in the province of Bengal, for Arabic and Persian manuscripts But it lacked the needful enterprise, and never came to much. It may be hoped that now under the direcion of Dr. Denison Ross, the present energetic Principal of the Calcutta Madrasah, it may begin to rival in usefulnese the Sanskrit branch of the Search
"All this time the vernaculars of India were left out in the cold Probably it was thought that in respect of them there was little or nothing to search for The conviction that this was a great error has gradually forced itself on all who have sympathised with the newly-awakened interest in the Indian Vernaculars In Bengal, a commendable effort has begun to be made in connection with the search for Sanskrit manuscript, by its present able Director, Mahamahopadhyaya Hara Prasad Shastri, the learned Principal of the Sanskrit College in Calcutta who is devoting a portion of his attention to the collection of Bengali manuscripts But it is the Hindi Vernacular which has been the first to secure for itself the advantage of a distinct organisation for the search of its manuscripts. The credit of this achievement, as we learn from the introduction to the first annual report (1900), is due to an entirely native Indian agency, the Nagari-
