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JSOTE BY THE PRESIDENT. 



THIS account of the Afghans may lead to a very 

 interesting discovery. We learn from Esdras, 

 that the ten tribes, after a wandering journey, came to 

 a country called Arsareth ; where, we may suppose, 

 they settled. Now the Afghans are said, by the best 

 Persian historians, to be descended from the Jews ; 

 they have traditions among themselves of such a des- 

 cent; and it is even asserted, that their families are 

 distinguished by the names of Jewish tribes, although, 

 since their conversion to the Islam, they studiously 

 conceal their origin : the Pushto language, of which 

 I have seen a dictionary, has a manifest resemblance 

 to the Chaldaic; and a considerable district under 

 their dominion is called Hazareh, or Hazaret, which 

 might easily have been changed into the word used 

 by Esdras. I strongly recommend an inquiry into the 

 literature and history of the Afghans. 



