Iy6 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

Captain Hamilton relates^ that when he visited Tatta, norain had fallen for three years before. Memoirs, p. 288. —Tamerlane, who, by the vicinity of the feat of his govern-ment to India, had the means of being well informed con-cerning the nature of the country , avoided the error ofAlexander, and made his Indian campaign during the dryseason. As Nadir Shah, both when he invaded India, A.D. 17?8, and in his return next year, marched throughthe fame countries with Alexander, and nearly in the fameline of direction, nothing can give a more striking idea of thepersevering ardor of the Macedonian conqueror, than thedescription of the difficulties which Nadir Shah had to sur-mount, and the hardships which his army endured. Thoughpossested of absolute power and immense wealth, and distin-guished no less by great talents than long experience in thecqnduct of war, he had the mortification to lose a great partof his troops in crossing the rivers of the Panjab, in pene-trating through the mountains to the north of India, andIn conflicts with the fierce natives inhabiting the countrieswhich stretch from the banks of the Oxus to the frontiersof Persia. An interesting account of his retreat and suf-ferings is given in the Memoirs of Khojeh Abdulkurreem,a Uashmerian of distinction, who served in his army.

NOTE V. Sect. I. p. 19.

That a fleet so numerous should have been collected iasuch a short time, is apt to appear, at first sight, incredible.Arrian, however, assures us, that in specifying this number,he followed Ptolemy, the son of Lagus , whole authority heconsidered to be of the greatest weight, lib. vi. c. j. Butas the Panjab country is full of navigable rivers, on whichall the intercourse among the natives was carried on', itabounded with vessels ready constructed to the conqueror’shands, so that he might easily collect that number, if,wecould give credit to the account of the invasion of India bySemiramis, no fewer than four thousand vessels were asselit.-