Afgháns, do not first provide for these people, who were in those countries when the Afgháns conquered them, and had been there centuries previously. As I said before, the greater part of those people, now to be found in the country held by the Yusufzís, are called Suwatís, and are the descendants of those who remained in their country* after it was conquered; a goodly number of Degáns; some Hindkís, who have emigrated from the Panjáb; a few Kashmírís, and Hindús, who are attracted by the desire of gain; and some members of other Afghán tribes who have been obliged to fly from their own people, and who thereby have become degraded to the rank of the Fakirs and Raayats. The Fakirs cannot hold land, and are not considered equal to their conquerors, who live like Spartans among Helots; and they are not allowed to be present at Jirgahs or assemblies of the clans. They are subject to the person on whose land they dwell, who is styled the Kháwind or master. They pay him a small tax and are obliged to work for him gratis, for certain periods, like the villains in our own country in days gone by. The master can beat, or even take the life of his Raayats or Fakirs, without being questioned for it. But, at the same time, they are sure of every protection from their Kháwind, who would not, at the risk of his life, permit any other person to injure them. They may pursue any trade, work as labourers for their own advantage, or rent land as a Bazgar, and their master would have no demand upon them but for the fixed rent, a few taxes, and a certain share of their labour, as already mentioned; and, altogether, they are mildly treated. The Khawind is deterred from ill-treating his Fakirs from the disgrace attached to oppression by the Yusufzís, as well as the other Afghán tribes; and, moreover, a Fakir or Racyat, if oppressed can remove to the lands of another Afghán, who would gladly receive, and give him protection, for there is a great competition for them. The number of clans and independent communities among the Afgháns are a great protection to these people; and should one of them receive any deadly injury requiring retaliation, he could revenge himself on his oppressor, and afterwards fly to another clan, or independent community, and demand protection, which would always be freely granted.

The Khawind is not permitted to extort money from his Fakir; but he is allowed to levy a few fines, such as, on the settlement of a * I shall return to the subject of the Suwátís in a future paper.

Fakir upon his land, on a marriage among them, and on account of crimes, both of minor and more serious consequence. The amount of these fines are fixed by custom, and any attempt to extort more would be considered gross oppression. They are not forbidden to carry arms, but rarely do so.

Most of these people work as husbandmen, but some feed herds of cattle on the mountains, and some amass money by the profits of their labours as artizans; for an Afghán considers any handicraft trade a disgrace.

TÁLÁSH.

Before bringing this paper to a close, I must give some account of the small district of Tálásh, which is also held by the Yúsufzís, and is considered as a part of Panj-korah, of which it forms the southern portion. It consists of the oblong strip of land through which the river of Panj-korah flows, after its junction with the river of Báj-áwṛṛ, as far as its junction with the Suwát. It is consequently bounded on the west by Báj-áwṛr, and to the south by the hills held by the Utmán Khel, an independent tribe of Afgháns. Tálásh is well watered, and is, therefore, exceedingly fruitful, well cultivated, and very populous for its extent. It exports a good deal of grain to Pes'háwar, the main road between which, and Panj-korah, Badakhshán, and the two Kásh-kárs, lies through it.

The chief towns, or large villages of Tálásh, with the names of the clans to which their inhabitants belong, and their head-men, are as follow.

The village of Kamán-gar, the people of which are bow-makers by trade-hence the name of their village-is, sometimes, considered as belonging to the Tálásh district, but it is, properly speaking, in the U-sherí Darah of Panj-korah. It has been, therefore, mentioned among the villages of the Bar (upper) U-sherí Darah, already noticed.

There are numerous small hamlets in Tálásh, inhabited by people of the Núrah Khel, who constitute the most considerable number of its inhabitants.

The district of Tálásh is very rich in monuments of antiquity, consisting of domes or cupolas, on the face of one of which, I am informed, there are several tablets, half a yard long, and inscribed in an unknown character, said to be Yúnání or Greek, but probably Pálí. If Greek, the examination of these ancient monuments would, no doubt, throw an extensive, and clearer, light on the proceedings of the Greeks in these quarters, which are so mixed up with nonsensical fables, as to furnish ready tools in the hands of those ignorant of the antecedents of the Afghán nation, for working out their own theories.

On the System employed in Outlining the Figures of Deities and other Religious Drawings, as practised in Ladak, Zaskar, &c. (Communicated by Capt. H. H. GODWIN AUSTEN, F. R. G. S., 2nd Assist. G. T. Survey of India.)

As I believe no notice has hitherto been taken of the above subject, and as I only accidentally discovered its existence when in Zaskar last summer (1862) I have been led to write a few lines regarding it; trusting that they may prove of interest to some, and add to our knowledge of the history and customs connected with the ancient religion of the Buddhists. I do not claim any new discovery in this paper, as others may have observed the method of drawing long since. It has a resemblance to that adopted by ourselves in teaching Figure Drawing, and it was when shewing this to a native draftsman of Shilar, a village near Padum, that he produced a sketch of a figure outlined as shewn in the accompanying plates, as also that of the "Churtun" or " Offertory Temple."

The system of the first shews a great amount of ingenuity in its details, but is far more intricate than our simple way, where more is left to the talent of the artist.

The Deity thus given as a specimen is Sakya Thubba, or Bhuddha. The first line laid down is the perpendicular AB, to which a line (No. 20) is drawn at right angles, and on either side of AB on this line are laid off from a scale proportions equal to 12, 4, 2, 8, and lines parallel to AB drawn through these points. On the two outer lines,