CORRESPONDENCE. 143 



an individual well versed in comparative philology accompany you 

 in your movements ; one who shall prepare vocabularies of the 

 most important words in the languages of the different islands at 

 which you touch, and who shall be able to classify and arrange 

 them. Comparative philology is as yet in its infancy with us ; but 

 in Europe it has already attained to a vigorous maturity, and 

 accomplished the most interesting results. The great chain of the 

 Indo-Germanic languages was first made known by it; vast gaps 

 have been filled up by it in the early history of nations ; and we 

 may look forward with confidence to the most brilliant results, 

 when its energies are brought to bear upon the languages of our 

 own continent and the islands of the Pacific. 



You and I have often indulged in speculations relative to the 

 antiquity of America, and have regarded our North American 

 Indians as comparatively late comers into the land. We have 

 sometimes thought that, under all its integument of fable, there 

 might still be lurking something of reality in Plato's narrative of 

 Atlantis. He obtained his information from the priests of Egypt, 

 and recent antiquarian researches in that interesting land have led 

 us strongly to believe that her educated race were not unacquainted 

 with our continent. How strongly do the red and beardless people, 

 of noble bearing and handsome costume, depicted at Luxore as 

 driven to their ships by Sesostris, remind the modern observer, it is 

 said, of the red and beardless race of American Indians represented 

 on the monuments of New Spain, and wearing the same palm- 

 formed diadem ! And then, again, how identical is the head-dress 

 of the Azteque priestess with the veil or calantica of the heads of 

 Isis and the Sphinx ! What light may not comparative philology 

 one day throw on this most interesting subject! It has already 

 shown us that the peculiar Mexican dialect resembles no recorded 

 language but the ancient Oscan, of Italy; and antiquarians have 

 informed us, that the people represented on the ruins of the stone 

 city of Otolum, near Palenque, on our own continent, resemble in 



