as perhaps the most
prevalent, as it gained a colour with these simple people, from the
chemical and astronomical instruments he possessed In these he
evidently took great pleasure, and by then means he acquired some of
the knowledge by which he so often excited their admiration.

"He soon distinguished me from the rest of his visiters, by addressing
questions to me relative to my history and adventures, and I, in turn,
was gratified to have met with one who took an interest in my
concerns, and who alone, of all I had here met with, could either
enter into my feelings or comprehend my opinions. Our conversations
were earned on in English, which he spoke with facility and
correctness We soon found ourselves so much to each other's taste,
that there was seldom an evening that I did not make him a visit, and
pass an hour or two in his company

"I learned from him that he was born and bred at Benares, in
Hindostan, that he had been intended for the priesthood, and had been
well instructed in the literature of the east That a course of
untoward circumstances, upon which he seemed unwilling to dwell, had
changed his destination, and made him a wanderer on the face of the
earth That in the neighbouring kingdom of Siam he had formed an
intimacy with a learned French Jesuit, who had not only taught him his
language, but imparted to him a knowledge of much of the science of
Europe, its institutions and manners That after the death of this
friend, he had renewed his wanderings, and having been detained in
this village by a fit of sickness for some weeks, he was warned that
it was time to quit his rambling life. This place being recommended to
him, both by its quiet seclusion, and the unsophisticated manners of
its inhabitants, he determined to pass the remnant of his days here,
and, by devoting them to the purposes of piety, charity, and science,
to discharge his duty to his Creator, his species, and himself, 'for
the love of knowledge,' he added, 'has long been my chief source of
selfish enjoyment'"

The acquaintance between Atterley and the Brahmin, ripened by degrees,
into that close friendship, which a congeniality of tastes and
sentiments, under proper opportunities, never fails to engender.
Atterley's visits to the hermitage, became more and more frequent, for
upwards of three years, during which period, the Brahmin had
occasionally thrown out obscure hints, th