I

H. C. P. Bell, C.C.S. (1851-1937).

TIre year tg6z is the trventy-fi{th year of the death of twopersonalities r'vho dominated the studies of ancient Ceylon. They wereHarry Charles Purvis Bell (died September 6th), and Don Martiiio deZiirva Wickremasinghe r,vho predeceased his former chief by sometlrree months.

Of neither of these men has there been an obituary account worthyof tl-reir unforgettable labours in the island's archaeoiogy-a likelyreason being that they remained, in a sense, outside the rvorld of thoservho later pursued the same studies. Bell's next long-term successoras Archaeological Commissioner, A.II. Hocart, came into offrce years:rfter the other's retirement; and Wickremasinghe, the Epigraphist,(rvho rvas in the Archaeological Survey for only tr.vo years) came homefrom abroad in his last, enfeebled years.

The Joumal of this Society for rg37 (Vol. XXXIV, No. 9o) brieflylelerrecl (p S-+) to the deaths of these trvo scholars, emphasizingI3e11's thirty-four year connection rvith this Socicty as its HonorarySecretary, Editor of the Journal ancl r'a1ued contributor. Ar':rluable list (the most coinpreliensive one now available) of Bell'srvritings, compiled by Nr. Lyn cle Fonseka (presently Librarian,Nationai Museums, Colombo) appearccl in Ceylon T-oday (a monthlyof the Department oI Information), \roi. I, Nos. z and 3. Prof. S. Par-anavitana, in his offi.ce as Editor of the Jourth volume of. t1ne EpigraphiaZeylanica, had a paragraph on each of these distinguished men in hisPre{ace. He seems to have rvritten ivith special poignancy of the lossoI Wickremasinghe, rvhose mantle had fallcn on him, \then he bemoanedthe neglect into rvhich his orvn countrSrmsl had consigned the epig-raphist rvho had done so much to interpret his cor-rntry's contributionto the larger learned lvorld. The late Dr. Andreas Nell had written aglorving account o{ Be1l in his Obituary in the "Ceylon Daily News",rvhile the late Sir Gerard Wijekoon's "Recollections" has also advertedto him. Sketchy notices of the same scholar have also appeared fromI)rs. 'I. Vimalananda (Ceylon Histovical, Journal, Vol. II) and W.Sircldlramangala l{arunaratne (Ceylon' Today, IV, No. rz). Inr:identalnotes from the present rvriter r'vere included in his "Seventy Yearsof Ceylon Archaeology" (Artibws Asiae, YoI. XXII, Nos. r/2, theSpecialNumberdedicatedtothe l{emory of Alfred Salmony). It is notiikely that the tributes they so richlv deserve rvill appear to the memo-ries of Bell and Wickremasinghe. For this reason the rvritel acceptedthe editor's invitation, to add some little to rvhat he has already saidabout Bell.

l6tt JOIIRNAL, R,.A.S. (CEYLON) VoI. VIII, pcrrt I (New Seri,es), tg62

Neither o[ these scholars had the opportunity of presenting uswitlr works of the class.of _Mentoir or "sigiri _Gk6ti,'resf".iir%ry,which came from officers in the Archaeologiiar surv'ey itr t"[". y."r..

Their Reports or academic papers *ere, iiowe,rer, so iull of prlomiseas to errsure subsequent volumes lrom later workers in monographictorm. 'I'his must be considered equally relevant in the studie."oi th"programmes later worked (in Bell's fielil) by the Archaeological Survey.Bell was th's no more formal pioneer,'but an inte'sive"woikeiwrrohad perforce to be somewhat-more extensive in approactring andtreating.his subjects, with the ensuing lack of opportunity to'.,fi""his studies.

rt was at one time the berief of the government of his dav thatthe Department should, only be a surueyl to be completed in '. f.*short years..This p_eriod was fixed by the Archaeologicar commission(rec_ommending in Sessional paper I irf r8qq) which e"nvisaeed th;i nowork should be undertake-n except what

-B'eIl himself .o"ia

"""iut",and that e\ren so its scope should be confined, in the main, to a detailed.survey oJ ancient monuments and inscriptions, togetlrer with someinformatiori about them. The period which this-coirmission

".t""ilyfi-xed_was 20 years. By' rgrr it-would have espired, but the verv iactthat Rell's retirement in the following year did not halt archaeol'osrcatwork is testimony to the patently-cbmprehensi'e character of" hisrn'estrgatio's, which needed to be followed upr in the future. Thathas beeu ably done by an energetic succession of omce.s. In the mainthis, too, has been the story of the Indian Archaeological Survey withwhich Bell was in close contact.

The years of retirement did not halt Bell,s interest. His expertknowledge was sought both officially and by individuals. His .oil."-tions, books as well as objects, ar-e found'in private hands; someof the best of them are in-the National Musetims Department and.exhibited in Colombo.

Bell familiarized himself with the background of our culture sothat he could

$.{press himself convincingly andauthoritativery, whetheron Buddhist life, architecture and art, or inscriptions. ThiJ is all themore praiseworthly because he had no men, trained as such, to serveunder him. It is to his credit that what he has written by and largestands up to modern tests. His interpretations are not often challeneid

-many of them, on the other hand, receive further confirmation.

He was so deeply involved in his work that he tended to be ajealous guardian of it, and hesitant to let others come in. But all thatwas not due to an esotericism as to his own devotion which required.all of his concentration on it.

. Th9 Annual Reports of Bell (said to have been the son of a Generalin the Indian Service) show his great love of the western crassics,

I{. C. P. BELL, C.C.S. (185r-1937) 165

and some of the accessions from his librarv to the Colombo Museumare on recondite Latin subjects, both poetry aud prose. His maturelife was thus enriched by the wisdom of the twin Ancient Worlds, ofAsia and of Europe.

D. T. DtrVENDRA.