Page:History of Bengali Literature in the Nineteenth Century.djvu/109

 EARLIEST EUROPEAN WRITERS 85 whom later on providence brought to Srirampur in search of work, just at the time when Carey and his collea- gues were in despair fur a fount of Sanserit and verna- cular types. Pantchinan and his associates, to whom he had communicated his art, succeeded in course of time in womesticating it in Bengal.! Halhed’s Grammar possesses a peculiar interest for us as being one of the earliest efforts Halhed’s Grammar; ee to studv the laneuage in a scientific its interest and value. : * guage a Scien way. Halhed himself is perfectly conscious of the difficulties of such a study and says in the Preface (p. xix) “ The path which I have attempted to clear was never before trodden. It was necessary that I should make my own choice of the course to be pursued and of the landmarks to be set up for the guidance of future travellers”.* But barring this antiquarian interest, it ean hardly be expected to possess any other value to us. It was obviously written for the benefit of the Europeans who wanted to study the foreign vernacular; * and as such it was bound to be written entirely from their standpoint. Of course it is well to study the spirit with which foreigners 1 See Memoir Relative to the the Translation of the Sacred Scrip. tures into the Lanquages of the East at Serampore by J. Marshman, 1816; also Marshman, Hist. of Serampore Misston, vol. i. ইন্জ(দয়োহপি যন্তাস্তং ন যয. শব্দবারিধেঃ ABUBD FAIA WA TA 2 SK I Carey acknowledges to have derived much help in writing his Bengtli Grammer (1801) from Halhed’s work; see Preface to Carey's Grammar (tst Ed. 18)1); see also E. Carey, Life of Carey, p. 247. বে'ধপ্রকাশং শব্দশান্থুং ফিরিঙ্গিনামুপকারাথং ক্রি্তে হালেদঙ্গে,জী |
 * The curious motto prefixed to the book says :;
 * On the title-pare we read;