nected with any of the New Church Societies in London, was removed to his eternal home, December 4, 1878, in the ninetieth year of his age. Only two or three of his friends over fourscore survive him. In his early years he was piously disposed, and being fond of sacred music he, while an apprentice, joined the church choir in his native village, Wye, near Ashford. He was also a lover of nature, especially of the feathered tribe. Soon after he came to London. While still a very young man the doctrines of the New Church were brought to his notice by an eccentric old gentleman, who told him he knew nothing about religion, and offered to take him where he would hear and learn something. Accordingly he took him to the little chapel in Dudley Court, where he heard Dr. Hodson preach, and the sermon and the whole manner of conducting the service greatly interested him. Here he became a regular attendant, occasionally going to York Street to hear Mr. Proud, whose oratory powerfully attracted him. A worthy attendant at this chapel, Mr. G. Cock, lent him the "Heaven and Hell," the first of Swedenborg's works he had met with. He very quickly read it through with out the slightest doubt of its truth. He afterwards attended the chapel in Friar Street, of which Mr. Sibly was the minister, and here he settled down as a member. At first he found Mr. Sibly far less attractive than Mr. Proud; but when he had made himself better acquainted with the doctrines he came to admire him, especially for his elucidation of the spiritual sense of the Word. He regarded him as "one of the most industrious, painstaking, and persevering of men, ," who made many friends, and never lost one. He became very intimate with him, spending much of his leisure at his house, and in due course married his youngest daughter. She brought him one son; in a few years mother and son died. He took an active part in the affairs of the Society, and on two occasions represented it at the General Conference. For some time he held the office of reader. This he did when Mr. Noble was ordained at Lisle Street by Mr. Sibly and Dr. Churchill on May 21, 1820, the chapel in Friar Street being closed on the occasion. For several years he belonged to the coffee-meeting which was held at Mr. Hodson's a meeting of a highly intellectual character for the reading and discussion of papers on New Church subjects-by some of the most excellent and cultivated members of the London Societies and from distant parts. He ever felt the benefits of what he heard and learned at that meeting. As a tradesman in the city of London, his upright and straightforward conduct secured him the good opinion of his neighbours in the ward in which he resided. Some time before he left London he married a lady, a native of Ashford; and on his retiring from business they removed there and lived in great comfort and happiness. He was accustomed to attend all public meetings, and was often invited to express his opinion on the several matters brought forward, and was always listened to with respectful attention. Without obtruding his religious opinions on others, he took every favourable opportunity to make them known wherever he deemed it would be useful, and was quite able and willing to defend them when necessary. He was usually blessed with excellent health, but for some few years he had become rather deaf, and rheumatism in the legs prevented his enjoying his usual walks. Early in 1877 he had a very severe attack of paralysis; but, by the Divine blessing on the unremitting attention of his devoted wife, he rallied to nearly his former strength. Again, early in 1878 he had a similar but milder attack, and from this he also rallied, although it left him weaker. On the 27th of last November he was again attacked in a similar way, but not so severely. By this time, however, his work in this world was done, all human aid was now powerless to restore him. He at once became unconscious, and, without suffering any pain, in a week he passed calmly away. Few men were better prepared for the change. H. BUTTER. On January 16th, at Colinfield, Wigan, Elizabeth, relict of William Miller, Manchester, aged seventy-two years. At Middleton Junction, near Manchester, January 4th, Miss Adelaide Helena Whitworth, in the sixteenth year of her age. THE readers of the Repository have been already informed of the important accession which has been made, not only to our ranks, but to our directing and leading men, in the person of Mr. Dadoba Pandurung, a native of India. In our number for October last we gave a long extract from a letter he addressed to the Swedenborg Society, and of which that body thought so highly that they issued it with their annual report, and printed a large edition besides for general circulation. Having obtained what many of us had long desired, -a native qualified and disposed to aid in spreading a knowledge of the doctrines of the New Church in India,-his talents were soon called into requisition. The Swedenborg Society entered into communication with our Hindu brother as to the best means of effecting their common object, one of those means being, of course, the publication of some of the writings in one or more of the native tongues. The treatise on "Heaven and Hell" was selected as the first to be issued. The Secretary, having communicated the wishes and proposals of the Committee, received from Mr. Pandurung the following letter containing his views on the subject:— Hon. Secretary to the Swedenborg Society, London. "DEAR SIR,—I am in receipt of your letter dated 5th ult., and have much pleasure to state that I have derived great satisfaction indeed from the fact com G municated therein, namely, that your Society (why, I must now call it our Society) is beginning to evince such a deep and sincere interest in the question of enlightening my countrymen on the doctrines of Swedenborg and of the New Church, and that it has pleased God to make me a humble instrument in His hand to open the channel of such communication between the two countries. come; "In my humble opinion I consider the establishment of three or four missionhouses in all the Presidency towns, such as Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, and Agra or Lahore, is the most necessary if not the first step towards spreading the doctrines of the New Church. But in the absence of any contributions from the inhabitants of India themselves, who are still, as might be expected, quite unfavourably disposed towards the establishment of any foreign religious missions in this country, such a measure is, I apprehend, likely to prove very expensive as merely experimental, for experimental it must remain for some years yet to and therefore I cannot but quite agree with your Committee in their present selection of the two books for translation into the vernacular languages, as the first step to prepare the soil for the reception of the seed, and for the operation of future labourers in the field. To these also I would add, if our financial position admit, the Compendium of the Theological Writings of Swedenborg,' by the Rev. S. M. Warren, which appears to me, from a notice which I have seen of the book, published in the Messenger, though I have not seen the book itself, to be a fit work for translation, as it is supposed to give a short and clear insight into the voluminous writings of Swedenborg at one view. "At the same time I beg here to state for the information of your Committee, that translators of such works as are now and may hereafter be proposed, are expected to be men not only well versed in the English language and Christian theology, but they must be men well known as elegant writers in their own vernaculars, possessing a thorough knowledge of the philosophical and theological terms in vogue in the writings of their own sages—a qualification which is very rare, indeed, in our present English educated men. Hence your Committee will at once perceive that the task of translating such works is by no means so easy as they may have been inclined to suppose. The rate at which common translators of native documents in the courts and Government offices are paid is one rupee and a half, that is, three shillings per folio (ninety words). A good and learned translator will no doubt ask more. But even at this rate the Heaven and Hell,' if translated wholly and thoroughly, will cost about 2800 rupees, which, with the expense of printing and binding (2000 copies), will amount to, say, about £400. "Under these circumstances, if your Committee should consider this not a very exorbitant outlay for getting up so large a volume as the 'Heaven and Hell' in an Eastern language, I would gratuitously offer my humble services to superintend the execution of the whole work under my own eye. But, on the other hand, should the consideration of expense deter your Committee from undertaking the work, I would beg to suggest, if they approve my plan, that instead of rendering the whole work as it is into a native language, some choice selections and extracts from this and the Compendium,' such as I think will prove peculiarly interesting and instructive to the natives of this country, may be made, and the bulk of the books be reduced so as to prove both economical and useful. I leave the question of deciding on either of these two points to the consideration of your Committee. "In connection with the above statement I beg also to inform your Committee that rendering a version from one of the Indian languages into another is comparatively an easy work, and therefore much less expensive. Marathi and Gujerathi being the chief and widely-spoken languages of the Bombay Presidency, I should fix my choice on the first, as the standard language of our translations, it being my mother tongue also. "As to the best means of putting the completed work into circulation, I, in conjunction with some of my native friends here, will see to it, and let you know the result from time to time. In the meantime your Society might co-operate with me by inducing such of the members of your Church as may have friends and acquaintances (Europeans) here in India to help us in the matter. "If your Society has published any easy or small books to be used as tracts for initiating young people into the doctrines of the New Church, these will answer our purpose still better to begin with. Some of my European friends who have read my Reflections' say that it is the best book that they have yet seen to give the uninitiated an insight into the doctrines of Swedenborg. But for my part I do not think so. My little book slightly touches only a few prominent points in those doctrines, and supports them from a Hindu philosophic point of view against the attacks of people who are pleased to call themselves AntiSwedenborgians. However, the 'Reflections' (the probable cost of translating and printing which will not be more than between £35 or £40), together with one or two small tracts which I expect will be sent to me by your Committee, shall, I beg to propose, be our first step, provided your Committee approve such proposal. "I shall feel much obliged to you personally if you can furnish me (and continue to do so in future) with all the papers and pamphlets in which notice has been or will be taken, whether favourably or unfavourably, of my pamphlet. This I know will put you to some trouble; but by the help of some of your friends, you may, I trust, be enabled to comply with my request. Pages, and slips cut out, with names of the papers from which they have been cut, will answer the purpose as well and save the postage. "Permit me to hope that long ere this copies of my 'Reflections' have been sent to the gentlemen mentioned in my letter dated 16th August last, to your ex-President the Rev. Mr. Presland, viz. five copies to the Right Hon. Sir E. Perry, one to Professor Max Müller, one to Professor Monier Williams, one to Professor J. Muir, D.C. L., LL.D., and one to Colonel H. Olcott. "With my best wishes and great respects to President Dr. Tafel, and my thanks to the Rev. J. Presland for his kind and long-expected reply, I beg to remain, dear sir, yours very truly, 66 'DADOBA PANDURUNG." This letter was sent to the Rev. A. Clissold, who at once generously offered to subscribe £200 of the £400 named by Mr. Pandurung, if the remaining £200 could be obtained. Mr. H. R. Williams, by a liberal offer of £100, at once removed any difficulty out of the way of the Committee's accepting Mr. Clissold's offer, and further sums of £30 from Mr. R. Stocker, £10 from Dr. Stocker, £10 from Mr. Bevington, £10 from Mr. R. C. Parkinson, £10 from Mr. S. Jeggins, and £5 from Miss Clissold having been subscribed, have practically enabled the Committee to undertake at once the translation and publication of one of the most important works of Swedenborg into an Eastern language. To assist them in forming, in conjunction with Mr. Pandurung, a judgment as to which of the languages of India it would be desirable to translate the first work, they consulted some English friends who had been long in India. The opinions obtained, and the result of the private subscriptions for defraying the expense of translating and printing the "Heaven and Hell," were communicated to our Indian brother, who has sent the following reply :— "To T. H. ELLIOTT, Esq., "BREACH CAUDY ROAD, BOMBAY, 6th January 1879. Hon. Secretary to the Swedenborg Society, London. "MY DEAR SIR,-I was happy to receive your communication dated 9th ultimo, in reference to mine dated 3rd November last. I feel thankful to the Society for the honour they have conferred upon me by electing me an honorary member, and hope it may prove a further stimulus to my exertions in the cause of truth. "I am now glad to learn that the question of preparing an edition of the Heaven and Hell' into one of the Indian languages has been taken up in earnest and with promptitude by the Society, and that a sum amounting to £340 was subscribed then and there by a few members of our Society for that special purpose. This I consider to be an auspicious omen at the outset to cheer us on in our new and somewhat arduous undertaking. I quite concur in the arrangement arrived at by your Committee as to the order in which the works of translation are to be commenced and proceeded with, keeping pace with the means which will be available for that purpose. As regards the question of selecting the language in which the translations should appear, I feel hardly inclined to coincide with the opinion of the advisers of your Committee, inasmuch as the Ordoo or Hindustani language is concerned, for both are confined to the northern provinces of India, and the former, i. c., the Ordoo, particularly to the Mohamedan population of those provinces and other parts of India; while the Hindustani, though common to the Hindus as well as to the Mohamedans, is still full of Persian and Arabic words, and both, moreover, are written in the Persian characters, which one out of twenty can hardly read even in those provinces, much less. in these vast southern provinces of India. I would, therefore, fix my choice neither on Ordoo nor on Hindustani, but on the Hindi language, which is the vernacular of the Hindus, who form the predominating population even in those northern provinces of India, and which is more or less understood even by the Mohamedans themselves; besides, it has the great advantage of containing a larger proportion of Sanscrit words, and being written in the Devanagari charac |