98 
sies. The name Bazee-gur may be lite- 
rally rendered a juggler ; and juggling, 
singing, dancing, and. tumbling, form 
their trade, to which the women add 
palmistry and the practice of physic, or 
rather quackery among their own ‘sex. 
‘They call themselves Mohammedans, but 
they have blended Hindoo superstitions 
with the religion of Mohammed, and 
also added others peculiar to them- 
selves; for they consider Tansyn, a fa- 
mous musician, who flourished under 
Akbar, as their tutelary deity. The 
writer suspects that they occasionally 
eat human flesh, and one of their tribes, 
if we may credit very respectable testi- 
monies of the fact, are frequently guilty 
of sacrificing human victims to Kalee, 
under circumstances of horror and atro- 
city scarcely credible. Among such a 
people it is remarkable that the pantheis- 
tic faith should be found, that one spirit 
pervades all nature, and that their souls 
being each a particle of that universal 
spirit, will of course rejoin it when re- 
leased from its corporeal shackles. 
We shall copy one of the notes to this 
paper, containing a singular account of 
«the poet Kubeer. 
«« He was a weaver by trade, and flou- 
_rished in the reign of Sher Shah, the Crom- 
~ well of Indian history. There are, however, 
various and contradictory traditions relative 
to our hunrble philosopher, as some ac- 
counts bring him down to the time of Uk- 
“bur. All, however, agree as to his being a 
soofee or deist, of the most exalted senti- 
ments, and of the most unbounded benevo- 
lence. He reprobated with severity the re- 
ligious intolerance and worship of both Hin- 
doos and Moosulmans, in such a pleasing 
poetic strain of rustic wit, humour, and 
sound reasoning, that to this day both na- 
tions contend for the honour of bis birth, in 
their respective sects or tribes. He published 
a book of poems that are still universally 
esteemed, as they inculcate the purest mo- 
tality, and the greatest good-will and hospi- 
tality to all the children of man. From the 
disinterested, yet alluring doctrines they con- 
7 
Arr. IV. Cychpedia; or, a new Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, oye 
F.R.S. with the Assistance of eminent professional Gentlemen. 
Asrauam Rees, D.D. 
4to. Vol. Il. from Ama to Art. 
THE first volyme of this important 
undertaking has been already noticed by 
us (Ann. Rev. vi J. p. 859), and it gives 
us pleasure to be able to announce that 
the present volume is equal in merit to its 
predecessor. On account of the magni- 
tude of the work, and the abundance of 
GENERAL SCIENCE. 
tain, a sect has sprung up .in Hindoostan 
under the name of Kubcer-punt-hee, who 
are so universally esteemed be veracity and 
other virtues, among both Hindoos and 
Moosulmans, that they may be with pro- 
priety considered the Quakers of, this hemi- 
sphere. "They resensble that respectable body - 
in the neatness of their dress and simplicity 
of their manners, which are neither strictly 
Moobummudan nor Hinduwee ; being rather 
a mixture of the best parts of both. A 
translation’ of Kubeer’s works, with the life 
of that sage, and an account of his follow- 
ers, relative to their tenets and societies, 
remain still as desiderata in the history of 
India. The time of Kubeer’s death seems 
involved in equal obscurity with the manner 
of his decease and burial. They relate that 
he lived a long time at Kasee, near Gya, and 
sajourned also at Jugurnath: he gave great 
offence to the Buckmuns, by his conduct 
and folerant doctrines. When stricken in 
years, he departed this life among a con- 
course of his disciples, both Moosulmans 
and Hindoos. They quarrelled about the 
mode of disposing of his remains, which were, 
placed in another apartment during the dis- 
pus. The Moosulmans were, it is al- 
edged, victors, and buried him accordingly. 
The Hindoos aflirm, however, that his body, 
during the altercation, disappeared, and a 
lotos Hower was found in its stead, which 
they have carefully preserved. Be this as it 
may, it is certain that his name is held in 
great veneration by those two very different 
people ; those called Kybeer-punt-hee seem, 
nevertheless, to have rather more. of the 
Hindoo than Moosulman in their composi- 
tion, which so far decides the contest in 
their favour.” ; 
20. On the Burmha Game of Chess 
compared with the Indian, Chinese, and 
Persian Game of the same Denomina- 
tion. By the late Captain Hiram Cox. 
_ These comparative descriptions can- 
not be understood without referring to 
the annexed tables or plans of the game. 
These are the contents of this seventh 
volume. As in the collections of every 
society, there is the chaff and the wheat 
togéher, but we have reason to be thank- 
ful for the labours of the Asiatic society. 
By. 
excellent matter which it contains, we 
feel peculiarly anxious that it should be 
rendered as perfect as the plan of a gene- 
ral dictionary can admit of: we° shall, 
therefore, in the rapid enumeration of its 
contents, to which we are restrained by 
the limits of our own work, insist prinei-. 
