i 



Hiose rendersr who have accom^>i»iiit*d rae from thefirst do not need to b« 

 Wfmiiitie l tlmt the jtrnWiaitioa of thl-* wark Inui ext*-mit*<l over.-i^verji) yeai-s: 

 •Jid tliut the isiirrfasifiir li^h' thrown on the comimnttivti cbarjujttirs of 

 ejirh fiimily of liinii-uaire, during the revirtUm of the pptljom reljttinfi- to iCf 

 has disclosed (Jeteota ia the preceding ones. The ci-ntinuity of jiuhlkfw 

 ti*»Ji mid f^qiudity of treuttnent,oriijrinn]ly interjdi'd, Imve Wen jTirevenfeti hf 

 ftvijueiit und, iit times, jtroloii^^fcl inesvks iji the j*Hi»iitiou 1 hHV*- Wn nblt 

 to (^ivtf to tin* suhject, and, in mme de^^rw, by fvJt.*eiif i* front the ]tlti(* of 

 printiniT. Th*! eoii.sis^t-ency wliicli the work hiid when tir:*t. rnjtldly written, 

 •8 A iitjiteDi<'nt oi ihHO|iiirionri to which 1 hud hven led hy u review of the 

 other liiiyuistic ^roU{w with retWi^ncf Ut the Uceoino, Iws been lo!*t hy 

 tbe laps*" of vent:*, duriajr which ethnology hiwnot »tinH\ stiJlj while I 

 have been endeiivonrinfi: to hi inir these o^jiiiiotin to the t<'st of a more 

 tenrchiinrt'nqairy itttij tlic pi'cnhiiritiHA oi the ditlerent fifrount^. A iinal 

 je vision, on th<" coin jdi-f ion of rh« work, cim alone restore it;* uniformity, 

 fcj' hrineinir all its fiictn and i)ifHrfn4;ea ijibo hartnony with the knowledge 

 •f the tjuie at which it** imWicsition may b*" concluded, it *»eenm uecPfisary, 

 however, on the i*ejiarattt isnue of tlie pref^eiit |>ortion, nearly two veiire 

 litj^rifc* t'uviier pajt>*>i uppcared, to warn the reader thatikjnte of jts{rlo3- 

 imriat detttil)) are at viinaacf' with the utore accunite acquaintiince with the 

 firiiininic and Dmvirian root.n which 1 have obtaiuea from the niiiiuto 

 dumparisons in chn|i. vi. These errors will l>e bt-Ht uiider»tood by a 

 fcrence to that chrt jiter, and eMjieciaUy to the coniputnitive table of Draviriaa 

 mid Hiiniilaic rout^ which will be found m it, Suiaeof the moat impor- 

 l^t will be here noted, in addition to errgra of the pn^s and of hatite. 



In mme places I have used the word Himnhic in a lar^je setiwe, nnd lUI 

 the pnraffTaph explnnatory of it waa omitted in the proper place, it is 

 neces:*Qry to mention here that, for w«nt of a better term, I have ftjtplied 

 it to tliat Jar^e group of coj?nate laniruao-es and trilieB which hnve iranie- 

 morifilly dnstered in and anuund the Himalaya and the rai»ge#i eubordiiiate 

 to if-, and the preservation of the native character of wbieh uiUi^t be 

 chiefly ascribed to the firotectinn attbrded by thef;e mounUtins aj^iainst 

 tlie more powerful and civilisied races of Efl.'iteru Asiii.— Chinese, 

 St'Vtiiic, Dmvirian and AHiui. An extraet from a letter to Mr. 

 Hitdjrson (15th July 1850) will illustrate (he B|jpUratiun of the natne* 

 " That iny Mon-Anam group wan ihii Bi tiguN of the pre-Tibetan era 

 (nsinn^ TilM'tftn for the pn-sent 8eythoid bran* h) nod c<uiterniinoiis with 

 the Vindyan Pruvirian dinlecta is dcmonstrjtted ; but I amtit»t prepared JO 

 admit that Druvirian han not a distinct arcluiic inffTf diuiii, not derivt-d 

 direelly either from the jVIon-Ammj or the Tibeto-lturniiui branch of 

 what I bu%-e termed " II imalaie" till ycni can supply na with a more afi» 

 propriate naia*;, I eonevive the Draviro- Austrufian branch ttf Seylbic 

 or rather ofChino-Scythic, to be of vast antiquity, ami to have lonj; pre- 

 fu dod the dcBcetvt of the Chlnn-Tibetaii race from tlH'ir trans-IIijna- 

 luyan }ib(Mh-s. Its strong Sicytho-Uaucaaian element iappeai-s to me to 

 show that it eujoe round the wee tern extremity of the -.'reat divUling 

 barrier between middle and southern Asia. Ihe JIon-Ainun or J^V*** 

 Hiiniibiic stem was more Chinese ami let's Sejtbic than the later Wtsi 

 Ilimulaie or Tibcto-Burman. All the cnrli> r difipcr:>ed lan^jrnni^es — that 

 is^ their imxed aud sewetimes hybrid deBceudout^ti — have & core of primorj 



