482 
age to a distant village, where he 
lives in the mosque, subsists by 
alms, and has little or no inter- 
course with his parents, but is 
taken care of by the schoolmaster 
under whom he has been placed. 
The following is the course of 
study pursued about Peshawer:'a 
child begins its letters (in con- 
formity to a traditional injunction 
of the Prophet) when it is four 
years, four months, and four days 
old; but its studies are immedi- 
ately laid aside, and not resumed 
till it is six or seven years old, 
when it learns its letters, and is 
taught to read a little Persian 
poem of Saadis, which points out 
the beauty of each of the virtues, 
and the deformity of each of the 
vices, in very simple, and not 
inelegant language. This takes 
from four months to a year, ac- 
cording to the child’s capacity. 
After this, common people learn 
the Koraun, and study some 
books in their own language ; 
people of decent fortune proceed 
to read the Persian classics, and 
a little of the Arabic grammar : 
boys who are to be brought up as 
Moollahs, give a great deal of 
their time to this last study, 
which, as the Arabic grammars 
are very elaborate, and compre- 
hend a great deal of science, that 
we do not mix with the rudiments 
of a language, sometimes occu- 
pies several years. Whena young 
Moollah has made sufficient pro- 
ficiency in this study, he goes to 
Peshawer, Hushtnuggur, or some 
other place famous for its Mool- 
lahs, and begins on logic, law, 
and theology. No further know- 
ledge is required to complete a 
‘Moollah’s education, but many 
push their researches into ethics, 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 
1815. 
metaphysics, and the system of 
physics known in the east, 
as well as history, poetry, and 
medicine, which last is a fashion- 
able study for men of all profes- 
sions. For those studies, and for 
the more advanced branches of 
theology and law, they often travel 
to distant cities, and even to Bok- 
haura, which is a great seat 
of Mahommedan learning ; but 
Peshawer seems, on the whole, 
to be the most learned city in 
these countries, and many more 
students come thither from Bok- 
haura, than repair to that city 
from Peshawer. India has not a 
great reputation for learning, and 
the heresy of the Persians makes 
all Soonnees avoid the infection 
of their colleges. 
It is reckoned a good work in 
the sight of God to promote learn- 
ing, and, consequently, besides 
the king’s colleges, there is an 
establishment in every village for 
maintaining students. The con- 
sequence is, that the country is 
over-run with half-taught Mool- 
lahs, who rather impede than 
promote the progress of real 
learning. 
Before saying more about the 
learning of the Afghauns, it will 
be well to give some account of 
‘their language, which, as I have 
already mentioned, is called Push- 
too. Its origin is not easily dis- 
covered, A large portion of the 
words that compose it, spring 
from some unknown root, and in 
this portion are included most of 
those words which, from the early 
necessity for designating the ob- 
jects they represent, must have 
formed parts of the original lan- 
guage of the people ; yet some of 
this very class belong to the Zend 
