478 Verification of the Itinerary of Hwan Thsang [June, 



Having thus started with the erroneous idea that all the names in Hwan 

 Thsang' s itinerary could be identified by rendering them into Persian and 

 Arabic characters, the Major proceeds to an examination of those men- 

 tioned in Northern India and Afghanistan : and believing in the fancied 

 identification of Kelu-si-min-kian with Kilah-semangdn, of Thse- 

 kia, with Shikdrpur, of Po-fa-to, with Bhawdlpur, of U-to-kia- 

 han-cha with Attok, and of Tu-man with Hazrat-Imam, he comes to 

 the conclusion that the work of Hwan Thsang is of an age posterior to 

 the Moslem invasion of Afghanistan. I will now examine these iden- 

 tifications in detail ; merely premising that, by the same style of rea- 

 soning, we may bring down the date of the composition of one part of 

 the Bible to the reign of Queen Elizabeth, because Satan is therein 

 named Abaddon, which in the English tongue is an appropriate name 

 for the Devil.* 



1st. Kelu-si-min-kian. — Hwan Thsang particularly specifies that 

 this place was to the south of Fo-kia-lang, or Baghaldn. Now 

 Semengan was the ancient name of Heibuk, which lies to the North of 

 West from Baghalan, instead of to the South. Of course Major Ander- 

 son will say that this is one of Hwan Thsang' s misdirections, but I 

 will hereafter show from numerous instances that it is the Major him- 

 self who is wrong in his directions ; he having been led astray by the 

 ignis-fatuus of Arabic and Persian. Now his identification of Ke-lu- 

 si-min-kian, with Semengan, rests only on similarity of sound, for he 

 had not proved that Semengan was ever called Kilah Semengan, which 

 is a very necessary desideratum before we can admit the identity of the 



* In like manner we might bring down the date of Pomponius Mela to the period of 

 British supremacy in India, as amongst the ugly Scythian tribes, he mentions the 

 Riphaces (Wry-faces), a name which could only have been derived from us Britishers. 

 An amusing squib might be written in this style against all the ancient geographers ; 

 more especially if it was combined with Mr. Vigne's ingenious system of etymologies. 

 According to him, Hem-babs, the Tibetan name of Dras,is derived from Hima (snow, in 

 Sanskrit), and Bab (a pass, in Arabic.) In humble imitation of this style I would 

 suggest the possible derivation of the name of London, or Londinium, from Lon (salt in 

 Sanskrit) and Donna (a lady, in Spanish.) From this natural combination, we find that 

 London means " the place of the salt lady, " in which we have perhaps an allusion to 

 Lot's wife. Mr. Thornton in his Gazetteer innocently quotes several of Vigne's etymolo- 

 gies as if they were correct. 



