Page:History of Bengali Literature in the Nineteenth Century.djvu/287

LATER EUROPEAN WRITERS 263 Of the other Missionary Societies, the London Mission which came into being a little later, took some part in the encouragement of the vernacular London Missionary and promotion of education through Society. D> that medium. Many of its mission- aries, in these early days of text-book writing, com- =) posed numerous educational works of value and usefulness: but it would be sufficient for our purpose if we take into consideration the names Robert May, J. Harley, J.D. Pearson, and James Keith. The first three of these missionaries, however, whose names are linked together like those of the three great Srirampur brethren, are remembered not so much for their literary efforts as in connexion with their numerous flourishing vernacular schools established _ be- Robert May. রী ৮ ৪ 1788-1818. tween Kalna and Chinsurah. In July 1814, Robert May,! with a very narrow income, opened a free vernacular school in his dwelling house at Chinsurah but within a year be succeeded in establishing fifteen more schools with 951 Bengal Obituary (p. 225) adds Pleasing Tales, Epitome of Ancient History (also Hobby, op. cit., p. 211), Celebrated Characters of Ancient History, a translation of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Pt. I, and of Baxter's Call to the Unconverted (Also Murdoch, Calalogue). Besides these, Yates, like many other missionaries mentioned here, wrote numerous Christian Tracts. He also wrote a Bengalee Grammar, ed. Wenger. Calcutta, 1849. See W.H. Carey, Oriental Christian Biography, vol. i, p. 44; also India Review, vol. vii, 1843 1 See Asiatic Journal, vol. iii, 1817, p. 500; Bengal Obituary, p. 208; Cal. Rev vol. 1850, art: “Bengali Literature and Language”; Lushington, History, Design and Present State of Benevolent Insti- tutions in or near Calcutta, 1824, pp. 145-155; Long, Introduction to Adam's Reports, pp. 1-6; Long's Handbook to the Bengal Missions; W. H. Carey, Orient. Christ. Biography, vol iii, pp. 294-298 For John Harley, see W.H. Carey, op. cit., p. 134 et seq,