OCCASIONAL NOTES. 4.39 
ASIATIC STUDIES, BY DUTCH SOCIETIES IN 1885. 
_ The Royal Institute of The Hague has, in the past year, done 
much good work in the large area over which its operations 
extend. The following articles of its Journal (Bijdragen tot 
de taal-land-en volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie) are of 
interest to our Society :—‘‘ On the Philippine alphabets,” by 
Professor KERN :—this learned paper was suggested by a 
publication on the subject entitled “Contribucion para el estudio 
de los antiguos alfabetos filipinos, por T. H. Parpo ps 
Tavera,” and treats of the affinity of these alphabets to those 
of Sumatra, Java, Celebes and Kamboja. Dr. G. A. WILKEN 
contributes a valuable article on circumcision as dast sed by 
the people of the Indian Archipelago, in which he shews that 
it has nothing to do with the Moslem rite. Lastly, there is a 
legend about Prince Sutan Manancexkérane, in the dialect of 
Manangkarbau (transliterated text, translation and explanatory 
notes), “the most interesting and probably the most archaic 
form of Malay speech. This article, extending over 156 pages, 
is not the least valuable of the materials for the study of that 
dialect that have been supplied by Mr. Van per Toorn, of 
Fort de Kock, inthe Padang district. See for his other 
papers “‘de Indische Gids,”’ 1882, II, pp.742-76, and 1885, IT, 
pp. 1027-34, 1163-78 ; the Batavian “ Tijdschrift,” Vol. XXV, 
pp. 441-59, 466-83, 553-64; Vol. XXVI, pp. 205-33, 514-28 ; 
and the “ Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap,” 
Vol. XLV, 1, where he has given the text, with translation 
and glossary, of another Manangkarbau tale called “ Manjau 
Ari.” In Vol. XLI ofthe same serial is given the tale of 
Princess BALKIs in the same dialect (text, transliteration, trans- 
lation, and notes), edited by Mr. D. Gurtu van Wisk. A 
collection of Manangkarbau conversations, with an introduc- 
tion and glossary, was brought out by Professor PisnaPPEL in 
1872. Since 1875, collections of riddles, pantuns, proverbs 
and other specimens of the dialect have been published in the 
Batavian “ Tijdschrift ” by L. K. Harmsen, Limpure-Brovuwser, 
and J. Hansema (Vol. X XI, pp. 288-94, 480- 533; Vol. ONT, 
pp. 208-81; Vol. XXV, pp. 3887-61, 417-31, 588-52; Vol. 
XXVI, pp. 168-81, 234-55, 564-70) : while the fourth series 
of the Journal of the Institute of The Hague has brought several 
