918 MAJOR C. RB. CONDER, R.E., D.C.L., LL.D., M.R.A.S., 
no early information. The oldest inscriptions are not referred 
to a period older than the ninth century B.C. ; and the ancient 
civilisation of China (in which Voltaire believed) has been 
shown by the labours of many scholars to be a baseless boast 
due to national vanity. The Cantonese dialect, which is said 
to spring direct from the oldest known Chinese, when com- 
pared with the Mandarin language, shows us how rapid the 
decay has been; and the tones which are now so important 
for the distinction of words of like sound, have been proved 
to be of comparatively late origin, and to have been gradually 
elaborated, increasing in number as time went on. This 
deyice is analogous to the Hottentot device of clicks, to dis- 
tinguish the similar sounds of an African language. Among 
the great civilised races such systems of distinction have 
been unnecessary, since compound words present a sufficient 
variety for purposes of distinction. It is evident that great 
‘aution is necessary jn the treatment of Chinese; and that 
the comparison of the existing sounds with those of such 
a language as the Akkadian, may sometimes be very mis- 
leading, unless the steps by which the modern word came 
to be formed can be traced to a sufficient antiquity. 
SEMITIC LANGUAGES, 
The Semitic languages form a very small and compact 
group of dialects spoken within a comparatively small area 
of Asia, bordering on Egypt; and they present many pecu- 
liarities, which unite them to each other so very closely, that 
they might almost still be regarded as dialects only.* It 
seems at the outset very improbable that so small a group 
can be independent of others; but the tendency of late has 
been to suppose that they are to be connected rather with 
African than with Asiatic speech. This appears to me to be 
a reversing of the true problem, for reasons to be presently 
* The Marquess of Bute read a valuable paper on the “ Language of 
Tenerife,” to the British Association this year (published by Masters and 
Co., London), and on studying this I find that it was clearly an old 
Berber language, About 180 words of this ancient language are known. 
Some of the sentences of the Tenerife language are preserved, and are of 
creat interest, such as their proverb: “ May he live and feel the evils of 
fate.” This subject I have also treated in full, in the Scottish Review, 
and have indicated the Semitic connection of the language. Inscriptions 
have been found in the Canaries, in an alphabet said to be similar to that 
of Carthage and Numidia. The Canary islanders had the interesting 
custom of making mummies, like the Egyptians, and used the same word, 
Kha, to express the “corpse” or “mummy” that was used in Egypt. 
