LANGUAGE OF AWA AND RAC'HAIN. 155 



(and the two clafTes of beneficent Genii) Ndii and 

 Sigra, and making known to them thy grievances 

 (having performed all thefe ads, then) will I prefent 

 unto thee, illuftrious monarch, Mabasamada, and 

 caufe thee to hear the words of thefe eighteen books of 

 Divine ordinances. " 



It is difficult to refrain obferving, that the arrange- 

 ment not only of the alphabet, but of the firft feries 

 of vowels (eight of which have diftinct characters f 

 which are not inflected) of the foregoing fyftem, has a 

 finking fimilitude to the Devanagdri. In the alpha- 

 bet, for inftance, wherever it is defective, fuch defi- 

 ciency is fupplied by double, and, in one cafe, qua- 

 druple, fymbols for the fame found ; the firft part be- 

 ing arranged into clafTes of four, each terminated by 

 a nafal, forming together the number twenty-five; 

 which exactly correfponds with the Devanagdri. 



From information, there appears to be fcarcely room 

 to doubt, but that the Siameje have one common lan- 

 guage and religion with v the Braimmas and Mardmas ; 

 and that in manners and cuftoms the three nations 

 form, as it were, one great family. How far thefe 

 obfervations may extend to the inhabitants of AJam> 

 we fhali be able to judge on the publication of the 

 hiftory of that country. 



It may be fufricient to obferve in this place, that 

 there is one fad impediment to attaining a critical 

 knowledge of the idiom of the language of Ava and 

 Aracariy without which we may in vain expect from 

 any pen accurate information refpecting the religion, 

 laws, manners, and cuftoms, of thefe kingdoms; and 

 that is, that there is no regular ftandard of orthogra- 

 phy, or the fmalleft trace of grammatical enquiry to 



be 



+ See Plate I. Figure 6. 



