52 Literary Intelligence. [No. 1. 



vowels are admissible (as in Ar£ah which is also pronounced Irtah) 

 both are marked usually with a note in the margin, indicatiug 

 which of the two readings is preferable, and it contains all the 

 variantes (oL;|j^) and in some instances invaluable historical notes. 

 I have also a very excellent copy of the Syrat of 'alyy iZalaby d. 

 1091. There exists a work of Mo/jibby, written in the style of 

 Ibn Khallikan and containing the viri illustres of the eleventh cen- 

 tury of the Hijrah. Here it is not very rare, yet expensive, but 

 in Europe I know of only one copy. The work is written with 

 much erudition and after Ibn Khake probably the most valuable 

 biographical work in the Arabic language. Murady has continued 

 it, giving the biography of the twelfth century. Of his work only 

 one copy exists. Of the <SU*^f J^l^ (literary biography of the 

 Turkish empire) I have been told, copies were frequent but I have 

 been able to secure only one, which is hardly sufficient, for in dates 

 and names we have no means of arriving at correctness, except 

 comparing several good copies. I have been favoured with the loan 

 of Asrawy's biographies of learned Shafiites (compiled 769 and copied 

 778) and I made an abstract of it which fills 33 sheets. Subse- 

 quently I obtained the loan of Ibn Qadhiy Shohbah's Shafiite Bio- 

 graphy which come down to A. H. 840 and with those of Ibn 

 Molaqqin and with the smaller work of Sabky on the same subject. 

 Asrawy is by far the most erudite among the four works, but the 

 arrangement is bad, and it contains many names which do not 

 deserve to be preserved. Ibn Qadhiy Shohbah avoids the latter 

 fault and is fuller in biography, but he wants research. The other 

 two works are mere registers of names and dates. A copy of the 

 first volume of Jh^l *U-*»| ^ JU£J| is at Beyroot. I had it copied 

 as it will enable us to correct our edition of the Icabah. I have 

 also somewhat more than one-third of Mazzy's abstracts thereof. 

 The other day Manay's biography of Qapes was offered to me for 

 sale, but at an extravagant price, and it does not appear to me that 

 it is better than Jamy's JNafaMt, excepting perhaps in regard to 

 Bibliography. 



