caprice. During the period that they are nominally students, their attendance from day to day is equally uncontrolled and unregulated except by their own wishes and convenience. Many of the students are mere children, while others are grown up men. The business of the school commences at six in the morning and continues till eleven, and again at mid-day and continues till four. Every scholar reads a separate lesson to the master, one coming when another withdraws, so that there is a total absence of classification.
“The weekly periods of vacation are for Arabic students every Tuesday and Friday, and for Persian students every Thursday and Friday, and the annual periods of vacation are the whole of the month Ramzan, ten days for the Mohurrum, and five days at four different periods of the year required by other religious observances. It thus appears that this institution has no organisation or discipline, and that the course of instruction is exceedingly meagre.”
From such a course of teaching and discipline what beneficial effect on the mind and character could possibly be expected to result? To suppose any such sanatory influence possible, would be to annihilate or reverse the established laws of antecedence and consequence. Perhaps the only consolation consists in knowing, that, in these lower provinces, the whole scheme of a purely Arabic education is so extremely limited in its extent. In the five zillahs or districts, so often named already, Mr. Adam found only 158 Arabie students, of whom nine were Hindus and 149 Musalmans. When we reflect on the genuine spirit of the Muhammadan system—how it inculcates a mere negative faith of lifeless empty Theism—re-establishes the reign of sensuality on earth to be terminated by a “paradise of lust” in the world to come—encourages the craving thirst of conquest and blood—stimulates the malignant passions of hatred and revenge—and even “commands irreconcilable enmity, eternal warfare, eternal slaughter, to propagate throughout the world a belief in its blood-stained prophet of pride and lust;” when we reflect on all this, we may be disposed to reckon it a gracious interposition of Providence, that the study of the higher Arabic literature is at so low an ebb, instead of regretting that the more advanced disciples of this “pure old doctrine of all-conquering Islam and of all-surpassing faith” are so few in number, and drink so scantily at its original well-heads.
3. Sanskrit Schools.—This class of schools is that in which “the literature, law, philosophy, and religion of the Hindus are taught through the medium of the Sanskrit language; and with reference to the number of seminaries and students, the nature of the influence which learned Hindus possess, and the amount of the population over whom it is exercised, this can be considered inferior in importance only to the class of vernacular schools, from which the great body of the people derive the chief part of the instruction they receive.” Sanskrit learning is, to
