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Ante 1640.] first Court of Directors of the East India Associ- ation was held at "Founder's Hall."

The geographical information furnished by the Merchant Adventurers and Sir Foulkes Greville, is very interesting. It was derived from various authors, —Portuguese, Spanish, Italians, Dutch, and English,—whose names are now only known to the antiquarian; and it contains a flood of information which shows how rapidly geographical science had progressed in that age of enterprise. Of course most of the marvellous stories of Sir John Mandeville were popularly believed; but still a large amount of faithful description had reached Europe, and every day the torch of truth was carried further and further into the regions of fable. As regards India, much geographical information respecting the coast of Malabar had already been published; and the maids of honour in the Court of Elizabeth, had long been giggling over the stories of a country where the ladies had as many husbands as they pleased; or else were denouncing the cruel law which compelled a beloved wife to burn herself with the body of her deceased husband. Even the Coast of Coromandel was known. The Portuguese had already penetrated to Bengal; whilst a century before the country had been a terra incognita, and the country now called Orissa was believed by many intelligent Englishmen to be peopled by men who had horses heads and fed on human flesh.

We are not reviewing the history of the late Company, and therefore shall content ourselves