg leave to transmit to your Lordship, a letter just now put into my hands for the purpose by Mr Christison; it refers to one he had formerly written to your Lordship.

In connection with the subject, and Mr Christison's letter, I take the liberty of stating to your Lordship. for communication to the Honourable • Patrons, the following facts as to the Rev. Alexander Murray's knowledge of the Hebrew Language in particular.

I mentioned in my first letter, announcing him as a candidate, that on his very first arrival in town, when a boy, he read and explained, and analyzed accurately, a Hebrew Psalm, ad aperturam libri. He did so in presence of Dr Moodie, Dr Finlayson, and myself. He had learnt the let ters from finding them at the head of the subdivisions of the 119th Psalm. He then borrowed a Hebrew Grammar, Dictionary, and Bible, and without a master, made himself extensively, and, as we found, correctly acquainted with the language.

He had never at that time heard any other person pronounce a word of it.

"While engaged in theological studies at Edinburgh, he acquired a thorough knowledge of Hebrew, and of the allied dialects or languages, Chaldee, Samaritan, Syriac, and Arabic; and extended his researches into Persic, German, Dutch, Spanish, and even Gaelic. Having been employed for some time as editor of the Scots Magazine, by Messrs Constable and Co. eminent and spirited booksellers in Edinburgh, he undertook in their service the superintendance of a new edition of the celebrated Travels of Bruce into Abyssinia, with considerable additions from the papers of that adventurous traveller. To qualify himself effectually for this purpose, he made himself in a great degree a proficient in the Ethiopic or Abyssinian language, which is a dialect of the Arabic; or rather consists of two principal dialects, the Geez, or language of Tigre, and the Amharic, or court language of Abyssinia, since the seat of government has been established at Gondar in Amhara. Mr Murray appears to have entered considerably into the study of the barbarous languages, or dialects of the subjects and neighbours of the Abyssinian monarchy, named the Falashan, Gafat, Agow, and Tcherets-Agow; and even to have acquired some knowledge of that spoken by the savage Gala.

"In the prosecutian of his philological studies, Mr Murray has care, fully examined and made himself master of all the principal dialects or languages of Europe, ancient as well as modern, including, besides those which are derived from the Latin, those of Teutonic, Sclavonic, and Celtic origin; and such is the facility with which he acquires languages, a task so difficult and irksome to most men, that we are credibly informed he is capable to surmount the obstacles in the way of acquiring any language whatever in one month, so as to understand its grammatical construction and idiomatic phraseology, and to be

able to translate from it with accuracy. Mr Murray has by no means devoted this extraordinary talent for the acquisition of languages to the barren delight of storing up words and phrases for his own private amusement; but has announced a philoso phical work on this curious subject to the public, in which he proposes to trace the affinities and origin of the Greek and Latin languages from one much more simple, regular and ancient, which he considers as the basis or root of almost all the languages of Europe, ancient as well as modern, and even of the Sanskrit. The title of this intended work, which is said to have been nearly ready for the press two years ago, is "Researches into the Origin and Affinity of the Greek and Teutonic Languages ;" and which we have some reason to believe may be put to press before the present work comes before the public. The Author of these Memoirs makes no pretensions to philological learning; yet presumes to alledge, that it is impossible to investigate the filiation of any language or leading dialect, without a competent knowledge of all those which are geographically and historically connected by neighbourhood or colonization. Philologists have generally confined their researches to one or two favourite languages, from which they endeavour to deduce the roots of that which is the object of their investigation. Mr Murray appears to have chosen a wider field, by securing a previous knowledge of all the sources of derivation, and their intermediate steps; and much curious information may be expected from his labours."