GANGETIC HINDOOSTAN, 331 



Aurengzebe reduced the reft, but died at laft at Amednagur, in the 

 Deccan, in the refpite of a campaign, in the centre of his do- 

 minions, hi lefs than forty years after his death the vaft em- 

 pire fell to pieces, and refolved into numerous provinces. 



Hindoojtan was greatly depopulated by the llaughter of the 

 aboriginal inhabitants, either in war, or by the horrible maf- 

 facres caufed by the fury of Mahometan zeal. The bigotry of 

 the religion at length was foftened, and the remaining Hindoos 

 enjoyed a fort of toleration. We may judge of the numbers that 

 were left, when we fay that they are at prefent as ten to one 

 in comparifon of the followers of Mahomet. 



Their language gave way to that of the conquerors. The 

 Perjian was adopted, and the old tongue, like the JFel/h 

 in England, became a dead language. Whether any diftricSl, 

 fecluded by mountains, retains, like Wales, its primasval lan- 

 guage, I am yet to learn ; poffibly that language (if it does 

 exift) as well as the PerJian, may have corrupted each other by 

 the adoption of words. Abulfazel, in his ift vol. p. 296, makes 

 a complaint of that kind, fee p. 254 of this volume. I have my 

 fufpicions that fonie primaeval people do ftill exift. Mr. Hodges, 

 in N' VII. gives a view of a hill village in Bengal, inhabited by 

 a race of men totally diftind: from thofe of the plains. They 

 were for a long time quite at enmity with the low-landers, they 

 defcended from their faftneffes with the fury of wild beafts, 

 deftroyed the villages, and drove away the cattle, exa(5lly con- 

 formable to the old practice of our Scottijlj highlanders. The 

 habitations of thefe people are fimple and rude beyond expref- 

 fion, and their manners favage ; yet in the year 17795 they were 



U u 2 reclamed 



