metal. He was evidently the Midas of Mythology, and possibly the king, said to have had in his treasury in gold alone 1584000000 pounds sterling; which, if reduced, would probably amount to no more than £203700 sterling; and possibly, not to more than 20370 pounds. For, if the original numbers were Trasarenus, they must be divided by 1296. For it would be difficult to ascertain the value in gold of the minutest mote that is perceptible in a sun-beam. Thus, 1584000000 1296 = 1222222; each of which, being in weight two grains, if valued at four pounds per ounce troy, would give 20370 pounds sterling. Or if Chuchrums, the amount would be 203700; which is by no means an exorbitant sum, if compared with the Scripture accounts of the same date. It is much to be regretted that Europeans seldom, if ever, give an account as they receive it from the Hindus. No Indian could have described the treasures of this prince in pounds sterling. They would have said, so many lacks, or so many crores: a lack is an hundred thousand; a crore ten hundred thousand. If, therefore, the numbers were to be taken literally, which is very probable, and written 1584 crores, in gold coin it might have been 1584000000 gold Fanams, of the value of four pence each; which would amount to 26400000 pounds sterling; or if

so many lacks, then to only 2640000. Now the largest of these sums, and I have endeavoured to place them in every possible point of view, is less by 6800000 pounds than David's first offering to the temple. For if the riches of the king of Hindostan are taken literally, there is no reason why those of the king of Jerusalem should be considered otherwise. And then, if Nanda actually possessed in his treasury 1584000000, David, according to the book of Chronicles, drew from his treasury in gold only, as an oblation to the temple, 648000000. And supposing that he gave one half of the whole amount of his revenues, he must have possessed 1296000000 pounds sterling. But a very moderate capacity may discover, that neither of these accounts were intended to be understood literally. Taking that of the Hindus at the very largest possible estimation, it amounts to 26400000. But this sum is not spoken of, as the collections of one year. On the contrary, it is recorded, "that he had that sum in his treasury at one time." The oblation to the temple was thirty years in collecting, and literally amounted to 75249000; which, divided by 30, averages 2508300 annually, besides jewels, copper, and brass and this does not include any part of the collections for other purposes. We learn from Josephus that the shekel of the Hebrews contained

four attic drachms, or the weight of half an ounce of silver; which is nearly half a crown, according to the present coinage, and just a Sicca Roupee of Bengal. Probably it is the coin mentioned in the forty-fifth chapter of Genesis. "To Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver." We may, according to the value of the Roupee, estimate the silver at five shillings per ounce; and, at the present average porportion of 16 to 1, the value of the gold was four pounds per ounce. At that rate the following table is calculated; and the riches of the Hebrew and Hindu monarchs estimated. To form a just estimate of which, it becomes necessary to ascertain the value of the Hindu weights, which are as follows:

3200 = 640 = 40 = 10 = 1 = 6400

As the origin of all weights used in England

was a grain of corn, of wheat, of the largest size,

dried in the Sun, of which thirty-two were allowed to be a penny-weight, or twenty-four grains, so three middle sized barley-corns were, in Hindostan, considered as the weight of a Ractica, or two grains; making thirty-six middle sized barley-corns, equal to twenty-four grains troy. As these calculations, extracted from the Institutes of Menu, as taken from the Vedas, are certainly as ancient, if not more so, than the Pentateuch of Moses, they may be considered as the original basis of all weights.

A Ractica is the smallest gold coin known in India usually named a gold Fanam. A Chuchrum being a nominal value, by which accounts are kept, in like manner as we adopt pounds sterling. Ten Fanams form a Chuchrum, which originally was understood as twenty grains of gold; as twenty shillings still form one pound with us. There is a larger Fanam, now in use, of which, if I recollect rightly, five are equal to a pennyweight. But the Fanam metal of the present day is of so debased a quality, that it cannot be considered as a criterion. The star pagoda is a fair standard it weighs 48 grains; which, at the rate of four pounds sterling per ounce, is eight shillings of our money, the fixed exchange of the East India Company.

Having shewn the mode practised by the Hindus, when they are desirous of swelling their numbers,

and having explained the three several ways, by which the sum of 1584000000 may be computed, we will proceed to the Hebrew account of the riches of Solomon. And, as Mr. Wilford gives us no clue by which to ascertain the mode of computation intended by his informant, we will suppose it the largest of these sums, or 26400000 pounds sterling; which falls very far short of the Hebrew account, as given in the twenty-second and twenty-ninth chapters of the first book of Chronicles, where it is recorded, that the collections for the offerings to the temple, in gold alone, amounted to an hundred and eight thousand talents. We learn from Josephus, that the talent contained 3000 shekels; it consequently weighed 125lbs. Therefore, 108000 talents of 125lbs. weight each, at four pounds sterling per ounce, were in value equal to 648000000 pounds sterling. Now had an Hindu informed our author, that one of their kings had made an offering of such a sum to their principal pagoda, and that six hundred millions of it was paid at one time, he would have had no hesitation in pronouncing it "a monstrous absurdity." But, if we consider it according to its obvious meaning, as we have done that of the Hindus, it is neither monstrous nor absurd. On the contrary, it is, I believe, perfectly correct. For, first, the talent of the Sanctuary, to which Josephus alludes, was VOL. I.

Q