Original Communications.

Missionary and Home Intelligence, Births,
Memoirs of Eminent Persons.

Marriages, Deaths, &c.
History, Antiquities, Poetry.

Commercial Intelligence.
Natural History, Geography.

Shipping Intelligence, Ship Letter-Mails,

&c.
Review of New Publications.

Lists of Passengers to and from India.
Debates at the East-India House.

State of the London and ludia Markets.
Proceedings of the Colleges of Haileybury Notices of Sales at the East-India House,
and Fort William, and the Military

Times appointed for the East-Iudia Con-
Seminary at Addiscombe.

pany's Ships for the Season.
India Civil and Military Intelligence, Ap-

Prices Current of East-Iudia Produce.
pointments, Promotions, Births, Mar India Exchanges and Company's Secu-
riages, &c. &c.

rities.
Literary, and Philosophical Intelligence. Daily Prices of Stocks, &c. &c. &c.

VOL. IV.

FROM JULY TO DECEMBER 1817.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR BLACK, KINGSBURY, PARBURY, & ALLEN,
BOOKSELLERS TO THE HONOURABLE EAST-INDIA COMPANY,

LEADENHALL STREET.

THE

ASIATIC JOURNAL

FOR

JULY 1817.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

To the Editor of the Asiatic Journal.

SIR,-1. The similarity in the the public; but perhaps some of usages, customs, &c. of distant re- your readers may condescend to gions and of remote ages, has amu excuse, and accept this attempt singly and profitably attracted the to contribute somewhat to their notice and employed the pens of amusement, by pointing out sunmany writers. The same may be dry coincidences in the geographisaid, in a greater degree, of the affi- cal nomenclature of India and other nity of language among people geo- parts of the world, between which, graphically and chronologically it is not easy to perceive the chan. remote from each other. Such nels of intercommunication. coincidences, are sometimes very

3. For the subject of this letter striking and unaccountable, and I will take the interior of Africa, have given rise to speculations of and show that many of its towns, various descriptions ; curious, hills, &c. have Sanskrit names. learned, profound, extravagant, What their signification may be, &c. But I do not recollect any if they have any, in the languages writer attempting to amuse or in- of Africa, I have no means of asstruct the public in a branch of

certaining. Some-sound like corcoincidence, if I may be allowed

rupt Arabic ; but perhaps have no to speak, that appears to me to meaning in modern language. be as curious and striking as any above noted, and indeed nearly

4. I beg leave to premise, that related to them; and which as na. although in all parts of the world, turally gives rise to speculations all original names of places may that, if pursued, might ramify in. reasonably be supposed to have to all the descriptions just enume been significant in the local lanrated. I mean in the names of guage; yet, in the lapse of time places ; such as cities, towns, hills, the sounds have altered, and the rivers, &c. which may be generi- sense has been forgotten in so macally classed under the head of ny instances, that etymological regeographical nomenclature. search has been often put to the

2. I have little pretension to the test, and not seldom extended to power of amusing or instructing whimsical lengths, in the attempt Asiatic Journ.-No. 19.

Vol. IV. B

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