About this time, he had the misfortune to lose his mo ther, who, as a parent, had the strongest claims upon his gratitude, and for whom he had ever cherished the warm est filial affection. In the winter of 1780-1, he finished his translation of the Seven Arabian Poets, but suspended the publication until the beginning of the year 1783. About the same time, he also published a professional work, his Essay on the law of Bailments ; and translated an Arabian work On the Mohammedan law of Succession to the Pro perty of Intestates. In March 1782, he became member of the Society for Constitutional Information, and soon af terwards delivered a political speech at a meeting of the in habitants of Southwark, Westminster, London, Middlesex, and Sorry. About the same period, he composed a very spirited ode, in imitation of Callistratus, which appeared in a variety of periodical publications, and has been published in his works. In the summer of that year he again visited France, with the intention of proceeding from thence to America, for the purpose of soliciting the restitution of a very large estate of a client and friend, which the States had attached. The lat ter part of the plan, however, was abandoned, and he re turned to England through Normandy and Holland. While at Paris, upon this occasion, he wrote the Dialogue betwecr a Farmer and a Country Gentleman on the Principles of Government, which, in a letter to Lord Althope, he calls a jeu d'esprit. This pamphlet was originally printed and dis tributed gratis, at the expense of the Society for Constitu tional Information; and the Dean of St. Asap') having af terwards reprinted and circulated this dialogue in Wales, a bill of indictment was found against that dignitary for the publication of a libel. Previous to the trial, the author wrote a letter to Lord Kenyon, in which he avowed his production, and maintained that every position in it was strictly conformable to the laws and constitution of Eng land.
In the month of March 1783, Mr. Jones at length at tained the accomplishment of his wishes. Under the ad ministration of Lord Shelburne, he was appointed one of the judges of the supreme court of judicature at Fort Wil liam in Bengal, and the honour of knighthood was, at the same time, conferred upon him. In the following month of April, he married Anna-Maria Shipley, the eldest daughter of the Bishop of St. Asaph ; a lady to whom he had formed an early attachment. In the same month, he embarked in the Crocodile frigate for India. During the passage, the ship remained a few days at the island of Hinguan, or Jo anna, of which Sir William has published an entertain ing description. He landed at Calcutta in September, and entered upon the discharge of his judicial functions in the month of December, 1783. At the opening of the ses sions, he delivered his first charge to the grand jury, in an elegant, concise, and appropriate address, which fully justi fied the high estimate that had heen formed of his oratorical talents. The intervals of leisure from professional duties were devoted to scientific pursuits ; but Sir William soon perceived that the field of Indian research was too exten sive to be explored by the exertions of any individual. 11e
therefore devised an institution at Calcutta, with the view of promoting inquiry, and of concentrating the valuably, knowledge collected in Asia. The members held their first meeting in January 1734, and solicited the patronage of the governor general and council, which was granted in very flattering terms. To Mr. Hastings, the governor ge neral, was offered the honorary title of president, which he however declined, resigning his pretensions to the gentle man who had planned the institution, as most capable of conducting it.' At the first meeting after the institution was completed, Sir William Jones, in his capacity of presi dent, unfolded, in an elegant and appropriate address,the ob jects proposed for their researches, and concluded with a promise, which he amply discharged, of communicat ing the result of his own studies and researches ; and in order that he might be enabled to perform this promise, he determined to commence, without loss of time, the study of the Sanscrit ; a dialect which he deemed indis pensably requisite to the acquisition of accurate and sa-' tisfactory information on the religion, laws, and litera ture of India.
During the vacation of 1784, while labouring under an indisposition produced by the change of climate, Sir NVilliam undertook an excursion into the country, in the course of which his illness increased to an alarming de gree, and frequently interrupted the course of his scien tific pursuits. Ills ardour in the pursuit or knowledge, however, was unabated ; and he continued his journey as far as the city of Benares, the scat of the most ancient and celebrated university of India, where he terminated his excursion, being obliged to return to the discharge of his official duties. During this journey, he produced The Enchanted Fruit, or Hindoo Trife, an elegant poetical tale ; and a Treatise on the Gods of Greece, Italy, and afterwards revised and presented to the society.
Sir William's conversational talents having attracted invitations and visits, v% hich materially interfered with his studies, and proved incompatible with his multifarious pursuits, he retired during the vacations of the court, to a moderate distance from Calcutta. The place he chose for his residence was Chrishdelnagur, in the vicinity of Nadcya, an ancient Hindu university. To the first and second volumes of the Asiatic Miscellany, a periodical work which was undertaken at Calcutta in 1785. Sir William liberally contributed his Enchanted Fruit; Hymns addressed to Hindu deities ; literal translations of twenty tales and fables of ?izami, and various minor pieces. During the recess of the court in 1786, he undertook, along whit his lady, (whose health had suffered more than his own from the effects of the climat•,) an excur sion in the Phoenix frigate, to Chatigan, the eastern li mit of the British dominions in Bengal ; where they re mained until the month of May, and returned by land to Calcutta.