1 866.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 63 



of Cashmere, and occupying the portion of the Caucasus between Cash- 

 mere on one hand and Chitral and Kaffiristan on the other, the coun- 

 try of which the great mountain of Nanga Parbat or Diarmul may 

 be taken as the centre and distinguishing feature. 



I noticed that the very little that is known of the language of the 

 nearly adjoining Kaffiristan seemed to present some almost startling 

 affinities to the Latin, and perhaps I may detain the meeting for one 

 moment to give one or two examples of what I mean. I quote from 

 the Rev. Mr. Frump's paper on the Kaffir language. First, take the 

 personal pronouns : 



Ei. Tu. and Se or Sega — 



These seem very like Ego, Tu, and Se, while in the possessive form — 

 Ima, Tua, Sega — 

 are very like, Mea, Tua, Sua. 



But the resemblance to which I would most apply the term startling 

 is in the verb to be — 



f Sum 



Compare Ei Sum I am 



Thou art 



Ei 



Sum 



Tu 



Sis 



Sega 



Se 



Ima 



Simis 



We 



Sik 



Sega 



Sin 



w r with J , 



We are 



You are 



They are 



Es 



Est 

 Sumus 

 Estis 

 Sunt. 



The slight contents of the paper do not enable us to carry the 

 comparison much farther. 



We know nothing of the Chilas language beyond the fact which I 

 take upon myself to assert, as the result of my observation, that it is 

 clearly an Arian tongue. Possibly it may turn out that, if the lan- 

 guage of the Hindoo Cashmeerees is the eldest daughter of the Sans- 

 crit, that of the Pre-Hindoo Chilasees is the mother of that language \ 

 — it may even be that it is also the mother or the elder sister of the 

 Latin. 



The neglect of the much longer known Cashmeeree, I believe to be 

 in great part owing to a curious accident. The old Serampore Mis- 

 sionaries were giants in their day ; they translated the Bible, or at 

 least the NeAv Testament, into almost every known and unknown 

 tongue, the Cashmeeree included, and made Grammars of most of 

 them. Of the Cashmeeree, they did not make a Grammar, but unfor- 

 tunately it somehow got into print, that " Dr. Carey had published a 



