cabinet edition of Kaye's and Malleson's History, to the spelling adopted by Captain Eastwick in Murray's admirable guide-books for India, and it is the correct spelling. Some critics have ignorantly remarked that the natives of India employ no definite spelling for their proper names. But this remark betrays the prejudice of the traveller who disdains to learn. The natives use not only a well-defined spelling for their proper names, but every name has a distinct meaning. The barbaric method adopted by our forefathers a century and a half since, when they were ignorant of the native languages, and wrote simply according to the sound which reached ears unaccustomed to the precise methods of an Oriental people, totally alters and disfigures that meaning. Take, for example, the word 'Kánhpur,' written, in accordance with barbaric custom, 'Cawnpore.' Now, 'Kánhpur' has a definite meaning. 'Kánh,' or 'husband,' is one of the favourite names of 'Krishná.' 'Pur' means 'a city.' The combination of the two words signifies 'Krishná's city.' But what is the meaning of 'Cawnpore'? It does not even correspond to the pronunciation as the name of the place is pronounced by the natives. It serves to remind us of a period of ignorance and indifference to native methods over which it is surely kind to draw the veil. The same reasoning applies to every proper name in India. It is true I have spelt 'Calcutta,' 'Bombay,' and the 'Ganges' ac-
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Preface.
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