xchange of ambassadors in the third
century B.C. The name of Demetrius appears as Datt[.a]mitra
in the Hindu epic. He had "extended his rule over the Indus
as far as the Hydaspes and perhaps over M[=a]lava and
Gujarat" (about 200 B.C.; Weber, _Skizzen_). In the second
century Menandros (the Buddhists' 'Milinda') got as far as
the Jumna; but his successors retreated to the Punj[=a]b and
eventually to Kabul (_ib_.) Compare also Weber, _Sitz. d.
koenig. Preuss. Akad_., 1890, p. 901 ff., _Die Griechien in
Indien_. The period of Greek influence coincides with that
of Buddhist supremacy in its first vigor, and it is for this
reason that Brahmanic literature and religion were so
untouched by it. There is to our mind no great probability
that the Hindu epic owes anything to that of Greece,
although Weber has put in a strong plea for this view in his
essay _Ueber das R[=a]m[=a]ya[n.]a_.]

[Footnote 6: The romance of a Russian traveller's late
'discovery,' which Sanskrit scholars estimate at its true
value, but which may seem to others worthy of regard, is
perhaps, in view of the interest taken in it, one that
should be told correctly. Nicholas Notovitch asserts that he
discovered seven years ago in the Tibetan monastery of
Himis, a work which purports to give a life of Christ from
birth to death, including sixteen years spent in India. This
life of 'Issa' (Jesus) is declared to have been written in
the first century of the Christian era. Unfortunately for
the reputation of the finder, he made a mistake in
exploiting his discovery, and stated that his manuscript had
been translated for him by the monks of Himis 'out of the
original P[=a]li,' a dialect that these monks could not
understand if they had specimens of it before them. This
settled Notovitch's case, and since of course he did not
transcribe a word of the MS. thus freely put at his
disposal, but published the forgery in a French
'translation,' he may be added to the list of other
imposters of his ilk. The humbug has been exposed for some
time, and we know of no one who, having a right to express
an opinion, believes Notovitch's tale, though some ignorant
people have been hoaxed by it. If the blank sixteen years in
Christ's life ever be explained, it may be found that they