The alphabet of every language consists of a number of letters, which ought each to have a different sound, figure, and use. As the difference of articulate sounds, was intended to express the different ideas of the mind, so one letter was originally intended to signify only one sound, and not, as at present, to express sometimes one sound and someties another, which practice has brought confusion into the languages, and rendered the acquisition of modern tongues a more difficult task than it would otherwise have been. As the number of sounds and articulations differ in various languages, so the number of letters differ in the alphabets of different nations, although, not in proportion to their respective copiousness. The English alphabet contains twenty-six letters; French, twenty-five; Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan, twenty-two; Arabic, twenty-eight; Persian, thirty-one; Turkish, thirty-three; Georgian, thirty-six; Coptic, thirty-two; Muscovite, forty-three; Greek, twenty-four; Latin, twenty-five; Slavonic, twenty-seven; Dutch, twenty-six; Spanish, twenty-seven; Italian, twenty; Ethopic and Tartarian, two hundred and two; Sancrist, fifty; Indians of Bengal, twenty-one; Barnese, nineteen; The Chinese, properly speaking, have no alphabet, except we call their whole language their alphabet.

As my limits will not allow me to enter more fully into the origin of language, I shall briefly show that every language, has ideas and terms, expressly their own-for instance, our terms in polite literature, prove that these came from Greece: our terms in music and panting, that these came from Italy; our phrases in cookery and war, that we learnt these from the French; our phrases in navigation, that we were taught them by the Flemings, and low Dutch. These, many and different sources, of our language, may be the cause why it is so deficient in regularity and analogy;-yet we have this advantage to compensate the defect, that, what we want in elegance, we gain in copiousness, in which last respect few languages will be found superior to our own.

And from what has been said, it appears that language was at first barren in words, but descriptive by the sound of these words; and expressive in the manner of uttering then, by the aid of significant tones, and gestures. It appears that in all successive changes which language has undergone as the world advanced, the understanding has gained ground, on the fancy and imagination. The progress of language in this respect resembles the age of man:--the imagination is most vigorous and predominant in youthwith advancing years the imagination cools, and the understanding ripens. Thus, language proceeded from sterility to copiousness, and, at the same time, proceeded from uncertainty to accuracy, from fire and enthusiasm, to coolness and precision; in its ancient state, more favourable to poetry and oratory; in its present, to reason and philosophy.

In Dr. Armstrong's Gaelic Dictionary the word sack, meaning a bag, is found be the same in meaning and pronunciation, in twenty-three languages; and he is of opinion that this is one of the few words which have come down to us from the original language n. The Gælic, Hebrew, Chaldaic, sac; Arabic, saqu; Coptic, pisok, meaning a paaier; Latin, saceus; Italian, sacco; Spanish, saco and saca; Belgic, sack; French, aac: Dutch, zac; Swedish, sack; Gothic, sack; German, sack; Danish and Norse sack; Hungarian, sack; Turkish, sak; Georgian, sack; Anglo Saxon, sacce and sace; Ir, sac; Welsh, sach; Cornish, zak.

From the above statements which have been adduced on the origin of writing, and

the perpetual controversy which still engages the learned, whether alphabetical writing be of human or divine origin, the matter receives considerable light from the details published by Mr. Knapp, in his Lectures on American Literature, who records one of the most extraordinary events which has occurred since the original invention of letters. It appears that an Indian, of the name of See-quah-yah, is the inventor of a Cherokee alphabet, under such disadvantageous circumstances, as render him one of the most extraordinary men that the world has produced.

Mr. Knapp has given to the public the history of this invention nearly in the words of See-quah-yah, the inventor himself, then (1828) about sixty-five years of age. At the termination of a campaign, towards the close of the war, it appears a letter was found on the person of a prisoner, which was wrongly read by him to the Indians. In some of their deliberations on this subject, the questions arose among them whether the mysterious power of "the talking leaf" was the gift of the Great Spirit to the white man, or a discovery of the white man himself. Most of his companions were of the former opinion, while he as strenuously maintained the latter. This frequently became a subject of contemplation with him afterwards, but he never sat down seriously to reflect on it, until a swelling in his knee confined him to his cabin, and at length made him a cripple for life. In the long night of his confinement, his mind was again directed to the mystery of speaking by letters, the very name of which, of course, was not to be found in his language. From the cries of wild beasts, from the sounds of the mocking-bird, from the voices of his children and his companions, he knew that feelings and passions were conveyed by direct sound, from one intelligent being, to another. The thought struck him to try to ascertain all the sounds, in the Cherokee language. His own ear was not particularly discriminating, and he called to his aid the more acute ears of his wife and children. When he thought that he had distinguished all the different sounds in their languages, he attempted to use pictorial signs, images of birds and beasts, to convey these sounds to others, or to mark them in his own mind. He soon dropped this method as difficult or impossible, and tried arbitrary signs, without any regard to appearances, except such as might assist in recollecting them, and distinguishing them from each other. At first these signs were very numerous; and when he had got so far as to think his invention was nearly accomplished, he had about 200 characters in his alphabet. By the aid of his daughter, who seemed to enter into the genius of his labours, he reduced them at last to eighty-six, the number he now uses. He then set to work to make these characters more comely to the eye, and succeeded-a —as yet he had not the knowledge of the pen as an instrument, but made his characters on a piece of bark, with a knife or nail. At this time he sent to the Indian agent, or some trader in the nation, for paper and pen. His ink was easily made from some of the bark of the forest trees, whose colouring properties he had previously known-and after seeing the construction of the pen, he soon made one. His next difficulty was to make his invention known. At length he summoned some of the most distinguished of his nation, in order to make his communication to them—and after giving the best explanation of his discovery that he could, stripping it of all supernatural influence, he proceeded to demonstrate to them in good earnest that he had a discovery. His daughter, who was his only pupil, was ordered to go out of hearing, while he requested his friends to name a word or sentiment, which he put down, and then she was called in and

read it to them; then the father retired, and the daughter wrote; the Indians were wonderstruck, but entirely satisfied. See-quah-yah then proposed that the tribe should select several youths, from among their brightest young men, that he might communicate the mystery to them. This was at length agreed to, and several were elected for this purpose. The tribes watched the youths for several months with anxiety, and when they offered themselves for examination, the feelings of all were wrought up to the highest pitch. The youths were separated from their master, and from each other, and watched with the greatest care. The uninitiated directed what master and pupil should write to each other, and the tests were viewed in such a manner as not only to destroy their infidelity, but most firmly to fix their faith. The Indians on this, ordered a great feast, and made See-quah-yah conspicuous at it. He became at once schoolmaster, professor, philosopher, and chief.

He did not stop here, but carried his discoveries to numbers. He, of course, knew nothing of Arabic digits, nor the power of Roman letters in the science. The Cherokees had mental numerals to one hundred, and had words for all numbers up to that; but they had no signs nor characters to assist them in enumerating or adding, subtracting, multiplymg, or dividing. He reflected upon this, until he had created their elementary principles in his mind, but he was at first obliged to make words to express his meaning, and then signs to explain it. By this process he soon had a clear perception of numbers up to a million. His great difficulty was the threshold-to fix the powers of his signs according to their places. When this was overcome, his next step was in adding his different Lambers, in order to put down the fraction of the decimal, and give the whole number to the next place; but when Mr. Knapp knew him he had overcome all these difficulties, and was quite a ready arithmetician in the fundamental rules.

This ingenious Indian was not only an admirable mechanic, but Mr. Knapp states, that he had also a great taste for paintings. He mixed his colours with skill. For his drawings he had no model but what nature furnished, and he often copied them with astonishing faithfulness. His resemblances of the human form, it is true, were coarse, but often spirited and correct; and he gave action and sometimes grace, to his representations of animals. He had never seen a camel-hair pencil, when he made use of the hair of wild animals for his brushes. "The government of the United States," continues Mr. Knapp, "had a fount of type cut for this alphabet; and a Newspaper, called the Cherokee Phanix, printed partly in the Cherokee language, and partly in the English, was established at New Echota, and characterised by decency and good sense. Many of the Cherokees were able to read both languages." The Paper is about nineteen inches long, and twelve mches wide, in five columns. No. 34 is dated October 22, 1828. See Horne's Introduction to Bibliography, for a curious representation of a North American Indian Gazette. Having assigned, as I hope, a rational origin of the invention of language, I proceed to shew, that mankind had industriously invented other means of communicating their ideas,

merely by their voice, and their writing; not only that they might with freedom care at a distance, but also, to enable them to preserve and transmit to posterity, the

valuable deeds and useful discoveries, made in the world; and before treating upon backs generally, we must carry our thoughts back to a period, far more remote than that which the art of printing became applicable to the making of books. The early inhabitants of the earth would naturally desire to perpetuate their useful discoveries, as

well as the important events of their time, and it may therefore, be fairly presumed that they had some mole of communicating their ideas to succeeding generations, before the invention of alphabetical writing. The scanty traditions recorded concerning the Antediluvians, do not enable us to come to any determination relative to their proficiency in communicating the transactions of their time; whether, therefore, they employed stamps of any kind, or any means whatever of transmitting knowledge, except by oral tradition, we have neither history nor relics to inform us, but that period which immediately followed the deluge, and which some chronologers have termed the second age of the world, afford convincing proofs of the art of forming impressions, being then practised, and most probably with a view to propagate science-to inculcate special facts-and as a general means of preserving to posterity certain useful memorials.

Purposes such as these it is reasonable to conclude were contemplated by the ancient Chaldeans, when they stamped or printed their tiles or bricks, with various figures, hieroglyphics, or inscriptions. In some instances, these ancient specimens seem to have been sun-baked, yet for the most part they appear kiln-burnt, to a surprising degree of hardness, even to partial vitrification. Of such materials was built the original City and celebrated tower of Babylon, and although a period of 4,000 years has rolled away since the construction of the superb metropolis, whose name they bear, still, even to the present day, do the Babylonian bricks, which have supplied the antiquary and orientalist, continue to be found. It is nevertheless made probable, that the Babylonians were accustomed to imprint on their bricks, allusions to astronomical phenomena, having some signal astronomical import. Particular configurations of the heavens, which distinguished the several seasons, as they related to the business of the husbandman, might also be registered in this way, to serve as a sort of calendar, and some impressions are imagined to contain historical details, relative to the founders of those stupendous structures, originally composed of the bricks in question; for every furnace-baked-brick, found amidst these vast ruins, is imprinted with some emblematical design.

In the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, there is an article composed of a like substance to that of which the bricks just mentioned are manufactured, it is impressed with characters, corresponding with those on the building bricks, except that they are much smaller, and may be considered more beautifully executed. (See Engraving.)

The shape, however, of this curiosity, is very unlike the bricks before alluded to. It is about seven inches high, and three inches in diameter at each end, increasing gradually in circumference from the ends towards the middle, like a wine cask. The greatest possible care is taken of this precious relic of antiquity, now probably not less than 4,000 years old. This rare piece of ancient learning and art, together with three bricks before described, was presented to the college by General Sir John Malcolm. It is mounted on a marble pedestal, covered with a glass-case secured by an iron bracket; so contrived, that the curious inspector may cause it to revolve upon its marble base. All attempts to explain the signification of these characters of antiquity, have as yet, been vainly exerted by the most skilful orientalists; nor has it been satisfactorily determined whether they really are alphabetic characters, as the European,-syllabic, as many known Orientals hieroglyphic, as the Egyptian-or arbitrary signs, expressive of complete ideas, as the Chinese.

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