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| 0041 |
Southern Tibet : vol.7 |
Citation Information
OCR Text
and probably lost Bk. II are, however, to be found in Bk. I, which, therefore, is all
the more valuable. Captain Wilford's quotations in his articles in the Asiatic Resear-
ches, do, as Hosten proves, not refer to the Calcutta MS., now published, but to
»Bk. II» now lost. Hosten, therefore, concludes that Wilford had in his possession
the original of Monserrate's Book II. Every Asiatic student will heartily agree with
Rev. Hosten, in his saying: »It is not impossible that Wilford's MS. should still come
to light. Judging from the extracts made by Wilford, we may say that the impor-
tance of such a discovery cannot be overrated.»
Hosten says farther¹:
»From fol. 2b to fol. 4b we have in the MS. a double column of names of
towns, rivers, mountains and countries passed through by Monserrate in the course
of his travels. The longitudes and latitudes are all given, and a quite scientific map
drawn to scale — the earliest known for portions of India so far north as Lahore
and Kabul, and a marvel of accuracy for the time — appears on the recto of the
extra leaf marked 5.» To this wonderful map we shall have to return presently.
A mysterious annotator whom Hosten signifies with an X, has, at some already
distant date, seen the precious MS. and added some remarks. He seems to have
been a learned Englishman, but he cannot be identified.
Everybody interested in the history of exploration in India and other parts of
Asia, will feel the sincerest gratitude towards Rev. Hosten for the excellent work he
has begun, and we have to look forward to new important publications by him.
Speaking of the difficulties of translating Monserrate's Latin text, he says: »Besides,
so many unpublished materials on the Jesuit Missions in Mogor, Tibet and Bengal,
of which not a few will farther elucidate the present work, have now accumulated
under my hands that even a long lifetime will scarcely suffice to dispose of them all.»
Regarding the Latin text now published, Rev. Hosten says:
My conclusion, then, is that Monserrate's Bk. I has never been made use of. The
Calcutta MS. is a unique copy, nor will the epithet 'excellent', which Graf von Noer applied
to a much inferior composition by Monserrate, be found exaggerated. In presenting it to
the learned world, I anticipate that his Mongolicae Legationis Commentarius, the earliest
known account of Northern India by a European since the days of Vasco da Gama, will
take rank as a first-rate authority.
Rev. Hosten may be quite sure that the high praise he gives Monserrate's text
is by no means exaggerated. It is extremely interesting to read, and it is like
a clear light of real knowledge in the general darkness of those early days. In
this connection, though dealing with the history of exploration in and round the
Kara-korum Mountains chiefly, his name should not be missing. He has not heard
of this great system, it is true, but he has surprisingly correct information about
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