AND COCHIN CHINA. 39
India, but with considerable modifications, which
lead me to believe that the Siamese possessed an
original written character at avery early period,
and that the present arrangement, in all likelihood,
followed the introduction of the worship
of Buddha and of the Bali language in times
comparatively recent. The character is written
from the left hand to the right, like all the original
alphabets of the countries lying between
Arabia and China. The consonants consist of
five classes,—namely, gutturals, palatals, dentals,
labials, sibilants and liquids, each class having
its own peculiar nasal. In each consonant the
short vocalic breathing, “ a or o,” for sometimes
it is pronounced as the one, and sometimes as
the other, is always understood, unless the contrary
be expressed by an orthographic mark.
The character for this is included with the consonants,
and is the last letter of the alphabet.
The other vowels are but orthographic marks,
which, in some cases, are written over or below
the consonants, and in others precede or follow
them. If a word or syllable begin with a vowel,
the character is expressed by affixing the peculiar
mark of such vowel to th a t of the short “ a.”
Such a variety of intonations as is implied by
this account of the Siamese alphabet, seems to
be necessary to a language, the great majority
of the words of which consists of monosyllables.
In this language, and indeed in all that