448 ON THE LANGUAGE 



is their actual political condition, and witli sucli unequivocal 

 marks of primitive originality of character, I tiiiiik they may 

 be regarded as a safe depositary of a language. From va- 

 rious causes, they may have thrown oft' their surplus popu- 

 lation amongst their neighbours, and even sent out colonies 

 in a country that does not appear to have ever been proper- 

 ly settled, yet under sucli circumstances, having no distinct 

 religion of their own, they migiit easily enough accept that 

 of their neiglibours, where nothing was hazarded by it: at 

 this day the Kabyles are regarded as very barbarians, both in 

 the theory and piactice of Islamism ; there is a foundation in 

 Algiers expressly for their instruction, which they receive 

 gratis. From what is related of the Tuarycks by Horne- 

 mann and Lyon, they are also a white people, very nume- 

 rous, brave, warlike, and of an independence of manners and 

 deportment that displays a remarkable contrast with tlie ser- 

 vility in practice at the court of Fpz7.an. They inhabit vast 

 regions intersected by desert, have little knowledge of Islam- 

 ism beyond its forms, and in several districts they are pagans. 

 It is not therefore a great stretch of credidity to believe that 

 the Tuarycks are also an original unconquered people, and 

 the depositaries of an ancient language, which being identi- 

 tified with that of the Kaliyles, leads to the conclusion that it 

 is one of the ancient languages of the world, which has ^^ith- 

 stood the conquests of the Phenicians, of the Romans, of the 

 Van vials, and of the Arabs. As 1 iiave the authority of tlie 

 learned Shaw for believing that this language is radically dif- 

 ferent from the Hebrew and the Arabic, 1 think the premises 

 justify this conclusion, though it would certainly be more in- 

 teresting to discover the language of Sanchoniaton than the 

 Numidian. Tfiis question, however, must be left to the 

 decision of the learned, when its vocat)ulary is made more 

 complete, and a greater insight is obtained into its gramma- 

 tical forms. 



N. B. — Accident, to which we owe almost every thing in 

 this bari)arous land, has lately discovered that there is a pe- 

 riodical caravan from Oran to Tombuctoo, under the auspices 



