finished at press in 1827. The second edition of the Old Testament was completed the following year: it consisted of 1000 copies of Genesis and the Psalter, and of 500 copies of the other books, and it is gratifying to know that half of this edition was circulated within a fortnight after its publication. The demand increased so rapidly that it was found requisite to print forthwith another edition of the New Testament, to consist of 3000 copies. From the spring of 1830, the period at which this edition was commenced, to the day on which the printing of it was finished, Mr. Fyvie devoted his time to the revision and correction of the work. He compared every passage with the Greek, and consulted the best critical works on the original text, while at the same time he endeavoured to render the style more conformable to the Gujerattee idiom. This edition left the press in 1832. In 1842 another edition of the New Testament was undertaken, to consist of 6000 copies of the Gospels and Acts, and 3000 copies of the remaining portions: paper and other materials were transmitted by the Parent Society for the purpose. About the same period an edition was issued of 1000 copies of the Acts, printed in English and Gujerattee in alternate verses.

Another version of the New Testament in Gujerattee has been executed by the Rev. Messrs. Clarkson and Flower, and an edition of 2000 copies has issued from the press. A separate edition of the New Testament in the Balborah, or Devanagari character, for the benefit of the better educated among the natives of Gujerat, and also for the people in the north of the province, had been in contemplation as long back as the year 1828, and according to late accounts it appears likely that this design will now be soon carried into execution.

It was subsequently resolved, by the Bombay Auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, to proceed immediately with an edition of the New Testament according to the old translation of the Surat edition, subject to such slight and necessary changes as the Reverends Hormusjee Pestonjee and Dunjeebhoy Nowrojee (at the time in Bombay, and who had undertaken to correct the press), in union with the Rev. Dr. Wilson, should approve of. This edition, consisting of 2000 copies, in 12mo., was completed at the Bombay press in 1853; and a subsequent edition of 6000 Gujerattee New Testaments, commemorative of the Bible Society's jubilee year, was issued three years later. Meanwhile, preparations for a revised edition of the entire Gujerattee Scriptures have been in active progress under the care of the Bombay Auxiliary Society, and an edition of the New Testament, according to this improved version, was completed at the mission-press in Surat in 1856. The revision and printing of the Old Testament have since been advancing, under the care of a committee appointed for the purpose. The work of translation is now (1860) nearly completed, and the printing has advanced as far as the book of Job. Farther assistance towards supplying copies of the revised version of the Gujerattee New Testament, the necessity of which is urgently felt by the missionaries stationed in the province, has been liberally granted by the Parent Society.

A polyglot edition of 500 copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew, in English, Sanscrit, Marathi, Gujerattee, and Hindustani, was completed at the Bombay press in 1852.

IV. RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION.

The readiness with which the natives of Gujerat have received the Scriptures may be inferred from the repeated editions through which this version has passed. Mr. Fyvie, one of the translators, estimated the number of copies (in whole or in part) that had been distributed by the agency of the mission to which he is attached, during the first eight years after the publication of the New Testament, at upwards of 50,000. The happy results of this distribution are thus described by the same gentleman:-" Much real good is doing among the people by the circulation of the Scriptures. Many begin to see the folly of idolatry, and are earnestly desirous of receiving Christian instruction. Some have openly renounced Hindooism, have professed attachment to the God of Israel, and have put on Christ by Christian baptism. The attention which these manifest to the Scriptures is truly delightful; and the readiness with which they can refer to circumstances and passages in the Bible is very interesting."

MAHRATTA, OR MARATH I.

SPECIMEN, FROM Sr. JOHN, CHAP. I. 2. 1 to 14.

२

तोच प्रारंभी

पर्व १॥ १ प्रारंभीं तो शब्द होता । आणि तो शब्द देवाजवळ होता । आणि तो शब्द देव होता ॥ देवाजवळ होता ॥ ३ त्याकडून सगळीं जालीं । द्यणजे जें जालें तें कांहींच त्यावांचून जालें नाहीं ॥ ४ त्यामध्यें जि घन होतें आणि तें जिवन माणसांचा उजेड होता ॥ ५ आणि तो उजेड अंधारांत प्रकाशतेो । परंतु अंधाराने त्याला ध रिलें नाहीं * ६ देवाजवळून पाठविलेला माणुस होता । त्या चें नांव योहान्न ॥ 9 तोच । आपणाकडून सर्वानी विश्वास धरावा । द्यणेान त्या उजेडाविषयीं साक्ष द्यावयास साक्षीसाठीं जाला ॥ t तोच तो उजेड नव्हता । परंतु त्या उजेडाविष यीं साक्ष द्यावयास [आाला ॥] ९ जो प्रत्येक माणुस जगांत येतो। त्याला जो प्रकाशिता । तोच खरा उजेड होता ॥ १० ता जगांत होता । आणि जग त्याकडून जालें । तथापि उगाने त्याला जाणलें नाहीं ॥ ११ तो आपलीं जीं यांजवळ चाला । आणि आपले जे ह्यानी त्याला अंगिकारिलें नाहीं ॥ १२ परंतु जितक्यानी त्याला घेतलें । झणजे त्याचा नांवावर विश्वास ठेविला। त्यांस त्याने देवाचीं लेंकरें होण्याचा अधिकार किंवा माणसाच्या इछेपासून नव्हेत परंतु देवापासून जन्मले * १४ आणि तो शब्द अवतरला । तेव्हां त्याने आद्यामध्ये वस्ती केली । आणि तो कृपेने व खरेपणाने पूर्ण [असतां ।] त्याचें गौरव । बापाजवळील येकुलत्याच्या गौरवासारिखें । चाबी पाहिलें ॥

दिल्हा ॥ १३ ते रक्तांपासून । किंवा मासाच्या इछेपासून ।

I.—GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT AND STATISTICS.

THE extensive country in which the Mahratta language is vernacular is situated between the 16th and 22nd degrees of north latitude, and the 73rd and 79th degrees of east longitude, and is calculated to enclose a space of 102,000 square miles. It comprehends the whole of Candeish and Aurungabad, and part of the provinces of Berar, Beeder, and Bejapoor: the Concan, in which the Mahratta language is continually becoming more and more prevalent, is also included in this territory. In consequence of the Mahratta conquests, the language is rather widely diffused in other parts of India; it is the court language of Tanjore, and of several places in the Carnatic. The Mahratta population is supposed to amount to about eight, or even ten, millions: a correct census appears to have been taken only of the portions of this country subject to the Bombay presidency; and the total population of the Mahratta districts under British government amounts to upwards of three and a half millions.

II.—CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE.

The Mahratta may be regarded as a kind of link between the Sanscrit dialects of Northern India and the languages of the Deccan. Some of its words and idioms are obviously of cognate origin with the Bengalee, while in others a notable approximation may be detected to the Tamil, Telinga, and other languages of the south. About 50,000 words in a Mahratta dictionary have been examined as to their origin and etymology by Dr. Stevenson, and the result of his analysis is as follows:-Of the 50,000 words he found that 10,000 only were primitives, the rest being merely derivative terms. One half of these primitives he proved to be pure Sanscrit words; and of the remaining 5000 primitives he showed that 2000 were likewise of Sanscrit origin, but considerably modified or corrupted in form; 1000 were ascertained to have been introduced from the Persian and Arabic; and the remaining 2000, equal to one fifth of the whole, were found to exhibit more or less resemblance to correlative words in the Tamil, Telinga, and Canarese languages, and in the un-Sanscrit portion of the Hinduwee and Gujerattee dialects. In point of grammatical construction the Mahratta in general corresponds pretty

case.

nearly with Bengalee and Hinduwee; and, like the former, it is softer in its articulation than many other Indian dialects. The nouns are possessed of two numbers, three genders, and seven cases. There is but one form of conjugation for all regular verbs, and auxiliaries are employed in the formation of some of the tenses. Most of the past tenses have separate forms for the different genders. The gender of these tenses in intransitive verbs is regulated by that of the nominative case, but in transitive verbs the past tenses agree in gender with the objective case, and the agent is thrown into the instrumental In the arrangement of words in a sentence, the construction generally observed is to commence with the agent, and to end with the verb. Two different characters are used in writing Mahratta, the Modi or Modhe, a kind of running hand, which is derived from, and still retains a strong resemblance to, the Devanagari; and the Balboodh or Balborah, which appears to be almost, if not quite, the same as the Devanagari itself. The former, vulgarly termed Morhee, is most generally understood, being employed in all transactions of business; but the latter is preferred for printing, because it possesses several letters in which the Modi is deficient: it is besides, uniform and regular in appearance, while the Modi varies as much in style as the handwriting of different individuals in Europe.

III.-VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE.

A version of the Scriptures in Mahratta was commenced at Serampore in 1804, and in 1807 considerable progress had been made in the translation, both of the Old and of the New Testament, and part of the Gospel of St. Matthew had been committed to the press. The first few copies of this Gospel were printed in the Devanagari character, but on its being ascertained that the Modi was more generally intelligible to the natives, this latter character was employed in all the subsequent Serampore editions. In 1811 an edition consisting of 1000 copies of the New Testament was completed, and in 1820 a similar edition of the Old Testament left the press. A second and revised edition, consisting of 3000 copies of the New Testament, appeared about the year 1825. This version gave rise, for a time, to considerable controversy, numerous objections being raised against it; which were, however, successfully repelled by the late lamented Mr. William Greenfield. Yet no farther editions of this version were issued at Serampore, probably because the two chief dialects of the Bombay presidency, Mahratta and Gujerattee, appeared to be more particularly within the reach of the Bombay Bible Society, instituted at Bombay in 1813. Application was made, as before stated, to this society by Dr. John Taylor, for their sanction in preparing a new version of any portion of the Scriptures in Mahratta and Gujerattee. Dr. Taylor only lived to complete the Gospel of St. Matthew, which was printed in 1819.

Another version of the Mahratta Scriptures was commenced in the year 1817 by the American missionaries, and various parts of the New Testament were successively issued from the press; till, in the year 1826, an edition of the entire New Testament was printed by them, with the aid of the Bombay Auxiliary, and of the Parent Society in London. This edition consisted of a larger number of some books than of others, the whole edition being about equal to 5000 copies. An improved and carefully revised edition of this Testament, also consisting of 5000 copies, was printed in 1830 by the American missionaries. In 1834 the Bombay Bible Society undertook another revisal of the Mahratta New Testament, and determined upon issuing an edition of 8000 copies, to be printed in the Balboodh character. The printing of this edition was commenced in 1835; and during the same year, the society found it necessary to resolve on a separate edition of the Gospels in the Modi, or current character, for the use of the lower class of natives.

While these editions of the New Testament were in course of preparation, the translation of the Old Testament into Mahratta was zealously prosecuted by the American missionaries, and by the Rev. J. Dixon, of the Church Mission at Nassuck. An edition of Mr. Dixon's version of the Psalms, consisting of 1000 copies, was printed for the use of the Bombay Bible Society in 1835: other portions of the Old Testament were issued at successive intervals, and in 1839, the printing of the Prophetical Books, translated by Mr. Dixon, was completed. During the same year another edition of 2000

copies of the Psalms, revised by Messrs. Dixon and Graves, passed through the press. In 1841 a thousand copies of the First and Second Books of Kings, translated by the Rev. A. Graves, had been printed; and an edition of 1000 copies of Mr. Dixon's version of the Pentateuch was in the press, besides extra copies of some detached portions. About the same period another version of the Psalms, executed by the Rev. C. P. Farrer, was published, and appears to have been received with peculiar avidity by the Jews of Bombay.

The whole Bible is now accessible to the Mahratta population, an edition of the Old Testament having been completed at the American Mission press, on account of the Bible Society, in 1855. Mr. Dixon, by whom the greater part of this important version was executed, did not live to witness the completion of this edition at press: he was one of the first Mahratta scholars in India; and it is stated in a recent report of the Bible Society, that "wide testimony has been afforded of the value of his translation, which has been characterised by able judges as containing the groundwork and foundation of a standard version." Still more recently we learn that a revision of the entire Bible has been completed at Bombay, under the care of a committee appointed for the purpose, and an edition (yet unfinished) of 5000 copies has since been committed to the press. The polyglot edition of the Gospel of St. Matthew, referred to in a previous page, has been issued, and copies of it forwarded to the various societies in India, to the Parent Society, and to learned societies in various countries of Europe. The edition consists of 250 copies in English and Mahratta in separate columns on the left hand, and in Gujerattee and Sanscrit on the right hand page; and of 250 copies in English, Mahratta, Gujerattee and Hindustani, printed as above mentioned, with the Sanscrit at the close of the volume.

IV. RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION.

Among the numerous proofs given by missionaries of the beneficial effects resulting from the extensive distribution of the Mahratta Scriptures, no instances are perhaps so deeply interesting as those which have reference to the Jews. Some of these singular people are said to have been established in the west of India from time immemorial. They have almost lost the knowledge of their original language, although they repeat their prayers in Hebrew, and their vernacular dialect is now the Mahratta. When they first attracted the notice of Europeans, it was found that they possessed none of the Prophetical Books of the Old Testament, and that they were ignorant of the history of their people subsequent to the first captivity; they did not keep the feast of Purim, and had never even heard of the destruction of Jerusalem. They call themselves "Beni-Israel," and are known under that appellation to their Mahratta neighbours: they dislike being called "Yahoodi" (Jews), the common name of the Hebrew race in the East; and they disclaim all connection, except that of community of faith, both with the black Jews of Malabar, and their fair brethren of Arabia and Persia. They are described as retaining the marked features of their race, and as being distinguished from the Hindoo and Mohammedan natives by superior intelligence and an integrity of character, recommending them, not unfrequently, to offices of trust and responsibility, particularly in the army. The desire of these descendants of Israel to obtain the Scriptures in their vernacular dialect has been frequently referred to by missionaries, as the following extracts will show:-Mr. Layson writes, "Every Saturday my house is frequented by Beni-Israel, anxious to obtain the Scriptures. The desire of the word of life is very great among them; and they consider that in possessing the sacred volume they have an inestimable treasure. How much do I wish," he continues, " that it were in my power to describe the anxiety of these poor people to possess the Scriptures, especially in the Marathi language. The last supply which I received, 150 copies of the First and Second Books of Kings, are almost all distributed; and another supply of the same number will not be sufficient to meet the incessant demand." The statements of other missionaries are much to the same effect. "During the past year," writes Mr. Mitchell, "the applications for copies of the Scriptures made to me by the Beni-Israel have been numerous. We may say that every Israelite of this class desires to have a copy of the Old Testament, both in Hebrew, and his vernacular language, Marathí. Their anxiety to possess the

latter is cheering, as it proves that they seek to understand the meaning of the word of God, and do not rest satisfied with a mere utterance of the sound of the venerable Hebrew Scripture. A knowledge of the Old Testament, gained through the Marathi Scriptures, is rapidly spreading among the BeniIsrael; and to this they themselves attribute the discontinuance of many semi-idolatrous practices that had crept in among them in former days of ignorance. Some of them read the New Testament in Marathi. On the whole," continues this missionary, "my experience during the last twelve months has impressed me with a higher idea than ever of the importance of the field opened up in this part of India to the Bible Society, of the good its labours have already done, and the still greater good they may yet accomplish." The testimony of missionaries as to the influence of the Mahratta version on converts of the Mahratta race, is equally favourable. The Rev. O. French of Seroor, in a late report received from India, expresses himself to the following effect:-" In my labours among the Hindoos of this vicinity, I find that the sacred Scriptures are in demand just in proportion to the degree of gospel light enjoyed; a fact shewing that the labours of the Bible Society are designed to become more and more important as the truth advances. The people often ask for portions of the Bible in preference to other books, and on their reception a peculiar satisfaction is generally manifested."

KUNKU NA.

SPECIMEN, FROM ST. JOHN, CHAP. I. v. 1 to 14.

पिर्तम उत्तर आसिलें जानि उत्तर देवा लागि आसिलें जानि उत्तर देउ बासिलो । तें पिर्तम देवालागिं चासिलें । ३ ४ सगळे ताजां उवजलां आनि कोणर उबजलें ताजे भितरि कांपि ताजे नंतां जवजले नासिलें । तांतु जीउ आसिलो ५ जानि तो जीउ मनुष्यांला हुजवाडु आसिला । चानि हुजवाद्धान काळकांतु प्रकाशु पाव्लो चानि काळकान ताका घेत्लो ना ।

६ ७

देवांथाकुनु धाळोलो येक्लो चासिलो कि कोणा नांव योहनु । तो साक्षि जावयाक चाय्ला कि हुजवाडाले t विषयांतु साथि दिवो कि सगळें ताजेन विश्वासु करोति । तो हुजवाडु तो ना आसिलो तरि तो हुजवाडा विषयांतु साथि जावचाक चाय्ला ।

୧ ୩୬ तो वह हुजवाडु जासिला कि कोण जगतांतु येतला सगळे मनुष्याक हुजवाडु कर्ती । तो जगतांतु चासिलो जानि ११ जगत ताजेन उबजलें जानि जगतान ताका जाण्ळा ना । ता आय्णा अधिकारा लांगि आय्लो आनि आपणा १२ लोकांनि ताका घेत्लो ना । तरि कोणते लोकानि ताका घेत्लो तांकां नाणे देवाला मृतु जावचा पराक्रनु दिलो १३ अर्थात आपण नांवांतु विश्वासु कर्तल्यांक | किं कोण रक्तां थाकुनु जावा शरीराले इच्छथाकुनु जावा मनुष्यांले इन्हें १४ थाकुनुयि उव्जले नांति तरि देवांथा कुनु उवजले । जानिकै उत्तर शरीर कोर्नु गेलें जानि दया आनि बद्दपणांथाकुनु भल्ली जाउनु चामगेले भितरि गुडारकेलें चानि चनाला येकु उब्जल्ले पूताले सैश्वर्याले मणकै आमि तागेलें सैश्वर्य देकलें ।

KUNKUNA is the proper language of the Concan, a long narrow tract of land, the continuation of Malabar and Canara, extending north and south of Bombay. The area of this maritime district has been estimated at 12,270 square miles, and its population at 1,044,120.