l6 ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



The most important acquisition of the year consists of the above-mentioned 63 Hebrew 

 MSS. collected in Yemen, partly by Mr. Shapira, of Jerusalem, partly by some Turkish 

 officials. Most of these are lai'ge-sized volumes, written, some on vellum, from the 

 12th to the 16th century, and containing parts of the Hebrew canon with the Massora, the 

 Chaldee Targum, and the Arabic version of Sa'dia. These go far towards completino- 

 the valuable Biblical series acquired from the same quarter in the years 1877 and 

 1879. The collection includes also Midrashim on the Pentateuch and the Haftaroth, several 

 rare, or hitherto unknown, Biblical commentaries, partly by Karaite authors, the com- 

 mentaries of Maimonides on the Mishna, the "Guide of the Perplexed/' of the same 

 writer in the orginal Arabic, and the Aruch or Hebrew Lexicon. 



A valuable collection of Arabic MSS. presented by Lieut. Col. S. B. Miles, H. M.'s 

 Political Agent in Muscat, consists chiefly of histories and biographies relating to Yemen, 

 and of rare poetical works. 



The following are the most remarkable : — 



A volume, containing the Kitab al-TTjan, or legendary history of the Himyarite-kings, 

 by Ibn Hisham, and the Akhbar, or traditions, of 'Abid Ibn Sharyah. 



Notices of the celebrated men of Yemen by al-KhazrajT, an author of the 14th 

 centui-y. 



Simt al-La'al, or select verses of the Imams of Yemen, with extensive biographical 

 notices, compiled a.h. 1073. 



Tib al-Samar, or lives of the poets of Yemen, by Shihab ad-Din al-Kaukabani, in two 

 volumes. 



The Divans of al- ArjanT, Ibn al-Mukarrab, al-HajirT, and Ibn al-Nablh. 



A history of Mossul and its saints, by Muhammad Amln al-'Umari. 



A Baluchi-Persian vocabulary ; compiled for Col. S. Miles, by Kamalan, a native of 

 Mecran. 



The following three articles have been presented by Col. Charles Gordon, C.B. : — 



1. A collection of Chinese letters and official papers relating to the Tai Ping 

 rebellion. 



2. An Arabic history of Nubia, extending from A.H. 910 to 1280. 



3. Futuh al-Habashah, an account of the conquest of Abyssinia, by Imam Ahmad 

 al-GhazT about A.M. 940 ; Arabic. 



Of the remaining acquisitions of the year, the following deserve special notice : — 



Life of Yoshituna, a Japanese MS. in eight volumes with curious miniatures. Pre- 

 sented by Dr. W- Anderson. 



The Divan of Piyazi Samarkandi, a Persian poet of the 15th century; handsomely 

 written, with ornamental borders, A.H. 957 (A.D. 1550). Presented by Lieut. Col. Euan 

 Smith, C.S.I. 



Sangutta Nikayo, a canonical book of the Buddhists, written on 235 palm leaves in the 

 Cingalese character. Presented by R. W. D. Moir, of the Ceylon Civil Service. 



The catechism of a Chinese secret society. Presented by Gen. Henry Max, 



Hawi-1-Ll ukhtasarat, an Arabic treatise on the quadrant, by Badr al-Dln Sibt 

 al-Maridini, with a wooden quadrant. Presented by the Rev. G. Cerioni, of Alex- 

 andria. 



A poetical version of the Mahabharata in Telugu, written on about 200 palm leaves. 

 Presented by J. A. Simson, Esq., of the Indian Civil Service. 



An Armenian Antiphonary, written in the year 723 of the Armenian Era (a.d. 

 1275). 



Rasa'il Ikhwan is-Safa, the 52 scientific treatises of the " Sincere Brothers," a rare 

 Arabic work of the 10th century. 



The Mulakhkhas, or Compendium of Philosophy, by Fakhr ud-DTn RazI, in Arabic ; 

 dated A.H. 603 (a.d. 1206). 



A Jewish prayer-book, written in Italian with Hebrew letters, at Alboddo in the 

 Marches ; a.d. 1383. 



A Chinese roll, 45 feet long by 10 inches in width, representing the course of the 

 Peiho river, and of the Grand Canal from Peking to Hang-Chow, drawn in colours on 

 silk by native artists. 



A Jacobite lectionary of the 12th century ; Syriac. 



The Syriac- Arabic Lexicon of Bar Bahlul. 



The number of Oriental MSS. consulted by readers during the year was 1,515, viz., 

 366 in the Reading Room, and 1,149 in the Department of MSS. Two hundred and one 

 readers applied for Oriental MSS. 



Ch. liieu. 



