Sanscrit Writing and Language. 89 



The first twenty-five of the characters which follow the vowels are arranged 

 Tery methodically, in horizontal lines, according to the organs with which they 

 are pronounced; — those in the first line being looked upon as gutturals ; those 

 in the second, as palatals ; those in the third, as Unguals ; those in the fourth, as 

 dentals ; and those in the fifth, as labials ; — and in columns, so that the second 

 and fourth columns should give the corresponding powers of the first and third 

 with the addition of an aspiration, and the fifth column the nasal sounds of the 

 several series. The first N of the nasal column (as likewise its equivalent, the N 

 by which the fifteenth vowel is terminated), corresponds in power with the ng of 

 the word thong; the second, or palatal N, has a power somewhat resembling 

 that of ng in the word engine. The third N differs probably but little in power 

 from the fourth (which agrees with ours), as, in the course of derivation and 

 inflection, it is usually changed to that fourth. The addition of h to the power 

 of a letter does not produce the same effect as with us ; for instance by pha is not 

 meant a sound having any resemblance whatever to fa, but merely pa uttered 

 with a strong emission of the breath ; whence some write this power p'ha, to 

 distinguish it from what pha expresses in our use of the combination. 



From the scheme of the alphabet above given, an European would be apt to 

 suppose it a system of vowels and consonants ; but in point of fact it is only a 

 syllabary as it is, for the most part, used by all of the eastern nations, without 

 exception, who write with it. The letters which appears to us as consonants, 

 have not properly consonantal, but syllabic powers; and express syllables ending 

 with the short vowel a. When the vowel part of the syllables to be expressed by 

 these letters is different, then their shapes are modified, more clumsily indeed 

 than in the Ethiopic system, but still in a manner precisely analogous. Thus, 

 according as the vowel termination of the syllable denoted by the first letter is 

 changed, this character is written in the following different ways ; the articulate 

 sound corresponding to each variety of shape being placed immediately under it. 



^ ^T f^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 



kfl ka ki kj kw ku kri kri 



If ^ ^ % % iiT ^ ^: 



kli kli ke kt ko kou kan kah 



VOL. XVIII. M 



