FORSTER, GEORGE, a civil officer in the service of the East India Company, is chiefly known by his journey in 1782 over-land from India to Russia. He set off from Lucknow in December 1782, and directed his route to the north by Ferahabad, Rampoor, and by the peas of Lall Dong into the upper regions of the Punjab, avoiding the country of Lahore, which was possessed by the Seiks or Sikhs. He then proceeded by Bellaspoor and Jombo into the great alpine valley of Cashmere, which had not been visited by any European traveller before him, Bernier excepted. Forster's account however proved much more full and satisfactory than that of Bernier. Quitting Cashmere, Forster proceeded to Cabul, crossing the Indus about twouty miles above Attock. From Cabul he followed the caravan road to Candahar, and thence by Herat to the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. From Oude to the Caspian he was nearly twelve months on his journey, the diet ince being 2700 miles, amidst all sorts of dangers and privations, which were much greater at that time than they would be at present. Ho embarked at last at Meshed Soren the
Caspian, and sailed from thence to Baku and Astrakhan, from which last place he travelled to Moscow and Petersburg, where he arrived at the end of May 1781. Ou his arrival in England ho published some sketches of Hindoo mythology. He afterwards returned to India, and published in 1790 at Calcutta the first volume of his nar rative—' Journey from Bengal to England through the most northern parts of India, !Cashmere, Afghanistan, and Persia, and into Russia by the Caspian Sea.' On the commencement of hostilities with Tippoo Sultan, Forster was sent as envoy to the Mahratta court of Nagpore in the Deccan, where he died in 1792. The manuscript of the sequel of his journey was sent to England, where it was published in a second volume, but was edited without much care. The whole work was translated into French by Langlas : Voyage de Bengale h Petersburg,' 3 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1802. Forster added to his narrative two interesting notices of the Sella and the Rohilla*.