Page:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Vol 60.djvu/575

 alternating tyrannies of Affghans and Ghurkas, and who recognised but two classes of beings-themselves and their ghosts; then to introduce the rudiments of justice, and, finally, raise the condition of the people to that of a prosperous British province. It was during his two years' pupilage with Traill that Hodgson commenced his zoological observations and those studies of the aboriginal tribes of India and their languages, which he pursued thronghont his career; and, so efficiently did he perform his official duties, that, after two years (in 1820), he found himself unexpectedly promoted to be Assistant to the British Resident at the Court of Nepal Here, however, a disappointment awaited him. He found the Resident, the Hononrable E. Gardner, giving effect to Lord Hast ings' wise policy of converting Nepal from a turbulent neighbour into a quiescent, if not friendly, ally of the British power, and this he was doing so effectively that Hodgson found a truce established, and no scope for his ambition as a politician and diplomatist. He accordingly applied to Government for more active employment, and was at once gazetted to tine Secretariat of the Persian Department of the Foreign Ofice, Calcutta, a step towards the highest positions in the service. At Calcutta his health, as before, at once broke down, and he was fortunate in being sent again (in 1824) to Nepal in a subordi nate position, awaiting the successorship to the Assistant Residentship, which post had been filled up. This he obtained in the following year, followed by that of Acting Resident on Mr. Gardner's retire ment (1829), and Resident in 1833.

It was during the enforced quiescence of Hodgson's first ycars in Nepal that he undertook the systematic study of Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhist literature, and the collection and description of the verte- brata of the Himalaya. By his courteous treatment of the Lamas of the temples of Katmandu and of the emissaries of the Grand Lama of Lhassa to the Nepal Court, he enlisted their active eo-operation in the purchase of MSS., and in procuring copies of others, some dating bck to upwards of 1100 years before the Christian era, for which latter purpose he kept a staff of cepyis ts in constant employ. So impressed was the Bnddhist hierarchy by his learning and labours, and so great was his reputation, that the Grand Lama of Lhassa himself sont him a copy of their classical scriptnres, the Kaghyur and Stangyur, in 347 folio volumes. Subsequently Hodgson procured auother copy which he sent to the college at Fort William, and which is now in the library of the Bengal Asiatic Society. Altogether, dating from 1824, he had given upwards of 270 volumes of Sanskrit aud Tibetau literature to British institutions, especially to the Indian Government, and 147 to the Société Asiatique de Paris. The receipt of the latter in France, together with copies of his own researches in Buddhism, were, as carly as 1837, recognised by the bestowal on him