1. COLLECTION AND ELABORATION OF MATERIAL.
The Geographical Glossary presented in this volume was collected during our travels, chiefly with a view to avoid in our manuscripts errors in writing those geographical names which must occur in our maps and publications in general. Many Indian names had assumed, under the disguise of Roman characters, an appearance quite different from that which they presented in their original spelling. This circumstance, together with the inducement offered by the result, that the information obtained also for countries beyond India proved to be rather more detailed and somewhat better defined than we could expect, gave me the idea of introducing into our publications also a selection of geographical names; but I have limited myself to such names only, for which to the spelling also an interpretation of their meaning could be added.'
We soon had to acquire a practical knowledge of Hindostâni; this, and the selection of good Hindostâni interpreters, who also had to act as guides in the
n In addition to those communicated in the following pages, a large number of names in native characters, with the corresponding transcription, had gradually accumulated in our manuscripts. The Hindostâni portion of the collection we have found of great value in the preparation of our publications; but the mere details of the spelling of all these names could not be embodied in this volume. The original materials are contained in Vols. 7, 8, and 39 of our manuscripts; they were also very useful for the spelling of the numerous topographical names, particularly in our 2nd Vol., the Hypsometry.
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