io On the BORDERERS, MOUNTAINEERS, 



word from the Indian legiflators Na'red and Ha'ri'ta; and, what is yet 

 more obfervable, that the fyitem of letters, ufed by the people of Rejang and 

 Lam-pun, has the fame artificial order with the Devanagar) ; but in every 

 feries one letter is omitted, becaufe it is never found in the languages of 

 thofe iflanders. If Mr. Marsden has proved (as he firmly believes, and 

 as we, from our knowledge of his accuracy, may fairly prefume) that 

 clear veftiges- of one- ancient language are difcernible in all the infular 

 dialects of the fouthern feas from Madagafcar to the Philippines and even 

 to the remoteft- iflands lately difcovered, we may infer from the fpecimens 

 in his account of Sumatra, that the parent of them all was no other than 

 the Sanfcrit ; and with this obfervation, having nothing of confe- 

 quence to add on the Chinefe ifles or on thofe of Japan, I leave the fartheft 

 eaftern verge of this continent, and turn to the countries, now under the go- 

 vernment of China, between the northern limits of India, and the extenfi^c 

 domain of thofe Tartars, who are ftill independent. 



That the people of Potyid'oi Tibet were Hindus, who engrafted the 

 herefies of Buddha on their old mythological religion, we know from 

 the refearches of Cassia no, who long had refided among them; and 

 whofe difquiutions on their language and letters, their tenets and form's 

 ofworfhrp, are inferted by Giorgi ire his curious but prolix compilation, 

 which I have had the patience to read from the firfVto the laft of nine hun- 

 dred rugged pages : their characters are apparently Indian, but their lan- 

 guage has now the difadvantage of being written; with more letters than are 

 ever pronounced; for, although k was anciently Sanfcrit and polyfylla- 

 bick, it feems at prefent, from the influence of Chinefe manners, to coi>- 

 fift of monofyllables, to form which, with fome regapJ to grammatical 

 derivation* it has become necefTary to fupprefs in. common dikourfe many 



