  Lycia, Asia Minor. This interesting region has been further explored by two English gentlemen, Lieut. Spratt, R.N., and Professor Forbes, who, accompanied by the Reverend E.T. Daniel, embarked from England in the year 1842, in H.M. ship Beacon, for the coast of Lycia, for the purpose of bringing home the remarkable monuments of antiquity discovered by Sir Charles Fellows. This gentleman, it will be remembered, was the first who in modern times successfully explored the interior. He visited the sites of many ancient cities and towns; copied numerous inscriptions, by means of which he was enabled to identify the names of fifteen out of eighteen cities; and made sketches of the most interesting sculptures and monuments. It is remarkable that a country so often spoken of by the Greek and Roman historians should not have sooner attracted attention, when districts contiguous to, as well as far beyond, have been so thoroughly explored. The ruins on the southern coast of Asia Minor, were first made The relics of antiquity brought to light in these researches, consist first of the ruins of large cities, many of which, by reason of their isolated situation among the high lands and mountains, seem to have been preserved from the destruction which usually attends depopulated cities situated in more accessible places. These ruined cities contain amphitheatres more or less spacious, and generally in a good state of preservation, temples, aqueducts, and sepulchral monuments, together with numbers of lesser buildings, the dwelling houses of the inhabitants. The ruins of Christian churches are also found in many places, and in one instance a large and elegant cathedral; the purposes of these are satisfactorily made out by their inscriptions; and the date of their erection, when not otherwise known, may be fixed by their style of architecture. The most numerous as well as the most interesting monuments of these ancient cities, are their sepulchres. In some instances where a mountain or high rock is contiguous, it is pierced with thousands of tombs, presenting an appearance similar to PetrÆa in Idumea, sometimes called the City of the Dead. The roads in all directions are lined with tombs and sarcophagi, many of them covered with elaborate sculptures and inscriptions. It is by means of the latter, which abound and which exist in a fine state of preservation, that the names of the cities are identified and other historical facts brought to light. The following is a translation of the most common form of sepulchral inscription. "THIS TOMB APOLLONIDES, SON OF MOLISSAS, MADE Coins too are found, which possess considerable historic interest. In architecture, we find excellent specimens of the several Grecian orders, exhibiting both the perfection and declension of the art. The works of Sir Charles Fellows abound in architectural representations. A pointed arch was discovered by Lieut. Spratt and Professor Forbes in the interior of a tomb (a sketch of which is given) among the ruins of Antiphellas. This conclusively shows, that this peculiar form of the arch was not first introduced with Gothic architecture, as has been generally believed, but belongs to a period anterior to the Christian era. An inscription in the Lycian and Latin was found on the monument. The language of the ancient Lycians is an important discovery which has resulted from these researches. A bilingual inscription in Lycian and Greek first led to the key, and similar inscriptions, subsequently discovered, have furnished sufficient materials for ascertaining the values of the several letters of the alphabet, which consists of twenty-seven letters, two of which are still doubtful. Able disquisitions on the language have been written by Mr. Sharpe and Professor Grotefend. In regard to the antiquity of the monuments, and the people who spoke the language called Lycian, now first made known through these inscriptions, we are enabled to arrive at conclusions which fix their era with some degree of certainty. The earliest inscription yet decyphered is a bilingual one, which consists of an edict, in which the name of Harpagus, or his son, a well known personage, is mentioned; which would give a date of 530 to 500 B.C. This is about the period of the earliest arrow-head inscriptions yet known—namely, those at Behistun, of the age of Darius, decyphered by Major Rawlinson. The language belongs to the same family as the Zend and old Persian, and is supposed to have been in use in the same age as the former, and along with that of the Persepolitan Other reasons are adduced by scholars for fixing the date of the Lycian language not before the fifth century B.C., or to the age of Herodotus. This historian was from the adjoining province of Caria; and as might be expected, gives accounts of the Lycians before his time, but does not say that they spoke a language different from his own, or from that of the entire region,—a fact that he would not have overlooked had such been the case. It is believed that Cyrus, when he subjected this country, brought in some people from his Persian dominions, who afterwards became the dominant party, and introduced their language. It is surprising to find the names of these Lycian cities so well preserved when the descendants of its ancient inhabitants have been so entirely swept out of the country, and replaced by a people differing in manners, in religion,
ARABIA.If we now turn to the discoveries that have recently been made in the southern part of Arabia, we find much in them worthy of attention. This country, called in the Scriptures Hazarmaveth, by the natives Hadramaut, and by the classical writers of antiquity, Arabia Felix, is celebrated as being the kingdom of the Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon, as well as for the gold, gems, frankincense and other precious productions, which it furnished in ancient times. It is represented by the Greek and Roman writers as a populous country, with many extensive cities, abounding in temples and palaces; though the palpable fables with which these accounts are intermingled, show that at least they had no personal knowledge of the facts, but retailed them at second hand. After Europe had awoke from the intellectual slumber of the dark ages, the Arabs were long regarded only as objects of religious and political abhorrence. The discovery of the route to India by the Cape of Good Hope, at the close of the fifteenth century, by diverting the channel of Indo-European traffic from the Red Sea, left the countries bordering upon it in such a state of solitude, that when better feelings began to prevail, there was no means of obtaining any direct information respecting them. In 1650, the illustrious Pococke, by the publication of his Specimens of Ancient Arabian History, extracted from native authors, created a curiosity respecting Southern Arabia and its ancient inhabitants, which successive collections of a similar nature, down to our own times, have served rather to increase than to gratify. The researches The hordes of pirates, which until twenty years ago infested the Persian Gulf, caused the government of British India to order a complete survey of its islands and both its shores, with the view of laying bare their haunts, and putting an end to their depredations. In 1829, after this service had been performed, the project then recently set on foot of establishing a steam communication between England and Bombay, caused orders to be issued for a similar examination of the Red Sea. The attention of the officers composing the expedition, was not restricted to the technical duties in which they were chiefly engaged. It was well known that information of every kind would be prized by the government which they served; and this, together with the monotony of life on board ship on the one hand, and the novelty of the scenes by which they were surrounded on the other, seems to have created among them a spirit of emulation that led to the most interesting discoveries respecting both the geography and the antiquities of the adjacent countries. Among the most intelligent and enterprising of these officers was the late Lieut. Wellsted, who thus describes his reflections on joining the expedition in the Red Sea, on the 12th October, 1830. "From the earliest dawn of history, the northern shores of the Red Sea have figured as the scene of events which both religious and civil records have united to render memorable. Here Moses and the Patriarchs tended their flocks, and put in motion those springs of civilization, which, from that period, have When the northeastern and the western shores of the In the year 1839 Capt. Haines, the commander of the expedition and the present governor of Aden, published his survey of about two fifths of this coast, extending from the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb as far east as Missenaat, in long. 51° east of Greenwich. In June, 1843, Adolphe Baron Wrede, a Hanoverian gentleman, made an excursion from Makallah on the coast, into the interior of the country. He visited among other places an extensive valley called Wadi Doan, which he thus describes. "The sudden appearance of the Wadi Doan, took me by surprise and impressed me much with the grandeur of the scene. The ravine, five hundred feet wide and six hundred feet in depth, is enclosed between perpendicular rocks, the debris of which form in one part a slope reaching to half their height. On this slope, towns and villages rise contiguously in the form of an amphitheatre; while below the date grounds, which are covered with a forest of trees, the river about twenty feet broad and enclosed by high and walled embankments is seen winding through fields laid out in terraces, then pursuing its course in the open plain, irrigated by small canals branching from it. My first view of the valley disclosed to me four towns and four villages, within the space of an hour's In spite of the glowing descriptions of ancient authors, the idea hitherto entertained of this region in modern times, has been that of a succession of desert plains and sand-hills, with nothing to give animation to the arid scene but solitary groups of Bedouins and occasionally a passing caravan. The recent explorations, however, of which the one just quoted is a specimen, show that this is far from being a correct view of the entire country. The coast is thickly studded with fishing-villages and small seaports, which still carry on, though on a diminished scale, the trade with India and the Persian gulf, which has existed ever since the dawn of history. It is true, the general appearance of the country along the coast, consisting as it does of successive ranges of sand-hills, is such as to naturally give rise to the views entertained and promulgated by navigators, who have had no opportunity of visiting the interior. But the deeper researches that have been made during the last ten or twelve years, show that these opinions are very erroneous; for besides that there are a number of green valleys running down to the coast, produced by streams provided with water for at least a good part of the year, no sooner has the traveller surmounted the first range of sand-hills, than his sight begins to be regaled with numerous well watered valleys and mountains covered with verdure. Besides this, even in those parts of the country where the surface is naturally a desert plain, the inhabitants have possessed from the remotest times the art of forming flourishing oases, in which to establish their hamlets and towns; an operation which, as Wellsted re These oases and the towns situated in them, date from various periods; some of those already discovered being evidently of considerable antiquity. In describing some of these towns, Wellsted says: "The instant you step from the Desert within the Grove, a most sensible change of the atmosphere is experienced. The air feels cold and damp; the ground in every direction is saturated with moisture; and from the density of the shade, the whole appears dark and gloomy. To avoid the damp and catch an occasional beam of the sun above the trees, the houses There is however another class of interesting objects, relating to the ancient history of the country, which I have not alluded to until now, because I wish to speak of them more particularly. These are the ancient inscriptions, of which a number have already been discovered and in part decyphered. Several Arabian writers have stated that there existed in the southern part of their country, before the time of Mohammed, a kind of writing which they call Himyaritic, after the name of the ancient inhabitants of the country, the Beni Himyar. But the confused nature of these accounts, together with the Arab practice of giving the name of Himyaritic to every ancient mode of writing which they were unable to read, caused the story to be regarded as little better than fabulous. In the year 1808 the late Baron de Sacy published a learned treatise on the subject, in which he collected all the Arabian accounts; but no further progress was made in the enquiry, until the discovery of a number of inscriptions on various massy ruins situated along the coast and in the interior, by officers attached to the surveying expedition already spoken of, in the years 1834 and '5. Copies of these inscriptions were transmitted to the late Dr. Gesenius of Halle, one of the first Orientalists of Europe. After making some progress in the investigation, he gave up the subject to his colleague Dr. RÖdiger, who had devoted himself to it with great ardor and success. The latter published a copious dissertation containing the results he had arrived at, which he reprinted in 1842 by way of an appendix to his German edition of Wellsted's Travels in Arabia. By comparing the characters of the inscriptions with the Himyaritic alphabets contained in some Arabic manuscripts and with the present Ethiopic alphabet, he was enabled to ascertain the powers of the letters, and even to interpret, with various degrees of certainty, many portions of the inscriptions themselves. Thus, these venerable records, which in all probability have for many ages been dumb to every human being, are in a fair way of being made to yield up to modern scientific research whatever information they may contain. That this information must be interesting and valuable to the historian is inferred from the imposing nature of the structures on which they are found, and whose existence but a few years ago was as little looked for in this part of the world as in the forest wilds of Oregon. A full account of these discoveries and of the attempts at decyphering the inscriptions was published in 1845 in the first volume of the Transactions of the Ethnological Society of this city. I will therefore merely proceed to state what has been accomplished in the matter since the time when that account closes. In the beginning of 1843, the same year in which M. Wrede made his exploration, a French physician of the name of Arnaud being then at Jiddah, received from M. Fresnel, the French consular agent at that port, accounts of the Himyaritic inscriptions discovered by the officers of the Indian Navy, and of the interest they had created in Europe. M. Arnaud's enthusiasm being excited on the The mode of proceeding adopted by M. Arnaud, who spoke the Arabic fluently, was to travel as a Mussulman, in company with a caravan going to the place. His plan was happily crowned with success. In the middle of July he reached the city, where he saw the imposing remains of the ancient dam, said to have been built across the valley of Mareb by Balkis herself, and which, by collecting an immense body of water near the metropolis, whence the surrounding country was irrigated, had given rise to the fertility and beauty for which the region was celebrated in ancient times. On these remains M. Arnaud discovered a number of inscriptions, as also among the ruins of the former city; among the most remarkable of these is one called Harem Balkis, which is thought to be the remains of the palace of the ancient Sabean kings. The inscriptions of which Mr. Arnaud brought away copies with him amount to fifty-six in number. The tour of M. Wrede was also not unproductive in this respect. He copied, among others, a long inscription in Wadi Doan; which, according to the interpretations that have since been made of it, contains a list of kings more copious than those which have been left us by Albulfeda and other historians of the middle ages. When M. Arnaud returned to Jiddah from his hazardous and toilsome expedition, M. Fresnel, who had originally moved him to the undertaking, set about studying the new inscriptions, aided by the previous labors of the German scholars and his own knowledge of Arabic and the The discoveries already brought to light, merely serve to show the richness of the mine that yet remains to be explored. Other expeditions are now planning, or in progress of execution, for penetrating into other parts of the country; and eminent scholars are busied in elucidating the treasures which the enterprize of travellers is bringing to light. Their united exertions cannot fail, at least, to accumulate many curious particulars relative to the history of one of the most remarkable and least known nations of past ages. The Rev. T. Brockman, who was sent by the Royal Geographical Society of England for the purpose of geographical and antiquarian research in the Arabian peninsula, had proceeded up the coast from Aden to Shehar, midway between Aden and Muscat, and had coasted along to Cape Ras al-Gat. Subsequently in attempting to reach Muscat, he was arrested by sickness at Wadi Beni Jabor, where after a few days he died. His papers, which will be sent to the Geographical Society, are thought to contain matters of interest respecting this region.
Sclavonic Mss.—It is stated in the Russian papers that M. Grigorowitsch, professor of the sclavonic tongues in the Imperial University of Kasan, has returned to that capital from a two year's journey in the interior of Turkey, by order of the Russian government, in search of the graphic monuments of the ancient Sclavonic nations. He has brought home fac-similes of many hundred inscriptions, and 2,138 Sclavonian manuscripts—450 of which are said to be very ancient, and of great importance. The Caucasus.—The results of a scientific expedition for the exploration of the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus, and of Southern Russia, under the direction of M. Hommaire de Hell, has lately been published. This portion of the East has been little noticed by travellers, and the present work has therefore added much to our previous knowledge of the country. It is accompanied by a large map, on which the geographical and geological peculiarities are defined with great minuteness and elegance. ASSYRIA AND PERSIA.The discoveries recently made, and the researches now in progress in those regions of the world known in ancient times as Assyria, Babylonia and Persia, are among the most interesting and important of the age. Of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians we know nothing, but what we find in the Bible, or what has been preserved Pietro della Valle, Le Brun, Niebuhr, Ker Porter, Rich, and Ouseley, have given us descriptions of the ancient remains in Persia and Assyria, particularly those at Persepolis, PasargadÆ, and Babylon. These consist of views of the monuments and sculptures, together with copies of the inscriptions in the cuneiform, or arrow-head character. The object of the edifices, the subject of the sculptures, and the meaning of the inscriptions, were wholly matters of conjecture; and it seemed a hopeless task to arrive at any conclusions in relation to them, until some key should be discovered, by the means of which the language should be made known, and the numerous inscriptions decyphered. No bilingual tablet, such as the At Persepolis it is known are extensive ruins, chiefly belonging to a large edifice, with every indication that this edifice was originally a royal palace. History and tradition supported this belief; and the general character of the sculptures and architecture, together with the inscriptions, would carry its origin back to a period some centuries before the Christian era. It was doubtless the work of one of the great monarchs of Persia; of Cyrus, Cambyses, Xerxes, Darius, or some other with whom history is familiar. Over the doorways and in other parts of this edifice, are portraits, evidently of kings, as there is always enough in the dress and insignia of a monarch to enable one to detect him on any ancient monument. Over these por According to the analogy of the Pehlvi inscriptions, decyphered by De Sacy, it was believed that the inscriptions then under consideration, mentioned the name of a king son of another king, that is the names of father and son. M. Grotefend first examined the bas-reliefs at Persepolis, to ascertain the particular age of the Persian kings to which they belonged, in order that he might discover the names applicable to the inscription. A reference to the Greek historians convinced him that he must look for the kings of the dynasty of the AchÆmenides, and he accordingly applied their names to the characters of the inscriptions. "These names could obviously not be Cyrus and Cambyses, because the names occurring in the inscriptions do not begin with the same letter; Cyrus and Artaxerxes were equally inapplicable, the first being too short and the latter too long; there only remained therefore the names of Darius and Xerxes;" and these latter agreed so exactly with the characters, that Mr. Grotefend did not hesitate to select them. The next step was to ascertain what these names were in the old Persian language, as they come to us through the Greek, and would of course differ somewhat from the original. The ancient Zend, as preserved in the Zendavesta, furnished the only medium through which the desired information could be obtained. Such was the result of Professor Grotefend's labors up to the year 1833. His first discovery was made and announced as early as 1802, but an account of his system of interpretation did not appear until 1815, in the appendix to the third German edition of Heeren's Researches. This was afterwards enlarged in the translation of Heeren published at Oxford in 1833, when it was first made known to English readers. In 1837 he published a treatise containing an account of all the Persepolitan inscriptions in his possession, and another in 1840 on those of Babylon. The brilliant success which attended Grotefend's earlier efforts, soon attracted the attention of other philologists to the subject. M. Saint Martin read a memoir before the Asiatic Society of Paris in 1822, but did not make any additions to our previous knowledge. Professor Rask next took it up, and discovered the value of two addi In 1835, Major Rawlinson, then residing in Persia, turned his attention to the subject, and decyphered some of the proper names on the tablets at Hamadan. In the following year he applied himself to the great inscription at Behistun, the largest and most remarkable that is known in Persia, and succeeded in making out several lines of its contents. The result of Major Rawlinson's first attempt at decyphering the Behistun inscription, was the identification of several proper names, and consequently the values of additional characters towards the completion of the alphabet. The language of the inscriptions must next be studied; and as the Zend had been the medium through which the first links in the chain of interpretation had been obtained, it was naturally resorted to for aid to farther progress. The Zendavesta, with the researches of Anquetil du Perron, and the commentary at the YaÇna by M. Burnouf, wherein the language of the Zendavesta is critically analyzed, and its grammatical structure developed, furnished the necessary materials. To the latter work, and the luminous critique of M. Burnouf, Major Rawlinson owes the success of his translations; as he acknowledges that by it he "obtained a general knowledge of the grammatical structure of the language of the inscriptions." But the Zend was not of itself sufficient to make out all the words and expressions in the Behistun and other inscriptions. Other languages contemporary with that of the inscription and of the Zend must be sought for, to elucidate many points which it left obscure. It is unnecessary to note in detail the difficulties and great labor attending the decyphering of the Behistun tablets, on which Major Rawlinson was occupied from time to time during a space of ten years. His discoveries were announced in London, in a memoir read before the Royal Asiatic Society in 1839, but were not published in extenso until 1846. Briefly to sum up the results of his labors, it will suffice to state that they present "a correct grammatical translation of nearly four hundred lines of cuneiform writing, a memorial of the time of Darius Hystaspes, the greater part of which is in so perfect a state as to afford ample and certain grounds for a minute orthographical and etymological analysis, and the purport of which to the historian, must be of fully equal interest with the peculiarities of the language to the philologist." In a few cases it may be found necessary to alter or modify some of the significations assigned; but there is no doubt but that the general meaning of every paragraph is accurately determined, and that the learned Orientalist has thus been enabled "to exhibit a correct historical outline, possessing the weight of royal and contemporaneous recital, of many Such is the history of this great discovery, which has placed the name of Major Rawlinson among the most distinguished Oriental scholars of the age. He will rank among the laborers in cuneiform writing, where Champollion does among the decypherers of Egyptian hieroglyphics; for though, like Champollion, he did not make the first discoveries in his branch of PalÆography, he is certainly entitled to the honor of reducing it to a system, by ascertaining the true powers of a large portion of the alphabet, and by elucidating its grammatical peculiarities, so that future investigators will find little difficulty in translating any inscription in the particular class of characters in question. The cuneiform (wedge-shaped) or arrow-headed character is a system of writing peculiar to the countries between the Euphrates and the Persian frontier on the East. Various combinations of a figure shaped like a wedge, together with one produced by the union of two wedges, constitute the system of writing employed by the ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, and the AchÆmenian kings of Persia. The character seems to have been as extensively employed in this portion of the world, as the Roman letters now are in Europe. Particular arrangements or combinations of these characters apparently belonged to different nations, speaking different languages. When and where this system of writing originated is not known. Professor Westergaard Major Rawlinson makes of the arrow-headed writing three great classes or divisions, the Babylonian, Median and Persian. The first of these he thinks is unquestionably the oldest. "It is found upon the bricks excavated from the foundations of all the buildings in Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Chaldea, that possess the highest and most authentic claims to antiquity;" and he thinks it "not extravagant therefore to assign its invention to the primitive race which settled in the plain of Shinar." A comparison of the various inscriptions in the Babylonian class of writing has led Major Rawlinson to believe that it embraces five distinct varieties, which he calls the Primitive Babylonian, the AchÆmenian Babylonian, the Medo-Assyrian, the Assyrian, and the ElymÆan. Mr. Westergaard The history we have already given of the progress made For our knowledge of the second variety of characters on the Persian trilingual tablets, we are indebted to the labors and sagacity of Professor Westergaard. In the third sort of Persepolitan characters, termed the AchÆmenian Babylonian, some advances have been made by Major Rawlinson. The contents of the other portions of these tablets being known, he pursued the course adopted by Professor Westergaard, namely that of identifying the groups of characters corresponding with the proper names in the other inscriptions. He has thus been enabled to ascertain the phonetic values of a large number of characters which must in time lead to a knowledge of the rest of the alphabet. A beginning in this direction was also made by Professor Grotefend, who in his Memoirs of 1837 and 1840, singles out and places in juxtaposition the names of Cyrus, Hystaspes, Darius and Xerxes, in the first and third species of Persepolitan writing. There is every reason to hope that the labors of the three accomplished Oriental scholars, Rawlinson, Lassen, and Westergaard, which have been so far crowned with success, will add to their fame by making out the characters and language of this species of It will be recollected, that besides these three sorts of Persepolitan writing, there are two other distinct classes of arrow-head characters, called Babylonian and Assyrian. Little or nothing has yet been accomplished towards decyphering them; which is owing to the fact that they are of a very complicated nature, and that they have hitherto been found alone, that is to say not accompanied by a version in any other language or character. A Parisian savant, M.J. LÖwenstern, who has applied himself to the study of the Assyrian tablets, published in 1845 an Essay on the monument recently discovered by M. Botta at Khorsabad near Mosul, in which he thinks he has made out the groups which stand for the words great king, and also several alphabetical characters. Further investigations can alone determine whether or not his conclusions are correct. It will be necessary to state some of the historical facts brought to light by the labors of Major Rawlinson, to which we have alluded. The great tablet at Behistun relates exclusively to Darius. "To this monarch," says Major Rawlinson, "insatiable in his thirst of conquest, magnificent in his tastes, and possessed of an unlimited power, we are indebted for all that is most valuable in the palÆography of Persia. Imbued, as it appears, with an ardent passion for monumental fame, he was not content to inscribe the palaces of his foundation at Persepolis with a legend commemorative of their erection, or with prayers invoking the guardianship of Ormuzd and his angels, but he lavished an elaborate workmanship on historic and geographic records in various quarters of his empire, which evince considerable political forethought, an earnest regard for truth, and an ambition to transmit the glories of his reign to future generations, to guide their conduct and invite their emulation. At Persepolis, the high place The following are some of the translations from the great inscription at Behistun, which embraces upwards of four hundred lines in the arrow-headed characters. In Major Rawlinson's Memoir, are given fac-similes of the original inscriptions, a transcription of the same in Roman letters with an interlineal translation in Latin, and a translation in English. Accompanying these, is a critical commentary on each line, together with notes, rendering the whole as clear as possible.
He then goes on to speak of the rebellions in his dominions after the death of Cambyses, of the Magian who declared himself king, and that no one dared to resist him. He continues:
He then says, he "established his race on the throne, as in the days of old," prohibited the sacrificial worship introduced by the Magian, and restored the old families to office,—all of which was accomplished by the aid of Ormuzd. The people of Susiana and Babylon then became rebellious. He slew the leader of the former.
Darius then continued his march to Babylon, where he was met by the army of Natitabirus; he gave him battle and defeated him, driving his army into the water. He then took Babylon. It would appear from what this monarch relates, that he had a pretty rebellious set of subjects, who took advantage of his absence at Babylon. The inscription continues.
He then gives the names of the rebellious leaders and of the officers sent to subjugate them; the forts, villages, or cities, where battles were fought; the day of the month when they took place, and the result, in every case, by the help of Ormuzd. One example will suffice. After speaking of the revolt of Armenia, the inscription continues.
In this manner we have the whole history of the reign of Darius king of Persia, who filled the throne 550 B.C. And it may truly be said that no monument of remote antiquity which has been preserved to modern times, at all equals it in importance. The inscriptions of Egypt are
The great inscription from which we have made these extracts, is sculptured in three languages, and in three different forms of the arrow-headed character, the particulars of which have been stated. There are a few imperfections and cracks in the stone which made certain words and sentences unintelligible; these will be corrected when the other two inscriptions are decyphered. In the midst of these records is a piece of sculpture in relief, representing Darius followed by two of his officers, with his foot upon a man, who raises his hands before him, and nine other figures representing the rebellious leaders whom he had severally conquered. They are connected by a rope around their necks and have their hands tied behind, and are probably portraits of the persons they
The discoveries of Professor Westergaard, to whom we are indebted for the key to the second or Median form of the arrow-headed character, require notice. This accomplished Orientalist, on his return from an archÆological tour in India and Persia, under the patronage of the king of Denmark, brought with him, among other literary treasures, copies of a great number of inscriptions in the arrow-headed character. While in Persepolis he carefully examined all the inscriptions which those wonderful ruins still retain. Those which had already been published, he accurately compared with the original monuments, and the remainder he copied entire. This gentleman went thoroughly furnished with all the preparatory knowledge that could be gained in Europe to ensure success. He had shown himself by his publications to be an excellent Sanscrit scholar; besides which he had acquired as complete a knowledge of the Zend language as it is possible to do at present, and was well acquainted with all that had been effected in the way of decyphering the inscriptions. Having thus so greatly the advantage of his predecessors, Niebuhr, Ker Porter, and Rich, it is not to be wondered at that his transcripts are proportionably more accurate and complete. It has long been known that all the inscriptions at Persepolis are triple, like those on the Behistun tablets, before described. Those of the first or simplest variety, have all been translated by Professor Lassen,
No inscriptions have yet been found in Persia of Artaxerxes, the first son of Xerxes. A vase, however, was discovered at Venice by Sir J.G. Wilkinson, bearing an inscription in hieroglyphics, and in the three species of arrow-headed characters so common in Persia. This vase and its inscriptions have been examined by M. Letronne and M. LongpÉrier, who do not hesitate to ascribe it to Artaxerxes the first, or Longimanus, whose names and titles have been made out both in the hieroglyphics and cuneiform characters. An inscription of great historical interest of Artaxerxes the third, has been found at Persepolis. But the most important part of this inscription consists of the genealogy of Artaxerxes the third, from Arsama, the Greek Arsames, the father of Hystaspes, completely agreeing with that given by Grecian historians. In this as well as in all the other inscriptions thus far decyphered, Ormuzd is invariably invoked; he is called upon to aid them, and the several sovereigns acknowledge their gratitude to him as to an all-protecting Providence for the blessings received. Nineveh. We have received from M. Mohl, of Paris, an account of the researches of MM. Botta and Flandin, This volume contains letters from M. Botta, giving the details of his discoveries, accompanied by fifty-five plates of sculptures, statues, and inscriptions. He penetrated into the interior of a large mound, where he found a series of halls and chambers, the walls of which were covered with paintings and relievos representing historical events, and scenes illustrating the manners and customs of the Assyrians. The drawings and sculptures exhibit a higher state of art than the monuments of Egypt. The figures are remarkably well drawn, both as it regards the anatomy and the costumes. The men appear to be more athletic than the Egyptians—they wear long hair combed smooth over the top of the head, and curled behind. The beard is also long and always curled. Their dresses are exceed Other letters from Mr. Layard of a later date than that just mentioned, announce new discoveries. "Another mine has been opened at Nimroud; and every stroke of the pick-axe brings new wonders to light." Old Nineveh, whose very existence had become little better than a vague historic dream, is astonishing the world by her All are familiar with the accounts of the building of this city by Asshur, (whence the name Assyria), and of the first A journey of much interest was undertaken by Dr. Robert in 18_3, who was directed by the French government to continue, in the west of the Himalaya range and the high region adjacent, the geographical, physical, and ethnographical observations which had been begun by M. Jaquemont. The latest accounts from this intrepid tra In the same distant region we hear of the journeys of H.R.H. Prince Waldemar, of Prussia (cousin to the king). "Consulting only his ardor for science, and burthened with the usual load carried by a traveller on foot, he scaled the lofty Himmalayah, crossed the frontier of the Celestial Empire, and reached the table-land of Thibet."
Siberia. To the love of science which the enlightened Emperor of Russia, has always manifested, we are indebted for an expedition, the most successful which has yet been undertaken for the exploration of the northern and eastern parts of Siberia. The results of this extensive exploration of a region not before examined by scientific men, are of the greatest interest to science, and have earned for its distinguished and undaunted leader, Prof. Von Middendorff, the applause of the savans of Europe. Not having seen any detailed account of this journey, I am indebted to Sir R. Murchison for some particulars of its results. The expedition traversed the whole extent of Siberia, from east to west, and from south to north, even to the extreme northern headland of Taimyr. "Undaunted by the severe privations he had undergone in obtaining his knowledge of the far northern lands of Siberia, he next undertook the not less arduous task of traversing the whole of that vast continent to the Shantar Isles, at its southeastern extremity, and thence to return to Nertchinsk, along the Chinese frontier. His journey through thickly-wooded rocks, deep morasses and over swollen rivers, "Floating down the sea of Okotsk from Udskoi in frail canoes, M. Middendorff and his friends, braving shoals of floating ice and perpetual rains, reached Nitka on the great Shantar island. The wild regions which were traversed, in many parts could only be threaded by following the tracks formed by bears beneath the dense matting of underwood and birch trees" In his return journey, he examined the frontier line of China, a tract never explored even by a Cossack, and ascertained that between the Udskoi of the Russians and the mouth of the Amur, there is a considerable tract quite independent both of Russia and China, and occupied by a people called Guilaiques, who pay no tribute to either Emperor. In addition to the several arduous journeys performed by this intrepid traveller and his companions, many questions hitherto unsolved were investigated and much new light added to our previous knowledge on these respective points. One was the real state of the question of the frozen subsoil of Siberia. "By placing thermometers at various depths in the shaft at Yakutsk, he has found that at its bottom, or at 382 feet below the surface, the cold is 2° 4" RÉaumur, and that it is probable the frozen subsoil reaches to the great depth of about 600 feet! Notwithstanding this extraordinary phenomenon, the lateral extent of which has still to be determined, it appears that the culture of rye succeeds perfectly under favorable local conditions in those regions, and that the crops of grain are more abundant than in Livonia!" M. Middendorff has also thrown new light on the boreal range of vegetation. He has ascertained "that whilst rye, turnips, beets, and potatoes grow on the Yenisei to latitude 61° 40', indigenous plants, requiring less warmth, flourish much farther north, and that even trees with vertical In regard to the mammoths, the fossil bones of which have been found in Siberia, M. Middendorff has shown that, in accordance with the views of Professor Owen, (who states that these quadrupeds were specially organized to live on the branches and leaves of such shrubs and trees as grow in boreal latitudes) there are still trees in latitude 72° which would suffice for their sustenance. The Ethnology of this region has been elucidated by our traveller, who by investigating the languages and physical characteristics of these remote tribes, has been enabled to affiliate them with their parent stocks. Our knowledge of the geology and geography of the northern and southeastern extremities of Siberia have been greatly extended by this journey; in fact no enquiry for the advancement of science and a knowledge of this far distant and hitherto unknown region, seems to have been neglected. Another scientific expedition of an Ethnological character is employed in Siberia under the direction of M. Castren, who has devoted much of his first report to the geography of the country. After speaking of the river Irtisch and its fisheries, he gives some account of the Ostiaks, the most ancient people of its banks. Surrounded by Russians and Tartars, they have lost all their nationality except their language. The Tartar influence is feeble, but that of Russia is felt in their religion, their manners, their customs and even in their general mode of thinking. A paper containing "Ethnological Notes on Siberia," by A geographical Society has lately been founded at St. Petersburg, to which the emperor proposed to give ten thousand silver rubles annually. The first great exploratory expedition under the directions and patronage of this Society will be directed along the eastern flank of the Ural mountains, from the parallel of 60° north (Bogoslafsk) to the Glacial sea. This survey is to be conducted by Count A. Von Keyserling, already known to the public through his valuable geological co-operation in the work on Russia, by Sir R.I. Murchison; and who by his sound acquirements in geology, zoology and geography, will it is presumed, during the ensuing three years, throw great additional light on the wild Arctic Ural which separates Europe from Asia, and which, inhabited by Ostiaks and Samoiedes, extends beyond the limits of arboreal vegetation. Among numerous other objects, it is hoped that this expedition will elicit new results concerning the entombment and preservation of the mammoths. India. The obstacles which have existed in India, and which have retarded the extension of European civilization, will now be effectually removed by the noble step taken by Lord Hardinge, the Governor General, for promoting education in that country. The renunciation of idolatry must necessarily follow the Such changes are not without their effects on the great mass of the natives, indeed it is only by removing from their minds the gross superstition in which they have been for ages immersed, that there can be a hope of improving their social condition. The wealthy Hindoos cling to their ancient religion with greater tenacity as it totters towards its downfall, than when in its most flourishing state. Alarmed at the innovations which European civilization and Christianity have made, they are printing by subscription, a series of popular religious books in monthly numbers, on their doctrines, rites, superstitions and idolatry. Fearing that the Europeans and such as have been taught to observe these things with ridicule, might controvert them, they have confined the subscription to Hindoos, and have directed that their books shall be rigidly kept from the hands of Christians. The Mahommedans too, in Bengal, are greatly alarmed at the danger to which their religion is exposed. They have prepared tracts and books in opposition to Christianity, and have sent, or are sending emissaries in every direction, with a view to strengthen the tottering cause of their false prophet. In former times the efforts of the missionaries were directed to proselyting among the Hindoos and other idolaters of the East, without first making themselves acquainted It has been asserted that the missionary enterprise in India was a failure, and did not warrant the large sums expended there. Those who are unfriendly to the cause do not see that more than half the amount there expended was for educating the people, for improving their social condition, for translating valuable books into their various languages and for establishing among them that mighty engine of civilization and reform, the printing press. But it is not merely in the translation and distribution of these books, that the missionaries have rendered so much service. In this labor it is true they have contributed greatly towards disseminating Christian truth and useful knowledge among a large class of people, and have improved their religious, their moral and their social condition. But to Europe and to the learned world they have also furnished a vast deal of philological knowledge, elucidating and developing languages scarcely known beyond the precincts of the several countries in which they were spoken. Many of these languages, too, were previously unwritten; and from this rude state the missionaries have trained and moulded them into forms adapted to written speech. While speaking of the labors of the missionaries in the East, I should do great injustice to Catholics not to speak of their efforts to improve the moral and religious condition of the people in these distant countries. In the most Siam. An interesting fact connected with the progress of European civilization, and the extension of Christianity in the kingdom of Siam, seems deserving of notice in this place. It was communicated by the American Mission in that country. "The king of Siam despatched one of his ships to Ceylon about the close of last year, to carry back some Ceylonese Boodhists whom he had invited to Siam, two or three years before, and also to send a fresh ecclesiastical embassy to that island—regarded by all Boodhists as very sacred—to make further religious researches in the primitive nursery of their faith. That embassy fulfilled its mission, and returned to Siam in June, bringing a letter to his Majesty from a high priest of Boodh in Ceylon, written in English, and stating in substance, that the religion of Boodh had become almost extinct in Ceylon, chiefly through the influence of the Christian religion, and the schools and seminaries of the missionaries and English residents in that part of the world; and that, if some aid from abroad could not be obtained to prop up crumbling Boodhism in that island, it must soon become utterly ex
COCHIN-CHINA, CHINA, MANCHURIA, COREA, AND JAPAN.Cochin-China. M. Hedde has published a few notices of a visit to Turon in Annam in 1844, on his passage from Singapore to Macao. China. The late war between England and China has directed the attention of other nations towards that empire in an unusual degree. Except the immediate details of the contest and the personal incidents connected with it, however, the works of those officers who have written upon that war, have not contained so much information as was expected by some, but quite as much as could be collected under the circumstances. The war was almost wholly a maritime one, confined to attacks upon cities and forts upon the coast and rivers, by both the army and navy, and few or none of the officers were acquainted with the language of the people, so that little The embassy sent by the French government in 1844, under M. Th. de LagrenÉ, to form a commercial treaty with China, was furnished on a most liberal scale with everything necessary to make the greatest improvement of the opportunities offered to examine into the mechanical arts and productions of the land. Four gentlemen were attached to the ambassador's suite, to make inquiries into the various agricultural and mechanical arts of the Chinese, one of whom, M. Isidore Hedde, was especially designated to investigate everything relating to the growth and preparation of silk. In pursuance of this object, he visited the city of Tuchan fu, which lies a few miles northwest of Shanghai, and is the capital of the province of Kiangsu. This place is probably the second or third city in the empire, Canton or Hangchau fu being the only ones which can compete with it for wealth and beautiful manufactures. It lies in a highly cultivated region, and is connected with Peking and other large places, through the Grand canal and the Yangtsz kiang. M. Hedde went in a Chinese dress, and succeeded in visiting the principal buildings in the city, such as the provincial mint, the hall of examination, an establishment for the education of unhappy females destined for sale for the amusement of the opulent, and some manufactories. Two English missionaries have lately gone long journeys into the interior, but as Protestants have no coadjutors among the people away from the ports, who would be willing to receive and conceal them; and as their system of operations aims rather to impart a true knowledge of Christianity than to make many converts to a form of worship, these excursions have not been frequently made. One of the two here referred to, was across the country from Ningpo to Canton, by the same route Lord Macartney came, and the other was up the Yangtsz kiang. Two American missionaries visited the large city of Changchau fu near Amoy in 1844, where they were received with civility though not with kindness. Mr. Robert Fortune, sent out to China by the Horticultural Society, has lately returned to England, with new plants of great beauty, and a large collection of botanical The opening of this great empire to the commercial enterprise of western nations, has given rise to anticipations of an extensive trade, and the importation of cotton and woolen fabrics during the last few years has been increasing; and if it was not for the abominable traffic in opium, which is both impoverishing and destroying the Chinese, there would be every reason for believing the commerce with China would soon be one of the largest branches of trade. The principal articles in which it is most likely to increase are tea and silk, but there is a great assortment of other productions, which can be taken in exchange for the cloths, metals and wares of the west. Mr. Montgomery Martin for a short time colonial treasurer of Hongkong, has collected all the statistics bearing on this subject in his work, which will aid in forming an opinion on this point. Commercially, politically and religiously, the Chinese empire now presents a most interesting spectacle, and the experiment of regenerating it and introducing it into the family of nations, without completely disorganizing its present form of government and society, will constantly go on and attract still more and more the notice of Christendom. The probabilities at present are in favor of a successful issue, but it is impossible to contemplate the desolating effects of the use of opium, brought to the people in such quantities, without great apprehension as to the result. The lava like progress of the power of Great Britain in Asia, has just commenced on the borders of China, and when the country is drained of specie in payment for this drug, there is reason to fear Corea. Since the extermination of the Catholic priests from Corea in 1839, the most rigid measures have been adopted to exclude all foreigners; in fact, the determination on the part of the government of Corea to prevent all intercourse between its people and those of other countries seems to have been adopted from its neighbor of Japan. These measures are even extended to the Chinese, against whom a strong natural antipathy exists, growing out of the persecutions formerly inflicted on the Coreans by them. Accurate descriptions of Europeans are kept at the various posts on the frontier, and from their well known characteristics they are easily distinguished. The Coreans themselves on leaving their country for China for purposes of trade, receive a passport, which on returning must be given back or they are not permitted to enter. Many Christians still remain in Corea, and though they are subject to persecution, the minds of the people are well disposed towards the Christian religion. The literary class hold it in the highest estimation, and seem only to be waiting for the moment when they will be free to declare in its favor. Farther accounts from this country have lately appeared in the Annals of the Propaganda Society, The fair to which allusion has been made, is thus described by our Corean. The traders cannot begin their operations until a signal is given, by hoisting a flag and beating the gong, "when the immense and densely packed crowd rush to the market place; Coreans, Chinese, and Manchus, are all mingled together. Each speaks in his own tongue, and so great is the uproar produced by this mass of people, that the echoes of the neighboring mountains repeat their discordant shouts." "Four or five hours is the whole time allowed for buying and selling; consequently, the tumult which takes place, the quarrels which arise, the blows which are exchanged, and the plundering which goes on, give the place more the look of a city taken by storm and given up to pillage, than that of a fair." At evening, when the Manchuria. The vast regions of Manchuria, lying north of Corea to the Hing-an or Yablonoi mountains, and east of the Sialkoi to the ocean, are inhabited by various tribes speaking different dialects and subsisting principally by hunting and fishing. The Manchus are now the dominant race, but some of the tribes near the sea and in Taraka island, bear no tributary relations to them, if indeed they are much acquainted. Since the conquest of China, the Manchus have gone on steadily improving this part of their possessions by stationing agricultural troops at the principal ports of observation, and collecting the hunters around these points as much as possible. Criminals are also constantly banished there, who carry with them their arts, and by their industry both maintain themselves and set an example to the nomads. The southern part called Shingking, has become well cultivated in many parts, and considerable trade is carried on at Kinchau with other parts of China. Manchuria produces pulse, maize, (Indian corn), millet, barley and buckwheat; pulse, drugs and cattle, form the leading articles of trade. The climate of this country is so inhospitable, as to prove a serious obstacle in the way of its settlement and cultivation. The Manchus have no national literature; all the books written in their language are translations of Chinese works, made under the superintendence of the Academies at Moukden and Peking. Their written characters are derived from the Mongols, but have undergone many changes. The emperors have taken great pains to elevate their countrymen by providing them with the best books in Chinese literature, and compelling them to go through the same examinations before they can attain any office; but the numerical superiority of the Chinese and their active habits, give them so much the advantage, that except in their own country, the Manchus find it Mongolia. The last volume of the Annals of the Propaganda Society contains an interesting narrative of a journey into Mongolia, by the Rev. Mr. Huc. The approaches of the British power up the valley of the Sutlej, into the regions lying along the base of the western Himalayas, are such that they will ere long come in contact with Tibet through Ladak, and with Yarkand through Badakshan. But there is probably more geographical than ethnological information to be gained by traversing these elevated regions, where stupendous mountains and arid deserts offer nothing to tempt man from the fertile plains of India and China. Two Romish missionaries have lately arrived in Canton from H'lassa in Tibet, by the overland route through Patang in Sz'chuen to the capital of Kwangsi, and thence to Canton. This route has never been described by any traveller. Lewchew Islands. This group of islands, including the Madjico sima, lying between it and Formosa, form a dependency of the principality of Satzuma, in the southwest of Japan, though the rulers are allowed a limited intercourse with China through Fuhchau fu. During the late war between England and China, the transport Indian Oak was lost on Lewchew, An attempt has been made by the Romish missionaries to establish a mission in this group. The Lewchewans are intimately connected with the Japanese. The language is the same, with unimportant dialectical variations, and Chinese letters and literature are in like manner cultivated by both. In personal appearance, however, the two people are very unlike. The Lewchewans are not on an average over five feet four inches high, slightly built, and approach the Malayan cast of features more than the Chinese. They are darker than the Chinese, and their mild traits of character, unwarlike habits, and general personal appearance, suggests the idea that they are akin to the aborigines of Formosa and LuÇonia by descent, while their proximity and subjugation to their powerful neighbors on the north and west, have taught them a higher civilization, and introduced arts and sciences unknown to their early conquerors. When Lewchew was subjugated by the Japanese, it was agreed that embassies with tribute might be sent to Peking, and according to the Chinese account, they come to that court twice in three years. The real character of the connection between Lewchew and Japan is not well ascertained. No Japanese officers are seen on landing, and the officers appointed to attend the people of the Indian Oak, exhibited the greatest alarm when a few were seen at a distance, while the party were taking a walk. The trade between the two countries is confined to the ports of Napa and Kagosima, between which the vessels of both nations pass; the junks from other parts of Japan are not permitted to resort to Napa, but it is not probable that the prince of Satzuma has the right of appointing the residents, or whatever authorities are sent thither. M. Forcade says there were from ten to fifteen Japanese vessels in the port, but when the American ship Morrison was there, in 1837, there were only five. Lackered-ware, grass cloth, sugar, and earthen-ware, are exported to Kagosima, and a great assortment of metallic articles, cloths, provisions, and stationery taken in exchange. The country in the vicinity of Napa, and towards Shudi, the capital, is highly cultivated, and the people appear to be as well clothed, and possess as many of the comforts and elegancies of life as their neighbors. They still retain enough of their own customs, however, to distinguish them from the Japanese, even if their physical appearance did not point them out as distinct. M. Forcade says that there is reason for supposing Christianity to have been implanted in Lewchew at the same time it was introduced into Japan, but Lew JAPAN.This country has recently attracted increased attention on the part of commercial nations, and several foreign ships have lately appeared on the coasts, whose reception has only shown the vigilance of the authorities in taking every precaution neither to offend nor receive their unwelcome visitors. The Dutch and Chinese are still the only nations allowed to trade with the Japanese, and the news brought by the latter people of the troubles they have lately gone through with their foreign customers, has probably only more strongly convinced the siogoun and his ministers of the propriety of their seclusive policy. Nor is there much reason to doubt that the Chinese and Japanese have avoided the fate of the natives of LuÇonia, Java, and India, by shutting out foreigners from free access and intercourse with their people, and owing to their seclusion, have remained independent to this day. The works of Siebold upon the natural history and political condition of the country and its inhabitants, are now slowly publishing in Paris, but with such luxury of execution as to place them beyond the reach of most persons who might be desirous to examine them. The visits of two American ships to the bay of Yedo, has directed the public eye again to the empire. The first was that of the whaler Manhattan, Captain Cooper, who was led to think Captain Cooper represents the country in this portion of it as clothed with verdure, and under a high state of cultivation. The proximity of the mountains in Idzu, produces constant showers, which covers the highest peaks with forests and shrubbery. Terrace cultivation is extensively practiced, and constant labor is demanded to supply subsistence to the dense population, who still at times suffer severely for want of food. The capital could not well be seen from the ship, and its enceinte was so filled with trees, that its dimensions could not accurately be defined. No towers or pagodas were seen elevating themselves above the dull monotony of the buildings. The harbor was covered with vessels, at anchor and moving about; some of them unwieldy, open-stern junks, designed for the coast trade, others light skiffs and boats, used for communicating with vessels in the harbor and the shore. The greatest part of the coasting trade centres at Yedo, owing to the large amount of taxes paid the siogoun in kind, and the supplies the princes receive from their possessions while they reside in the capital, both of which causes operate to develope the maritime skill of the people, and increase the amount of tonnage. The shortsighted policy which confines the energies and capital of a seagoing people like the Japanese, within their own shores is, however, less a matter of wonder than the despotic power which could compel them to stay at home two centuries ago, at a time when their merchants and agents were found from Acapulco to Bangkok. The Japanese empire presents the greatest feudal gov Among the articles obtained from the junk by Captain Cooper, was a map of Japan, including part of Yesso. It is four feet square, drawn on the proportion of less than one degree to two inches, and contains the names of all the places there is room for. It is cut on wood, and painted to show the outlines of the chief principalities; the relative importance of the places is shown by writing their names in different shaped cartouches, but from the space occupied by the Chinese characters, there is probably not one-tenth of all the towns inserted. The distances between the principal points along the coast are stated, and on some of the leading thoroughfares inland. The map is evidently the original of Krusenstern's "Carte de Nippon," published by the Russian Board of Longitude, and is drawn up from trigonometrical surveys. The degrees of latitude bear the same numbers as upon European maps; the meridians are reckoned from Yedo. The existence of such maps among the people indicates that a good knowledge of their own country is far more extensively diffused than among the Chinese, whose common maps are a standing reproach to them, while they have others so much more accurate. The coast from Cape King northward to Simosa, for the space of two degrees, was found by captain Cooper to be better delineated upon this map than upon his own charts. These seas present a fine field for hydrographic surveys, and it would greatly advance the security of navigation on the eastern shores of The visit of Commodore Biddle to the bay of Yedo, has added nothing to our knowledge of its shores. His polite dismissal, and the refusal of the government to entertain any commercial relations with the Americans, only add force to the injunction to captain Cooper the year before, not to return, and shows more strongly that while the Japanese rulers are determined to maintain their secluded policy, they wish to give no cause for retaliatory measures on the part of their unwelcome visitors, and mean to keep themselves as well informed as they can upon foreign politics. The subject of foreign intercourse between the two great nations of Eastern Asia and Europeans since it commenced three centuries since, is an instructive one; and the general impression left upon the mind of the candid reader, is that foreign nations have themselves chiefly to thank for their present seclusion from those shores, and the restrictions in their commerce. Rear-Admiral Cecille has also paid a visit to some part of Japan, quite recently, but met with no success in his endeavors to enter into negotiation. The great object in view in making these attempts to improve the intercourse with Japan, is to find new markets for western manufactures. It is quite doubtful, however, whether the Japanese have many articles suitable for foreign markets. Their lackered-ware is exceedingly beautiful, but it would not be so prized when it became more common. Copper and tea would form the basis of exports, and perhaps some silk fabrics, but China furnishes now all that is wanted of them both, and can do so to any extent. Until a taste for such foreign manufactures, as woolens, cutlery, glass-ware, calicoes, &c., is created among them, and they are willing to adapt their own products to the tastes of their customers, it does not seem Learning is highly honored in Japan, and books are as cheap and common as in China. The written language is a singular and most difficult mixture of Chinese characters, with the syllabic symbols adopted by the Japanese, rendering its perusal a great labor, more so than that of Chinese, because Chinese must first be mastered. The spoken language is polysyllabic and harmonious, and possesses conjugations, tenses, cases, &c., to facilitate its perspicuity, and increase its variety of expressions. The arts in which they chiefly excel are in the manufacture of silken and linen goods, copper-ware, lackered-ware, porcelain and basket work. Their cutlery is despicable, and the specimens of their carving, which are seen abroad, do not equal those produced by the Chinese. Agriculture is pursued on much the same system as in China—minute subdivision of the soil and constant manuring, together with frequent watering. Rice and fish are the staples of food; vegetables are used in great abundance, but meats only sparingly. The habits and sports of the people are influenced so much by the peculiar notions attending a feudal society, such as adherence to the local prince, and maintenance of his honor, wearing coats of arms, privileged orders, and hereditary titles, that there is little similarity in the state of society in Japan and China, notwithstanding a similar religion and literature. The Japanese were called the Spaniards of the East by Xavier, General view of the languages of the Japanese, Coreans, Chinese and Cochinchinese. The four nations here briefly noticed; viz., the Japanese, Coreans, Chinese and Cochinchinese, have been collectively called the Chinese language nations, from the peculiar relations and connections they have had through the medium of that language. The relation has throughout been one of a literary character, fostered to some extent by religious prejudices, but depending chiefly for its permanence and extension upon the superiority of the writings of the Chinese. It is, in some respects, without a parallel in the history of man. While European languages have all been indebted for many of their words to the two leading ancient tongues of that continent, their bases have been diverse, and the words they have imported from Greek and Latin have undergone various changes, so much so as sometimes hardly to be recognized. This is not the case with these four nations of eastern Asia. They have all adopted the characters used by the leading nation without alteration, and with them, of course, have to a very great degree, taken her authors, her books, her knowledge and her opinions, as their own. One of the most observable features of the national character of the Chinese, is its conservative inclinations. Not only is it seen in the actions of government and in the writings of scholars, but still more in the habits of the people and their modes of thinking. It has been cherished by that government, as it is by all governments, as a sure and safe principle of preservation, but it is also advocated by the people. The geographical position of China has isolated it from all western nations, while the political, literary and social superiority of its people over the contiguous nations, has combined to foster their conceit and affectation of supremacy, and make them disinclined to The Chinese ascribe the invention of their characters to Tsang Kieh, one of the principal ministers or scholars in the reign of Hwangti, about 2650 years before Christ; and although there is no very certain information recorded respecting their origin, there is nothing which seems to be fabulous or supernatural. The characters first depicted were the common objects in nature and art, as the sun, rain, man, parts of the body, animals, a house, &c., and were probably drawn sufficiently accurate to be detected without much if any explanation. They were all described in outline, and generally with far less completeness than the Egyptian symbols. It is not known how many of the primitive characters were made, but one feature attached to them all,—none of them contained any clue to the sound. The inventors must necessarily, one would suppose, have soon perceived this radical defect in their symbols, but they either saw the incompatibility of uniting the phonetic and pictorial modes, or else were so pleased with their varied pictures and symbols, that they cared very little how the reader acquired the sounds. At first, too perhaps, the number of persons who spoke this language was so small, that there was little difficulty in making them all acquainted with the meaning of the symbols, and when once their meaning was learned, they These remarks will, perhaps, explain the general composition of Chinese characters. By far the greater part of them are now formed, either of the original pictorial symbols, greatly modified, indeed, and changed from their likeness to the things they stand for, or of those joined to each other in a compound character, partly symbolical and partly phonetic. The former part is called the radical, the latter the primitive. The Chinese divide the characters into six classes, viz., imitative symbols, or those original figures which bore a resemblance to the forms of material objects; indicative symbols, where the position of the two parts point out the idea; symbols combining ideas, a class not very unlike the preceding, but more complex; inverted symbols; metaphoric symbols, as that of the natural heart, denoting the affections; and lastly, phonetic symbols. Out of twenty-four thousand two hundred and thirty-five characters, (nearly all the different ones there are in the language), twenty-one thousand eight hundred and ten of them are phonetic, or as much so as the nature of their composition would allow, though there is no other clue to the sound than to learn the sound of the parts or of the whole, either from the people them The diversity of pronunciations tends naturally to break up the nation into small communities, and the Chinese owe their present homogeneity and grandeur in no small degree to their written language; for, however, a man may differ in his speech, he is sure that he will be everywhere understood when he writes, and will understand every one who writes to him. It has also been a bond of union from its extensive literature, at once the pride of its own scholars, and the admiration of surrounding nations. It is perhaps owing to the fact that the literature of China contains the canons of the Budhist religion and the ethics of Confucius, that it was adopted by the Japanese, Coreans and Annamese. These nations have taken the characters of the Chinese language, and given them such names as pleased them. In Japan and Corea, there has been no uniform rule of adoption, but the Annamese, who formerly had more intimate connexions with China than at present, approach much nearer to the sounds spoken by the Chinese. The nature of the relations between these three nations and China, therefore, somewhat resembles that which European nations, we may suppose, now would have towards ancient Greece and Rome, if they still existed as independent powers, and should be visited by scholars The admiration of the Chinese characters, led in time to the invention of a second syllabary, having the same sounds but far more difficult to learn from the number of characters in it and their complicated forms. It is called hirakana, or "equal writing," because it is intelligible without the addition of Chinese characters; it is now the common medium of communication, in epistolary composition of all kinds, story books, and other everyday uses. There are one hundred and one characters in the hirakana, or nearly three modes of writing each of the forty-eight syllables, and they are run together as rapidly and far more fancifully than in our own running-hand, when that is compared with the Roman character. The characters are mostly contractions of Chinese characters used simply as phonetic symbols, without any more reference to their meaning than in the katakana. The more ancient Kokorodani makotono, There are still two other syllabaries, one called Manyo-kana, and the other Yamato-kana, both of which are formed of still more complicated Chinese characters, also used phonetically. Neither of these syllabaries is generally used entirely alone, but the three are joined together or interchanged somewhat according to the fancy of the writer, in a manner similar to Archdeacon Wrangham's famous echo poem. Such a complicated mode of writing has this unfortunate result, however, of so seriously obstructing the avenues to the temple of science, that the greatest part of the common people are unable to enter, and must be content with admiring the structure afar off. Most of them content themselves with learning to write and read in the hirakana, and get as much knowledge of Chinese as will enable them to read the names of places, signs, people, &c., for which those characters are universally used. Besides the phonetic use of Chinese characters The connection between the Chinese and Japanese, therefore, is very intimate, and presents a curious instance of assimilation between a symbolic and syllabic language, though at the cost of much hard study and labor to acquire the mongrel compound. It is another example of Asiatic toil upon the media of thought, rather than investigations in the world of thought and science itself; for no people who possessed invention, research, or science, would ever have encumbered themselves with so burdensome a vehicle of communication. The Chinese do not attend to the Japanese language, and have no knowledge of its structure, or the principles on which it has combined with their own. Their intercourse with Japan is entirely commercial; that of the Japanese with them, chiefly literary. The Coreans have also adopted the Chinese character, but without many of the elaborate modifications in use among the Japanese. They have had more intercourse with the Chinese, but have not been able to make their polysyllabic words assimilate with the monosyllables of the Chinese. They have invented an alphabet, the letters of which combine to form syllables, and these syllabic compounds are then used like the Japanese characters to express their own words. The original letters consist of fifteen consonants, called ka, na, ta, la or ra, ma or ba, pa, sa or sha, nga, tsa or cha, ts´a or ch´a, k´a, t´a, p´a, ha, and wa; and eleven vowels, a, ya, o, yo, oh, yoh, Ú, yÚ, u, Í, and Âh. The combinations of these form altogether one hundred The people of Annam have adopted the Chinese characters without making a syllabary or alphabet to express their own vernacular. The inhabitants of this country are evidently of the same race as the Chinese, and now acknowledge a nominal subjection to the emperor of China by sending a triennial embassy to Peking, partly commercial and partly tributary. The sounds given to the Chinese characters are, however, so unlike those given them in China, that the two nations cannot converse with each other. The Annamese have many sounds in their spoken language which no Chinese can enunciate. The court dialect is learned by educated men, and books are written and printed in Chinese. The sounds given to the Much of the interest connected with the investigation of the Chinese and its cognate tongues, arises from the immense multitudes which speak and write them; and from the influence which China has, through the writings of her sages, exerted over the minds and progress of her neighbors. There is nothing like it in European history; but the spell cast over the intellects of the millions in eastern Asia, by the writings of Confucius, Mencius, and their disciples, is likely erelong to be broken by the infusion of Christian knowledge, the extension of commerce, and a better understanding of their political and social rights by the multitudes who now adopt them. For much of the information embraced in this memoir on China, Japan, and the adjacent countries, I am indebted to the Chinese Repository, (a monthly journal printed at Canton), and more especially to one of its accomplished editors, Mr. S. Wells Williams. This gentleman during a residence of twelve years in China, has made himself familiar with the written and spoken language of the Chinese, and is ranked, by some of the eminent Sinologists of Europe, among the profoundest adepts in that branch of literature and philology. Mr. Williams has also studied the Japanese language, which he reads and speaks; and is probably the only man in America familiar with the languages of China and Japan. Several natives of Japan, driven by adverse winds from their native shores, found their way to China, and were subsequently taken by an American ship to Yedo, but were not permitted to land. From these men, Mr. Williams has learned the spoken Japanese, and as much of the written language as they could impart. This gentleman is at present in New York making arrangements for getting founts of Chinese, Japanese, and Manchu type, for printing in these languages. The Chinese Repository is a monthly journal, printed at Canton, and is edited by the Rev. Dr. Bridgman and Mr. Williams. It contains much valuable information relating to China, Japan, and the eastern Archipelago, and frequently memoirs, translated from the Japanese and Chinese. On the whole, it may with truth be said to embody more information than any other work extant, on these countries. Mr. Williams has now in press a new work on the Chinese empire, which will contain an account of its general political divisions, including Manchuria, Mongolia, Ili and Tibet, their geographical and topographical features. The natural history of China; its government, laws, literature, language, science, industry and arts. Social and domestic life—History and Chronology—Religion; Christian missions; intercourse with other nations; and a full account of the late war with England. The history of the introduction of Christianity into China, in the seventh century of the Christian era, the traces of which still exist; and of the Jews in China, are subjects which are now attracting attention. It would occupy too much space to give any particulars in this brief memoir. In the list of late works on China, will be found references to such books as treat of the subject, to which the attention of the reader is directed. The Syrian monument which has been often referred to, is one of great interest, and is believed by all who have examined the subject, to be genuine. This monument was discovered by some Chinese workmen, in the year 1625, in or near the city of Singan, the capital of the province of Shensi, and once the metropolis of the empire. The monument was found covered with rubbish, and was immediately reported to the magistrate, who caused it to be removed to a pagoda, where it was examined by both natives and foreigners, Christians and Pagans. It was a slab of marble, about ten feet long and five broad. It contained on one side a Chinese inscription, which was Other portions of this memoir might be very much enlarged, but would extend it beyond the bounds of the resumÉ, which it is intended to give. There are besides other countries and people, accounts of which it would be desirable to give place to, particularly those of Central Asia, but they are unavoidably passed over from the space that would be required to do them justice. The object of this paper is to awaken the attention of readers to the geographical and ethnographical discoveries made within the last few years, all of which have a bearing on the history and progress of the human race. If the author has succeeded in so doing, he will feel abundantly repaid for his labor.
FOOTNOTES:Ali the son of Sidy-Hamdan, who was the bearer of these Missives, had lived a long time in France as an officer in the employ of the Sublime Porte; and in his hands M. Boisonnet one day discovered the letters of Hadji Ahmed. On glancing his eye over one of these documents he discovered at the top (en vedette) two groups of signs, which, from their situation, he readily imagined might be the equivalents of the Arab sacramental words, Praise be to God, with which all good Musselmen generally begin an epistle. With this supposition he applied the alphabetic value to each character, and thus obtained the value of six of these strange cyphers. The next day he obtained two of these documents or letters from Ali, who little suspected what use he intended making of them. With these materials he diligently applied himself, and on the following morning sent him a complete translation of the letters. Ali was greatly alarmed that Mr. Boisonnet had solved the enigma, but more so that he had thereby become acquainted with the correspondence. Struck with the analogy between these characters and the Lybian characters on the Thugga monument, he applied the alphabet discovered by him, and the result is known.—Revue ArchÆologique, November, 1845. Herodotus further states that the Lycians originated from the Cretans, a branch of the Hellenic race; and Strabo, in a fragment preserved from Ephorus, states that the Lycians were a people of Greek origin, who had settled in the country previously occupied by the barbarous tribes of Mylians and Solymi. Homer briefly alludes to the Lycians, who, at the siege of Troy, assisted the Trojans under certain rulers whose names are mentioned.—Iliad, b. v. and xii. The Zendavesta (from zend living, and avesta word, i. e. "the living word") consists of a series of liturgic services for various occasions, and bears the same reference to the books of Zoroaster that our breviaries and common-prayer books do to the Bible. It embraces five books. 1. The IzechnÉ, "elevation of the soul, praise, devotion;" 2. the Vispered, "the chiefs of the beings there named;" 3. the Vendidad, which is considered as the foundation of the law; 4. the Yeshts Sades, or "a collection of compositions and of fragments;" 5. the book Siroz, "thirty days," containing praises addressed to the Genius of each day; and which is a sort of liturgical calendar. The doctrines inculcated in the Zendavesta are "the existence of a great first principle. Time without beginning and without end. This incomprehensible being is the author of the two great active powers of the universe—Ormuzd the principle of all good, and Ahriman the principle of all evil. Ormuzd is the first creative agent produced by the Self-Existent. He is perfectly pure, intelligent, just, powerful, active, benevolent,—in a word, the precise image of the Element; the centre and author of the perfections of all nature." Ahriman is the opposite of this. He is occupied in perverting and corrupting every thing good; he is the source of misery and evil. "Ordained to create and govern the universe, Ormuzd received the Word, which in his mouth became an instrument of infinite power and fruitfulness." "The first created man was composed of the four elements,—fire, air, water, and earth. "Ormuzd to this perishable frame added an immortal spirit, and the being was complete." The soul of man consists of separate parts, each having peculiar offices. "1. The principle of sensation. 2. The principle of intelligence. 3. The principle of practical judgment. 4. The principle of conscience. 5. The principle of animal life." After death, "the principle of animal life mingles with the winds," the body being regarded as a mere instrument in the power of the will. The first three are accountable for the deeds of the body, and are examined at the day of judgment. "This law or religion is still professed by the descendants of the Persians, who, conquered by the Mohammedans, have not submitted to the Koran; they partly inhabit Kirman and partly the western coast of India, to the north and south of Surat." Mr. Eugene Burnouf is now publishing at Paris a new translation of the Zendavesta from a Sanscrit version under the title of "Commentaire sur le YaÇna," in which he has embodied a vast deal of oriental learning, illustrative of the geography, history, religion and language of ancient Persia. The first volume was published in 1833. 32 languages and dialects in India, The translations consist of the whole or portions of the Scriptures; books on religious or moral subjects; elementary works on Science, popular Histories, geography, &c. Elementary books in the several departments of Science and History constitute the greater variety, though of the whole number of works distributed, the Bible and Testament constitute by far the greatest part. For example, the English Baptist Missionary Society printed and issued in the year ending March 1845, fifty-five thousand copies of the Bible and Testament in the Sanscrit, Bengali, Hindostani, and Armenian languages. The number of books printed and distributed in India by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was as follows. Madras Mission. In the Tamil and English languages: The Scriptures or portions of them—books of a religious character—elementary school books—tracts—periodicals and reports of benevolent associations bearing on the cause of Christianity and the social and intellectual improvement of the population of India, there were printed at this single establishment, within a fraction of twenty-seven millions of pages—or, if in volumes of two hundred and seventy pages each, one hundred thousand volumes; but as there were many tracts, the number was doubtless double or treble. Besides this there are six other large establishments in Southern India, where books in the Tamil language are printed, all under the control of Missionary Societies. Ceylon Mission. In the Tamil and English languages were printed during the year, twenty-three thousand seven hundred and forty-four volumes, and one hundred and forty-five thousand tracts, amounting to six million one hundred and fifty-six thousand pages. Siam Mission. In the Siamese language were printed in two years two million four hundred and sixty-two thousand pages. When so much is accomplished by one Society, how vast must be the influence exerted by the various Missionary and Tract Societies engaged in the same cause. |
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