436 
CALMUCKS. 
CHAP 
XV. 
' * 1 
Difference 
between 
their Vul- 
gar and Sa- 
cred Wri- 
tings. 
of yellow frock, made a long speech. The sub- 
tance of this was to inform us, that their law, 
esteemed sacred, had never been before suf- 
fered to pass from their hands ; but as they 
had been assured that we were great princes, 
who travelled to see the world, and gather 
instruction for our own people, they had ven- 
tured to consign the consecrated code to our 
use. They moreover desired us to observe, 
that the character, in which it was written, was 
also sacred : on this account they had also 
brought a specimen of the vulgar character in 
daily use among them. Their sacred characters, 
like those of Europeans, read from left to 
right, and are of the highest antiquity : these 
are used in all writings concerning the Calmuck 
law. The vulgar characters, such as they use 
in their correspondence and in the ordinary 
concerns of life, are read from the top to the 
bottom, and they are placed in columns. We 
have used every endeavour, but in vain, since 
our return to England, to get this curious 
manuscript translated : neither has it been yet 
satisfactorily decided in what language it is 
written 1 . A gentleman of Taganrog, Mr. Kova- 
lenshy, from whom we experienced many other 
(l) The Author has hcen informed, since the publication of the first 
Edition, that it is Sancrit. The original is now deposited in the 
Bodleian Library at Oxford. 
