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JULY, 1898.]
MISCELLANEA.
195
Mr. Dikshit's share in a work produced jointly by For any such work, therefore, those means are himself and Mr. Sewell, vis. the "Indian Calen- not needed at all. And, in the other direction, dar," with an Appendix by Dr. Schram on Eclipses it is a really dangerous matter that Indian Judges of the Sun in India, published in 1896, which and Civil Officers should have the temptation provides the materials for verifying the most to use such processes and acoept such untrustcustomary details of all Hinda and MuhammadAnworthy results. It will not be often that parties dates from A. D. 300 onwards. The comple. before a Court can engage Counsel competent to tion of this book realised an ambition which lay such questions properly before the Court, Mr. Dikshit had entertained before the time when And it may happen, ut any time, that, by means he began to co-operate with Mr. Sewell. The book of these approximate processes, the agency of a is open, of course, to criticism and improvement Court of Justice may be used to send an in respect of various details, and has been criti. innocent man to rigorous imprisonment for a cised in respect of some of them. But it is a forgery or to hang him for a murder of which he most useful and up-to-date work. It has been is guiltless, or to enable some miscreant to secure, everywhere very favourably received. And there by a forged will or other document, property to is only one serious fault in it, fortunately easily I which he has no just claim. I find it difficult to capably of correction in a second edition, by understand how Mr. Dikshit, with his habits of omission; namely, that, in addition to providing careful and painstaking accuracy, cuine to lend for correct and unquestionable results, it also the authority of his name for such a use of proincludes, and by placing them before the exact cesses of this nature. method even gives prominence to, some special In addition to the work that he did on his own means of making those approximate calculations account for publication under his own name, Mr. of Hinda dates which, if accepted as yielding Dikshit was always ready, and was ever willing results, are so untrustworthy and useless, - with to find time, to examine a difficult date for anythe dangerous advice that, if a result obtained one else, to elucidate any matter of doubt in his by an approximate process is not in exact accord. special line of work, and to render any other assistance with the given details of the date, and if ance that lay in his power. And great and varied those details include the week-day, then the was the help that I myself received from him, result may be altered to suit the giren details. before the time when I became able to use the These special means of making approximate Tables freely and make calculations for myself. calculations are two-fold: one is a system that I It was a real pleasure to invoke his aid; because was introduced into a previous work by Mr. W he always had in view, not the finding of fault S. Krishnasvami Naidu; the other is a method with work done by others froin a desire to write invented by Mr. T. Lakshmiah Naidu. Now, we for the exaltation of bimself, but a genuine wish to are told in the very first words of the Preface remove difficulties and impart knowledge. During that “this Volume is designed for the use, not the last few years of my service in India, and since only of those engaged in the decypherment of then, I was not so much in communication with Indian inscriptions and the compilation of Indian him as previously; partly because higher official history, but also of Judicial Courts and Govern- position and increased work and responsibilities ment Offices in India." Approximate calculations prevented me from engaging much in antiquarian must often be made, as a preliminary step, by researches beyond completing a contribution that the historian who is trying for exact results, I had promised for the" Bombay Gazetteer," and especially in cases in which there is a doubt as to partly because, since my return to England, I have the exact year in which the correct result is to not until lately been engaged in matters in which be looked for. But it will very soon be found that he could help. But certain questions have accu. the approximate calculations in such cases can mulated from time to time in connection with be made, either by using other methods, or by topioa dealt with in the "Indian Calendar" and writing down from the Indian Calendar" the with other matters, in respect of which I had the first few quantities that are to be used for exact intention of consulting him eventually. And it calculations, or even more readily still by a brief was, therefore, with more than ordinary sorrow mental process, - much more easily and quickly that I received the unexpected news of his death. than by either of the special means which Mesers. The loss of him will be greatly felt. It is a real Sewell and Dikshit have put forward for them; misfortune that he should have passed away withand, after eren the shortest practice, no one who out revising his work in the "Indian Calendar." has an exact result in view will ever take the And it will, I fear, be very difficult to find any. trouble to use, for his preliminary approximatel one to take his place, to complete his published calculations, the means thus specially provided work in those details in which it is capable of
