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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVII. 



Hindi, Bengali, and Oriya, of which the Bengali, at any rate, is very 

 closely allied to the Sinhalese. Any one who knows fairly the higher 

 Sinhalese, and something of Sanskrit, will find it perfectly easy to read 

 Bengali, although he may find it impossible to pronounce a Bengali 

 book. Then there are two other languages of that group which are of 

 a somewhat more corrupt type I think — the Assamese and the Cachari, 

 which will come very much within my scope to learn. There are 

 two other languages of a known literary type, the Rajmahali, which is 

 in some degree akin to the Tamil ; and the Santalri, a very curious 

 language, and still more remote from the Aryan type, spoken by some 

 hill tribes, among whom there are a great number of Christians. 

 Besides these people, there are on the boundaries of Sikkim and Nepal 

 a number of Lepchi and other dialects of which I know nothing, and of 

 which I suppose I shall never be able to learn much. 



You will see that I have before me a field for which I am not 

 altogether unprepared by the life which I have had here, and by the 

 studies which we have encouraged one another in pursuing ; so that it 

 is almost certain, although I am not able to afford you any contribu- 

 tions, I shall often be made to think of what is going on here, and shall 

 be constantly comparing — I suppose at first always to the advantage of 

 Ceylon, then after a little time with an impartial mind, and, if I live 

 long enough, eventually with great favour to Bengal — the way in which 

 the same words and the same forms of syntax are represented in the 

 languages of the two different countries. At present it is with a 

 shudder that I hear the way in which they pronounce their words in 

 Bengal. It was as though they had got hold of a Sanskrit word, 

 which they know how to write but not to pronounce ; and I am afraid 

 my great difficulty for some time to come will be to avoid pronouncing 

 words common to the two languages in the way we favour here. All 

 these languages, however, mean that there will remain for me a very 

 close bond with what I have left, but which I shall not have altogether 

 left ; and I shall look forward to returning and meeting those who 

 have parted from me with so much kindness during the last few days, 

 and in particular you who have paid me this high compliment this 

 evening. (Applause.) 



9. The Meeting then closed. 



