The following notes are based on material which I collected in Kerman during the months June to October, 1914. The spare time at my command was less than I could have desired, and a Benjamin's portion of it was devoted to the more interesting and less exploited Bakhtiari dialect, while the local Kermani dialect provided a further distraction. In these circumstances my researches were not exhaustive, but I think they will be found to have done something towards rendering our knowledge more exact.

The Kyauksè district is at once the smallest and the richest in Upper Burma. Two rivers, the Zawgyi and the Panlaung, enter it from the mountains in the Shan States to the east, and from them spring a number of canal systems. These existed long before the British annexed the country, and tradition ascribes them to the great king Nawyӑta (Anuruddha), who reigned from 1044 to 1077 a.d.

On the reliefs of the Gandhāra School, in all scenes where Gautama is shown, and thus in constant association with him, there appears a figure which has been the subject of much discussion. He is called Vajrapāṇi by reason of the thunderbolt which he either grasps by its middle, or supports on the palm of his hand. This thunderbolt is the exact copy of the weapon which Indra, or Sakka, holds; but in these sculptures it is not so much a weapon, to my mind, as it is a symbol of divine authority, which is a matter of importance for the interpretation of the figure.

For some time I have felt constrained to set forth what I know about the Yezidis, or Devil-worshippers, because I have had special opportunities of studying their life. The present article is divided into two parts: (1) Yezidi books under the light of criticism; (2) outstanding features of the sect. The final portion of the narrative deals with some newly discovered documents.

No incident in Akbar's life is better known or more universally accepted than the supposed refusal of “the spirited boy” to strike with his sword the captive and wounded Hēmū after the second battle of Pānīpat in November, 1556.

This is the anecdote as told by Elphinstone, partly after Ferishta (Firishta):—

“Bairām was desirous that Akbar should give him the first wound, and thus, by imbruing his sword in the blood of so distinguished an infidel, should establish his right to the envied title of ‘Ghāzī’ or ‘Champion of the Faith’; but the spirited boy refused to strike a wounded enemy, and Bairām, irritated by his scruples, himself cut off the captive's head at a blow.”