5

4.A.

An Abbysinnian M.S.S. on vellum,
in old leather bag, with hanging
strap of same material patched, is a curiosity to many.
It is an Etheopic version of the
Canticles and the Psalms - date
unknown to me - and is literally
bound in boards, - in thick slabs of wood. -
The leather bag and strap, used in
hanging it from the rafters of the Library, seems
to have been the accepted way
of protecting such valuables in N. AFRICA from
destruction by ants.

A large M.S.S. copy of the
Koran on native paper - also undated - gives the
observer the impression of endless
patience on the part of the oriental scribe,
because of the many times he had to lift his pen in forming each word,
and a Hindoo priests prayer book, with
the letters cut in - or rather scratched
on the narrow width of the palm
or river flag-leaf - in Tamil - or
some cognate sancrit dialect of