Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/896

 Heacquires Bengali. 852 BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATUKE. { Chap. Wilkins. Soon after a printing press constructed of wood was advertised for sale and Dr. Carey im- mediately purchased it for £40. Panchanana was once more found out and his services engaged by the the Cri Ramapur Mission. Here Panchanana completed a fount of 700 separate punches for Devanagri letters and their compounds. Panchanana was now an old man, so his worthy colleague Manohara, already mentioned, was called in to assist him and ‘was subsequently employed for forty years at the Cri Ramapur press and to his exertions and instruction, Bengal is indebted for the various beautiful founts of the Bengali, Nagri, Persian, Arabic and other characters which have been gra- dually introduced into the different printing estab- lishments.’’* All this was due to the indefatigable industry of Dr. Carey and his colleagues. They were de- termined to publish the Bible in. Bengali, and this Carey was ultimately able to do. Imagine his great delight when on the 18th of March, 1803, Mr. Ward set the first types with his own hands and pre- sented him with the first sheet of the Testament. We find the following account of him in the notice of his career published by the British and Foreign Bible Society at his death in 1834. “ The extent of his zeal may be judged by the fact that, in con- junction with his colleagues, he has been instru- mental in giving to the tribes of Asia the sacred scriptures in whole or in part in between 30 and 40 different languages.” Tle acquired Bengali with a thoroughness which we scarcely tind in anv other aE