282 Literary Intelligence, S[c. [No. 3 , 



Liteeaey Intelligence, and Coeeespondence. 



Dr. Bprenger writes from Berne to the President, in a letter dated 



July 28th. 



" I am approaching the end of my investigations regarding Mu- 

 hammad, and after their conclusion I will try whether my eyes, 

 which are still very weak, will permit me to complete my transla- 

 tion of Maqdisy. I have seen Mr. Raverty's four works, which you 

 probably know. They are very creditable. The Dictionary is very 

 full and 1 have no doubt as complete as it is desirable. The circum- 

 stances under which it has been compiled give it all the value of a 

 work done by a native, and we may rely upon it that every word has 

 the signification which he assigns to it. I have examined the Per- 

 sian and Arabic part with care and find them very well done. The 

 purely Pushto part is naturally still better. His selections are so 

 full that we may say it is the harvest of Afghan literature and not 

 merely gleanings. I had an opportunity to examine the collection 

 of Pushto MSS. which was made by Hafiz Rahmat Khan and is now 

 preserved at Lucknow, and I find that Raverty knows every work of 

 value, though he had not access to that library. The print is clear 

 and correct which naturally enhances the value of the book. The 

 grammar is already known to the Indian public. It is very well 

 calculated for the use of young officers. The translation of mystical 

 verses of the Afghans may be useful for the student of the lan- 

 guage, as he finds the original texts in the selections. I hope you 

 will give a very favourable review of our friend's labours in the 

 journal. 



Of great use for India may eventually be the pursuits of Professor 

 Brockhaus. After having devoted much attention to the system of 

 transcribing oriental languages in Roman characters, he is proceed- 

 ing to publish Yusof o Zalykha romanized, and it is to be hoped that 

 the attempt will be followed by other works. Hitherto Missionaries 

 and men like Trevelyan, who were not so much distinguished as 

 scholars as they were as public minded officers, have pleaded for the 

 propriety of romanizing, whilst scholars pronounced themselves 

 rather against it. It is a new era for oriental pursuits if a man of 

 the standing of Professor Brockhaus engages in a system, whose 



