About the Book
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1857 edition. Excerpt: ...for it already existing. The month of January, 1784, just one year after his arrival, saw the Asiatic Society established. The Governor General, Warren Hastings, and the members of Council--Edward Wheeler, John Macpherson, and John Stables, Esquires, at once agreed, on invitation, to become patrons, Hastings declined the office of President, which was naturally conferred on Sir William Jones. The list of the first members who constituted the society may not be uninteresting. It contains the names of some great English scholars, and may serve as a good accompaniment to that already given of the Pundits who sissisted Halhed in compiling his Gentoo Laws: --President Sir William Jones, Knight; Secretary--John Herbert Harington; David Anderson, Esq., Lieut. James Anderson, Francis Balfour, M. D., Geo. Hilaro Barlow, Esq., John Bristow, Esq., Ralph Broome, Esq., Reuben Burrow, Esq., General John Carnac, Sir Robert Chambers, Knight, William Chambers, Esq., Charles Chapman, Esq., Bunish Crisp, Esq., Charles Croftes, Esq., Major William Davy, Jonathan Duncan, Esq., Francis Fowke, Esq., Francis Gladwin, Ksq., Thomas Graham, Esq., Lieut. Charles Hamilton, Thomas Law, Esq., Nathanael Middleton, Esq., John David Paterson, Esq., Capt. John Scott, Henry Vansittart, Esq. and Charles Wilkins, Esq. Among those who joined it soon after its formation, were Warren Hastings, Wilford, Hyde, Fraser, &c. The Society soon became a means, not only for publishing the researches of scholars already made, but of increasing that spirit of linguistic and scientific curiosity, which Hastings had just created. While Sir W. Jones was the very life of it, and took a very large share in its duties and exercises, it was by no means to the exclusion of others. Had the Society done...
