Ixxii 



man can claim to be a philologist without some acquaintance with that extraordi- 

 nary and most perfect of the known tongues." 



In the Law Reporter, before referred to (p. 62), it is stated (doubtless within 

 bounds), that Mr. Pickering "was familiar with the French, Portuguese, Italian, 

 Spanish, German, Romaic, Greek, and Latin ; was well acquainted with the 

 Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and Hebrew ; and had explored, with various degrees of 

 care, the Arabic, Turkish, Syriac, Persian, Coptic, Sanscrit, Chinese, Cochin-Chi- 

 nese, Russian, Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Malay in several dialects, and par- 

 ticularly the Indian languages of America and of the Polynesian islands." 



Of late years, the Egyptian hieroglyphics possessed for Mr. Pickering a fasci- 

 nating interest. The history of the Egyptians, from the era of Herodotus down to 

 the latest discoveries of Lepsius, would have enlisted his enthusiasm as a lover of 

 literature and science ; yet it was in connection with his cherished pursuit, the 

 study of languages, that the hieroglyphical inscriptions enchained his attention, — 

 speaking, as they do, through the medium of Champollion's interpretation, a lan- 

 guage older than all othe rs bythe long interval of ages. 



Note F. Page xlvii. 



Mr. Pickering's memoir On the Pronunciation of the Greek Language was 

 hailed by the Greeks " as a vindication of their national honor" ; and Asopius, a 

 learned Greek (a poet and professor at the University of the Seven Islands), was so 

 much gratified by reading it, that he sent Mr. Pickering a copy of one of the best 

 specimens of Romaic literature, as a token of his gratitude. 



The North American Review, for June, 1819, contains a profound and very 

 learned article upon this Memoir, which the scholar who is curious in Greek litera- 

 ture will find exceedingly interesting. 



