1862.] Literary Intelligence, Sfc. 529 



Literary Intelligence, Correspondence, &c. 



Dr. Sprenger writes in a letter to the President, dated Wabern, 

 1st October, 1862. 



" The Philolonren Versammlung at Ausrsburar was a°;am well attend- 

 ed, particularly by Vienna Orientalists ; I bad expected Raverty 

 would come, and was disappointed not to find him there. Some inter- 

 esting papers were read, on Himyaritic and Sinaitic Inscriptions, on 

 the present state of Turkey, on Egyptian Archaeology, on Babylonian 

 Antiquities, &c. These meetings are rather riotous, and for this 

 reason, fatiguing, but very useful for restoring the harmony which 

 literary quarrels have disturbed in the course of the year. 



" I wish Mr. Thomas might succeed in obtaining the Tabakati 

 Nasiry from Lady Elliot. It is a very important book. Should you 

 not succeed and feel inclined to publish a Persian text, you might 

 choose extracts from "Ways wa Ramyn, of which the only copy known 

 to me is in your Library. On this interesting work see Ouseley, p. 

 45, Hajy Khalyfu, No. 14318, and my Catalogue of Oudh, p. 338. 

 As your MS. is defective, you cannot give the whole work, nor is it 

 desirable, but you could fill two fasciculi with extracts. 



" I am just now engaged in collecting notes on the history of 

 Geography among the Arabs. Dr. Peschel, the Editor of the Aus- 

 land, prepares a work on the History of Geography for the press, 

 and the portion of his labour which refers to the knowledge of the 

 Arabs of the Southern Seas, he intends to write in the form of letters 

 addressed to your servant with a view that I might add notes. This 

 proceeding appears to me rather cruel towards me, inasmuch as I 

 should be obliged to enter deeply into a subject on which we shall 

 probably never come to clear results ; I therefore prefer to send him 

 as many notices as I can find, and to leave him the responsibility of 

 the use he may make of them, and the conclusions he may draw 

 from them. 



" Of literary news I only heard that Wiistenfeld, who intends pub- 

 lishing the large Geograph. Diet, of Yaqut, finds great difficulties in 

 establishing a good text for want of good MSS. When I left India, I 



3 z 



