t a publisher would turn up at the proper time. I
had, of course, to do all the drudgery for myself, and I soon found
out that it was not in human nature, at least not in my nature, to
copy Sanskrit from a MS. even for three or four hours without
mistakes. To my great disappointment I found mistakes whenever I
collated my copy with the original. I found that like the copyists of
classical MSS. my eye had wandered from one line to another where the
same word occurred, that I had left out a word when the next word
ended with the same termination, nay that I had even left out whole
lines. Hence I had either to collate my own copy, which was very
tedious, or invent some new process. This new process I discovered by
using transparent paper, and thus tracing every letter. I had some
excellent _papier vegetal_ made for me, and, instead of copying,
traced the whole Sanskrit MS. This had the great advantage that
nothing could be left out, and that when the original was smudged and
doubtful I could carefully trace whatever was clear and visible
through the transparent paper. At first I confess my work was slow,
but soon it went as rapidly as copying, and it was even less fatiguing
to the eyes than the constant looking from the MS. to the copy, and
from the copy to the MS. But the most important advantage was, that I
could thus feel quite certain that nothing was left out, so that even
now, after more than fifty years, these tracings are as useful to me
as the MS. itself. There was room left between the lines or on the
margin to note the various readings of other MSS.; in fact, my
materials grew both in extent and in value.

Still there remained the question of a publisher. To print the
Rig-veda in six volumes quarto of about a thousand pages each, and to
provide the editor with a living wage during the many years he would
have to devote to his task, required a large capital. I do not know
exactly how much, but what I do know is that, when a second edition of
the text of the Veda in four volumes was printed at the expense of the
Maharajah of Vizianagram, it cost that generous and patriotic prince
four thousand pounds, though I then gave my work gratuitously.

While I was working at the Bibliotheque Royale, Humboldt had used his
powerful influence with the king of Prussia, Frederick William IV, to
help me in publishing my edition of the Rig-veda in Germany. Nothing,
however, came of that plan; it proved too costly for any private