Iv 



young philologist who accompanied the expedition,* that results 

 have been attained important to the world and honorable to 

 America. 



The hieroglyphics of Egypt and the dialects of the South Sea 

 islands appear to have excited Mr. Pickering's literary enthusiasm 

 in the highest degree. These were fascinating topics, which he 

 was never weary of investigating or discussing. The Chinese lan- 

 guage was scarcely less interesting to him. The new views of 

 this language, presented to the world by his friend Mr. Du Pon- 

 ceau, called forth an able and very learned article from his pen for 

 the North American Review, in 1839, which was seized upon, as 

 other of his works had been, as a prize to British literature ; and 

 well might British writers be proud of such a prize.f The sister 

 language of Cochin-China (the history of the first American voyage 

 to which country was given to the public through his means) was 

 illustrated by him in another able article, published in 1841, in the 

 same Review. Both articles exhibit, in a striking manner, his fa- 

 miliarity with the profoundest philological speculations. 



But I need only point your attention to the eloquent address 

 delivered by him before the American Oriental Society, at their 

 anniversary meeting in 1 843, — a society of which he was the soul 

 as well as the head, — to show you the compass, variety, and depth 

 of his philological erudition, and the vast extent of his views and 

 plans for making his erudition useful to the world. The leading 

 objects of this society are " the cultivation of learning in the 

 Asiatic, African, and Polynesian languages," and " the publication 

 of memoirs, translations, vocabularies, and other works relative to 

 these languages." Mr. Pickering's Memoir on the Language and 



* Horatio Hale, Esq. t Note L. 



