articles of home and imported produce. They are generally comely and disposed to fleshiness ; the usual dress is a sari (robe) of red silk made of the “ Indi” or thread of the silk worm which feeds on the castor-oil plants, and their ornaments are confined to bangles and necklaces of white shell. The Indi silk is entirely a domestic manu. facture, and wove by the women, who also color it with the lac dye. The Mech language has no written character, nor is it, I believe, allied to the Sanscrit; whether it is of Tibetan or Burmese extraction, or akin to the aboriginal Indian dialects known among the Coles, Goonds, Beels, and other wild tribes, I am unable to say ; but perhaps, the accompanying small vocabulary may enable competent persons to decide its root and original country. The Mechis are necessarily uneducated, except with a very few exceptions, in the Bengali language, from which they have derived all the terms in use for articles common to a state of life removed from the savage. I regret, that I have not as yet had an opportunity of meeting a person intelligent enough to give me some idea of the construction of the language ; this must remain for further inquiry. In the vocabulary I have omitted entering words for which the language has no equivalents of its own, except in a few instances, to prove the rule above noticed. All the words with B affixed are evidently corruptions of Bengali or Hindi; none of the metals except

“silver” and “iron” have names. There is no word for “money.” Gender is designated by the affix of “Jilla” or male, and "Jeu” or female, for all animals but man.*

In the arts the Mechis have made but small progress, they excel in the care of their cotton agriculture, but as they grow only the common annual plant, the produce is not of a superior kind. Weaving is confined to the women as a domestic art. They are not addicted to trade, are averse to military service, have no artizans among them, are truly in a very primitive state of society. They are however very cheerful, have no jealousy or prejudice towards strangers, are industrious, and honest, and crimes of violence, so far as I can learn, are of rare occurrence among them.

A. CAMPBELL

* The names of the months and days of the week are Bengali, and the Mechis who furnished me with the vocabulary are unable to give more than nine of the cardinal numbers in their own language.

VOCABULARY OF THE MECH LANGUAGE. paper, lēka

pepper, banjóóóó

a man, manchi maize, toomba

a woman, hinjan to die, thibaî

plough, wayo to sleep, móódóóbal

cart, hoo sit down, jhopiî

a bow, jeeleet stand up, jhickat do

an arrow,

bulla go thither, oojhung tang

language, bhagia come here, puki

a gun, shelai go quickly, köökri tang

table, phalla lie down, moodoo no.

chair, kumpulai shut the door, doowar phang go to the field, hooa tung

pen, kullum (H) build a house, no lao

lock, [no word] cut some wood, bon san

key, [ditto] fetch some water, dîee labo taut (coarse hempen cloth), phasala feed the child, koto jani ho hemp, phātoo kill a fow), tâoo shituk

til (sesamum orientale), shibeem boil some rice, meekum chong mustard, bish war light a fire, wad chão

dal (pease), shobai milk the cow, doodoo laboo

pawn, phātye go to market, hattia tung

betel-nut, gwye shoe, jotah (B)

lime, chūnye (H) horse, ghorye (B)

brass, peetulye (H) cow, mashujuh

silver, tais buffalo, maishuo

a temple, modie ne no (literally door, doowar (B)

house of God) ghee, ghu (B)

a flower, booibar milk, doodu (B)

mangoe, tiekjo sugar, chinee (B)

plantain, tali turmerick, huldi (B)

ditto tree, lie phang thunder, jumai homdung lime tree, narengi phang lightning, nophlambo

fruit, betü cloth, (cotton) he

root of tree, rudda be phang ditto of castor oil insect, indi branch of ditto, dalye 有 h ivory, megadet hatye

leaf of tree, belye horn, kong

a bridge, chye kong hide, āboo

build a bridge, chye kong ka hoof, yakong

make a road, lama yāw tail, lanjye

a plain country, ha gēbang wool, komun

the plains of Bengal, haien a young elephant, megadet oodai Bootan, aga phar a grave, phokma

crow, taûka

snow falls, hem gooklindung blue, goochum it rains, noka hidung

white, goophoot warm water, goodung dậe

red, gujja cold ditto, gooshu dye

yellow, koomoo drink water, dye ling ni

green, gangohu good, gahum

black, koomun bad, húmma

[No other Colors distinguished by names.] leather, bigoor

to swim, chanturri mattress, gondoo

cotton seed, koon tye a Bootanee, kongar

ditto plant, koon phang a Bengalli, häsha

sugar-cane, kooshiar (B) a Mahomedan, töörõõp

a bear, moofur a Priest or pujari, modie hõõis wild dog, sheekoo a Nipalese, muggur

vulture, sheegoon a boat, nan a jungle fowl, hangrūni dāusru a well, dîre kor a male, jilla

blacksmith, kamar a female, jeu

weaver, he daio spirits, chaoo

huntsman, mye kankea large, ghidett

a spotted deer, kotia menbeang small, udye

distiller, shoondi tall, gujau

fine cloth, he goba short, galye

coarse ditto, he rujja broad, goo-ar

new ditto, he guddan a great man, grah manichi

the sky, no krang to laugh, meniyao

above, chá to cry, dagup

below, ching •to beat, shituknuh

to one side, chapin to be angry, brapmo

Cardinal Numbers. one, munche

five, munbha two, munye

six, mundho three, muntum

seven, munchini four, munbre

eight, munjo kunnü

[No numeral beyond this] night, hor

What is your name?

nunni mooa mamoo Where are you going ?