1863.] 24:1 [Emerson. 



But he was so imbued with a belief in the greater antiquity of 

 Egyptian civilization, that he supposed China to have been settled 

 by an Egyptian colony, and its writings to have been borrowed from 

 Egypt, — inferences that were not well sustained, and his arguments 

 were therefore generally discredited. Nevertheless, his memoir is 

 well worthy of perusal, and the coincidences (if they are nothing 

 more), that he has ingeniously pointed out, are such as to stimulate 

 curiosity. 



The Roman, Greek, Samaritan, Phenician, and ancient Hebrew 

 alphabets, all bear unmistakable evidence of a common origin. The 

 modern Hebrew, which was borrowed from the Chaldaic, although 

 different in most of its forms, still presents a marked affinity to the 

 others in the number, arrangement, and names of its several letters, 

 and in a traceable gradation of successive forms. The Hebrews, 

 during their Egyptian bondage, may have modified their alphabet, 

 and perhaps borrowed some additional letters, but is it probable that 

 they were ignorant of writing before their captivity, or that we must 

 look to the narrow valley of the Nile, for the origin not only of the 

 civilization, but also of the monumental records of Europe and Asia? 

 Does it not seem more reasonable to suppose that a more encourag- 

 ing field for alphabetic investigation, may be found among a people 

 that preserves the oldest extant type of civilization, still speaking a 

 language and using hieroglyphic and alphabetic characters that have 

 remained unchanged for more than two thousand years ?* 



Dr. Emerson made the following communication in relation 

 to the African Imphee : 



In a recent communication to this Society, I brought to its notice 

 the introduction into Europe and the United States, of the SorglLum 

 Saccharafmn, or sugar-cane of the Northern provinces of China, re- 

 ferring to its great agricultural value, and its wonderful capacity to 

 extend the sugar culture far beyond the tropical latitudes, to which 

 and their immediate proximity, this valuable branch of industry has 

 heretofore been limited in the Western World. The historical sketch 



* The suggestive nature of Chinese writing, on which the natives pride them- 

 selves, is well illustrated by the first of the Chuen Shoo characters on the seal. 

 The character appears to have been purposely shaped in such a way as to remind 

 one of the three words Leih, "to establish or confirm,'' — Chung, "truly," — and 

 Tsze, "self." The impression of the seal on any document, thus conveys the 

 idea that it was stamped by the owner himself, to firmly establish the authenticity 

 and validity of his signature. 



VOL. IX. — T 



