ancient form it is named "Kufic." There are only symbols for sixteen out
of its twenty-eight consonants. Certain of our own words own patronymity
from the Arabic languages--words such as algebra, alcohol, zenith, nadir,
etc. These show clearly that the language did influence early intellectual
European culture in no small degree.

To go on with the letter:--


"I am greatly encouraged by my success in understanding it" [the story of
_Robinson Crusoe_ in Arabic], "for it is a far more ambitious style and on
far more various topics than I have ever before encountered; and when I
get my Golin's I expect to get to the bottom of many words that puzzle me,
though others are probably modern developments, especially quadrilaterals
and words belonging to special arts. But there is a religious formula
which recurs many times, every word of which is easy, and yet the whole of
it is to me unintelligible. I suspect it is elliptical and allusive, and
it occurs to me that it may be familiar to you; if so, I know you will
have pleasure in explaining it to me. Whenever Robinson falls into
distress and betakes himself to prayer, I meet these words:--

[Arabic]

and then follows the matter of sorrow. I also three times meet [Arabic] at
the end of a sentence, where the meaning seems to be _et alia ejusdem
generis_. I suppose it is an abridgment by initial letters. Can you help
me to a solution? We have stuck here" [at Aberystwith] "longer than we
intended; in fact, we should have left nearly a week ago, only that Mrs.
N. caught a sharp cold, and the weather became suddenly so severe that I
have feared to let her travel.... Probably, like all the world and his