ther benefit or amusement to the world or to himself beyond the present
time. He wrote the thoughts of his inspired moments on pieces of broken
pitchers or pans, with charcoal; some of his admirers were sure to follow
his footsteps narrowly, and to their vigilance in securing those scraps
strewed about, wherever Haafiz had made his sojourn, may to this day be
ascribed the benefit derived by the public from his superior writings.
Saadie, however, is the standard favourite of all good Mussulmauns; his
'Goolistaun'[13] (Garden of Roses), is placed in the hands of every youth
when consigned to the dominion of a master, as being the most worthy book
in the Persian language for his study, whether the beauty of his diction
or the morality of his subjects be considered.

The 'Hyaatool Kaaloob'[14] (Enlightener of the Heart), is another Persian
work, in prose, by Mirza Mahumud Baakur, greatly esteemed by the learned
Mussulmauns. This work contains the life and acts of every known prophet
from the Creation, including also Mahumud and the twelve Emaums. The
learned Maulvee, it appears, first wrote it in the Arabic language, but
afterwards translated it into Persian, with the praiseworthy motive of
rendering his invaluable work available to those Mussulmauns who were not
acquainted with Arabic.

I have some extracts from this voluminous work, translated for me by my
husband, which interested me on account of the great similarity to our
Scripture history; and if permitted at some future time, I propose
offering them to the public in our own language, conceiving they may be as
interesting to others as they have been to me.

The Persian and Arabic authors, I have remarked, substitute Y for J in
Scripture names; for instance, Jacob and Joseph are pronounced Yaacoob and
Yeusuf.[15] They also differ from us in some names commencing with A, as
in Abba, which they pronounce Ubba (Father); for Amen, they say Aameen[16]
(the meaning strictly coinciding with ours); for Aaron, Aaroon; for Moses,
Moosa.[17] I am told by those who are intimate with both languages, that
there is a great similarity between the Hebrew and Arabic. The passage in
our Scripture 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabaethani,' was interpreted to me by an
Arabic scholar, as it is rendered in that well-remembered verse in the
English translation.

[1] _Sawari_.

[2] The Padshah Begam was the widow of Ghazi-ud-din Haidar,
King of Oudh. On his death, in 1837, she contrived a plot