It has sometimes been said that the only correct spelling of the word is Hindostān, and that this is proved by its being made to rhyme with bostān. The fact of its so rhyming can prove only that such a form exists in verse. It does not disprove the correctness of other forms. Some confusion arises from our not knowing exactly which spelling is objected to, whether it is Hindūstān or Hindŭstān or both. There is abundant evidence to show that in Urdū Hindŭstān is well known and correct. The following points should be noted.

(1) The spelling without vāo is both Turkish and Persian. This is not important, for we are concerned with Hindī and Urdū, not with foreign languages. Turkish generally omits the vāo, indeed the word I is usually pronounced hindistān.

The following notice appeared in the Deutsche Wacht, published in Batavia, and has been sent to me by the writer, Herr E. von Zach. Feeling that, in justice to Dr. Edwards, it should be made accessible to readers of the Bulletin, I have translated it from the German and added a few further remarks of my own:—

Arthur Waley, in his Pillow-book of Sei Shōnagon (1928), was the first to draw attention to the Tsa tsuan of Li Shang–yin; and Miss E. D: Edwards afterwards undertook the task of publishing the complete text, with translation, in the above-named periodical (1930, pp. 757–85). Her translation is not wholly irreproachable, and the mistakes are corrected in the article under review. Unfortunately, there are several passages that still remain obscure.

p. 465, line 15, for “M. Barth, the great writer on comparative religion” read “M. Bréal, the great writer on semantics”.