82 THE STNDIII LANGUAGE. 



the Maliomcdans tliemselves. All classes alike 

 eat animal food, and are not at all particu- 

 lar touching its quality ; goat's flesh is pre- 

 ferred to that of sheep by Mahomedans, but 

 the lower and working classes can afford very 

 little animal food, and subsist chiefly on 

 luwari cakes and fish. The wealthy enjoy 

 rich food, but the pillaus of Sindh are too 

 greasy for my taste ; and as the Sindhians 

 cannot bear anything pungent, a good 

 curry is not to be met with there. Milk, 

 curds, and cakes of coarse flower are the 

 chief food of the shepherds and wandering 

 tribes. 



The Sindhi language is of Hindoo origin, 

 being a corruption from the Sanscrit, written 

 in a peculiar character, called the Kliooda 

 Wadi, in which the Hindoos heretofore kept 

 all their accounts ; but this will probably be 

 superseded by the newly-established Sindhi 

 character, unless the Hindoos, with their usual 

 reluctance to change, persist in adhering to 

 the Khooda Wadi character. 



The Beloochees have a peculiar dialect of 

 their own, called Serai, in some degree re- 

 sembling the Pushtoo of the Afghans; but it 



