COLONEL VANS KENNEDY'S "RESEARCHES."

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR: In the last Quarterly Review, No. cxiii. p. 82, the following passage occurs, which attracted my attention, as containing a very questionable dictum, levelled, so far as the critic's may be deemed good authority, against opinions founded on great and extensive research, fairly deduced, upon principles of sound philology:-" Colonel Vans Kennedy, in his elaborate Researches into the Origin and Affinity of the principal Languages of Asia and Europe, goes so far as to affirm, that the British or Celtic language has no connexion with the languages of the East, either in words or phrases, or the construction of sentences, or the pronunciation of letters. This positive declaration, from a man of undoubted information and research, might seem decisive of the question; but when we find that he denies, in equally positive terms, the affinity between Sanscrit and Persian, which Sir William Jones and Professor Bopp have made as clear as the noon-day sun, we may be permitted to suspect that he has, in both cases, pronounced his verdict rather hastily.”

It is not my intention to examine the proofs and arguments by which Kennedy arrives at his conclusion regarding Celtic; it is to the Reviewer's assertion, that the affinity between Sanscrit and Persian has been made as clear as the noon-day sun, I would call attention; for, to the elucidation of this question, Kennedy has applied a fund of labour and research, most ably directed, by which he fully establishes the other position, that Persian, in Asia, is a distinct language, without affinities.

It may seem that I owe some apology to the learned and indefatigable author of the Researches, in thus volunteering the defence of a position, which, if he were in England, he might not perhaps think worth the trouble; but the question is a public one-in nothing personal-it relates solely to an interesting inquiry in the history and science of language; and, happily, I shall not presume-as there will be no occasion-to introduce any notions of my own in considering the subject; my design being, to point out a complete and satisfactory refutation of the Reviewer's opinion, in Colonel Kennedy's work itself. With this object, I know not that I can find a channel more fit for the purpose, than the pages of your miscellany; and should this notice induce any of your readers to look into the book, and judge for themselves, I think they will not be disappointed in finding clear results, on every philological point, carefully deduced from well-examined premises, with a due disregard of theories or fancy-pictures of any kind.

I had, at first, intended,-as the book is probably not so well known as it deserves to be, to give, in an abridged form, those parts of the eleventh chapter of the Researches, wherein Kennedy dissents from, and, as it appears to me, entirely overturns, the opinions of Sir William Jones and others, who have found affinities between Sanscrit and Persian; but a little reflection led me to abandon such an idea, from the conviction that, to do justice to the argument, it should be read at length-not to mention the risk of its truth and force losing their effect from the unskilful hand attempting the compression. I refer, therefore, to the whole chapter, for a luminous exhibition of the author's reasoning and conclusions, sustained by most elaborate research.

But Kennedy, as if in anticipation of some such display of dogmatical criticism as is now before us, has (at p. 266) taken a condensed view of his pre

vious argument. This summary is short, which induces me to add it entire; and thus putting in the judgment itself, I appeal to it, as evidence the most complete and satisfactory, that he has not pronounced, so far as regards Persian, an inconsiderate and basty verdict.

"But in Persian, there is not the slightest appearance that its grammatical system was ever different from that which has prevailed during the last thousand years; and I have fully shown, in the tenth (eleventh) chapter, that, previous to the first Persian author now extant, no external influence had ever effected any essential alteration in the language which had been used in Persia from time immemorial. Its peculiar structure, therefore, deserves the attentive consideration of the philologist, because it differs entirely from all other languages. The characteristics, by which it is principally distinguished, consist in the nouns having no genders, in the substantives having only one case, in the adjectives being indeclinable, in the verbs being all conjugated according to one paradigm, and in four of their tenses being formed by particles; and particularly in the words of a most copious language being nearly all primitive, as it scarcely admits of the primitive being modified by means of increments, or of its being compounded with particles.

"There exists not, therefore, the remotest similarity between the Persian and Sanscrit grammatical systems; for the Persian noun has but one case, and the verb, taking the second person singular of the imperative as the root, only three inflections, including the infinitive; and the personal terminations of the two tenses are precisely the same. Nor is there any farther resemblance between the Sanscrit and Persian substantive verbs, than in the third person singular of the present tense. The Persian also differs from the Sanscrit by forming several tenses, and a complete passive voice, by means of auxiliary verbs. There is, in fact, not the least identity between these two languages, except in the words which have passed from the one into the other; but these fully prove that, though the Persian is not derived from Sanscrit, still the Persians must have had, at some remote period, a most intimate intercourse with a people who spoke that tongue. Unfortunately, however, as a negative cannot be proved, it is impossible to demonstrate this truth to a person unacquainted with these languages; or to fully satisfy him that the number of Sanscrit words found in Persian ought not to lead to a conclusion, as in the case of Greek and Latin, that the latter was derived from the former; but as the dissimilarity of their grammatical structure will not be denied by any person competently acquainted with them, it is merely requisite to consider whether any instance has ever existed of a derived language differing totally, in grammatical structure, from the parent tongue; for, if not, it must necessarily follow, that, notwithstanding the numerous Sanscrit words it contains, Persian was not derived from Sanscrit."

RASTIYAR.

LETTERS OF THE LATE MR. MOORCROFT.

LETTER IV.

MY DEAR TRAILL:-I beg your acceptance of a waistcoat made in Kashmeer. Notwithstanding our great delays, the cause of commerce will, I trust, be greatly benefited by arrangements already made, and by those that are in prospect. I have not been idle whilst here, and when my despatches shall reach Calcutta, the Government will, I hope, not be dissatisfied with what has taken place. I send you many seeds. Perhaps the most valuable to the mountains, and what indeed is beyond all estimable value in Europe, is a plant I found in Ladakh, which is a specific for the rot in sheep, and fattens these animals and goats quicker than any other forage known, when made into hay; but whilst green, no quadruped will eat any other part save the flower, and this for the sake of a honey-like secretion with which it is covered. Bears are very greedy of it; cows eat it sparingly, and it blinds horses for a time. This plant, called prangos, is nearly allied to the cicuta, or hemlock family, but is, I conceive, a nondescript. I have been the first to point it out to the inhabitants of Kashmeer, as indigenous to these mountains. My determination is formed, and not to be changed except through orders from home. I hope the Government will allow me to build a cottage near Joshee for a residence, where I think I may benefit the cause of commerce as well as of agriculture, especially of sheep-farming, for which I have collected materials, and such a flock as I have now in Ladakh, under the care of a Cho, who is a friend, is perhaps, for beauty of fleece, scarcely to be surpassed by the best flocks of Spain or Saxony. This flock will remain at keeping until I return, but if I die, it will be delivered up to any agent deputed from the Government to receive it. The sheep is of a very small kind, and none of the wool is exported. During the last year, my expenses have greatly exceeded my salary, and, perhaps, I may never retrieve the expenditure, except through consciousness of having endeavoured to be useful. In my last, I requested you, I believe, to oblige me by taking some measures to ascertain if Dhun Singh and his family would sell to me the homestead of Lacoor, and lease the rest for seventy or ninety years, or sell the whole in perpetuity to my child, born in this country; in fact, to do what can be done legally. Capt. Evans, at Ganjam, and the society at Saugor, form a precedent to the Government to grant me a long lease of untenanted, uncultivated ground, from Joshee up to the border. I can obtain settlers of a desirable kind, and can introduce modes of outturn heretofore not thought of. An influence has been exerted that will, I trust, in process of time, convert our unproductive mountains into the abodes of plenty and happiness: you may think me enthusiastic, but what has happened may possibly also induce some confidence. The manufacturing coalition on the continent, according to accounts I have seen, is great against Britain; but we have resources of uncommon magnitude, and I trust you will have your share in aiding me to develope some as yet not tried. But, according to the scale in which I hope to operate, a large range will be required, and when improved, the country will revert to the Government with a large population,-if this be desirable, a new capital and new sources of industry: 130,000 people are here employed on the shawl-manufacture, and their labour only just saves them from starving, whilst the country could raise raw materials of great value for exportation, or for working up at home. I have never had a true idea of what oppression in a government was, till I witnessed its effects here. You Asiat. Journ. N.S.VOL.21.No.83. 2 F

would be highly gratified could I duly lay before you the rank in which our national character is held by Asiatics in the countries I have visited; and the just administration of the mountain territory is one of the grounds of apprehension to the governors of Chouthan, that their subjects would desert them. If I be established in the mountains, the knowledge I now possess of the character, means, habits and politics of the authorities connected with Chinese rule, will enable me, I trust, gradually to establish a correspondence useful to all concerned; and I can carry the points aimed at in my journey to the north, when the principal difficulty to a most valuable intercourse will have been overcome. Things on our frontier have not a very agreeable aspect; but I am willing to hope that we shall be able to make our way through the troubled country of Kabool. I have raised the military strength of my party to thirty men, whom George has put into a tolerable state of discipline. He is a very fine fellow, and exerts himself to the utmost in his endeavours to forward my views.

There are a few trifles at Almora, of which, should I fall, I must beg your acceptance; but should I live, I may, perhaps, ask you for them in person. George desires his best remembrance.

My heart is bound up in those ringlets :-it sighs,

But alas!-my control of its pulses is o'er.

Ah cruel!-can pity disdain such a prize?

Can'st thou seek with that glance but to pierce it the more?

How to paint thy soft graces :-how picture thy charms!
Oh! seek not lost Khacan;† for long ere this hour,
When the flow of thy ringlets his reason disarms,
A world has been lost by their magical power!

• Khizzar, the prophet Elias, who drank of the fountain of immortality.
Khacan, the assumed poetical name of the late shah in all his works.

BUNDELKHUND.

To those who have even a slight acquaintance with India, it may appear to be supererogatory to state, that amazing differences exist between its several provinces, both as regards the soil and the scenery, and the manners, customs, and exterior appearance of the inhabitants. Many there are, however, who, though well-educated, and well-informed to a certain extent, are so ignorant concerning every thing relating to India, that they entertain only a single idea respecting that vast continent, confounding the whole population with the timid Bengallees, and imagining that we owe our empire over it entirely to the cowardice and slavish disposition of the “mild Gentoo," an appellation not yet obsolete in England. This latter notion, in some instances, has extended even to the Europeans long resident in the country, for there are many who see without perceiving, and although they cannot help observing that the whole of the surface of India is not a dead flat, consider all "black fellows" alike, and fancy that they may treat every individual of the race with equal contempt. By choosing their dependants from the lowest and most servile classes, they are confirmed in their opinion, and perhaps it is only the intelligent portion of the officers, civil and military, belonging to the Company, who have the opportunity, and can profit by it, of making themselves really acquainted with the actual state of India. It is scarcely possible to perform an act of justice to the multitudes who claim a right to an accurate description, from those who have dwelled among them, without blaming the wilfulness or the carelessness of vast numbers, who, either blinded by prejudice, or too idle to trouble themselves with inquiry, have left the country with the most erroneous opinions, which opinions they have disseminated throughout the sphere of their society, and have thus created an idea which it is very difficult to eradicate.

The civil and military servants of the Company, thrown into immediate contact with the natives, and compelled, in a manner, to make themselves acquainted with their various characters and capabilities, can scarcely avoid attaining a certain degree of knowledge; nevertheless, there are some very ludicrous examples upon record of the possibility of escaping from any enligh tenment of the kind. There are persons who remain griffins all their lives, to whom nature has denied the power of taking advantage of the opportunities they may possess. On the other hand, intelligent persons are often so peculiarly situated, that it is almost impossible that they should acquire the necessary information concerning the numerous inhabitants of India, of different races, and different grades, amongst whom they may be thrown. Officers of King's regiments, particularly, live in a community of their own, perfectly distinct from the surrounding natives, and rarely coming in contact with those belonging to the better classes. In the course of many pages of the Asiatic Journal, we have laboured to shew, that the bad opinion which experience obliges many Europeans to entertain of the natives of India, arises solely from the circumstance of their having chosen their domestics unadvisedly, and without sufficient attention to existing customs and prejudices. If it be difficult for an isolated European to provide himself with a suitable establishment, in consequence of his refusal to defer to the opinions which appear to him to be strange and unreasonable, it must be much more so to large bodies, like those which compose King's regiments, all uniting in thinking highly of their own judgment, and in despising the people whom they engage as their domestics. A respectable native entertains the greatest horror of a King's corps;