280 Tirnehri. 



1804. The Rosetta Stone contains, inscribed upon it. three versions in 

 Hieroglyphic. Demotic and Greek, of a long decree of the Egyptian 

 priests in honour of Ptolemy V. Epiphanes, and his wife Cleopatra. The 

 Humboldt picture-writings contain — -what ? Well, many things ; but I 

 will take just one or two, and those the simplest, to show how the work 

 of decipherment has been accomplished. The Christmas is past, and we 

 are now in Lent, otherwise you might think I was indulging in some 

 sort of seasonable pleasantry, when I inform you that one of the writings 

 is nothing more or less than an account for 24 turkeys. There are other 

 items, such as red pepper to go with the turkeys, and corn and cocoa 

 beans ; but the turkeys are the piece de resistance. Another is an 

 account, duly receipted in Spanish, for 101 h pesos for the women who 

 made tortillas at the house of Senor Manuel de Olvera ; and yet another, 

 dated 4th February, 1571, also for turkeys — -turkey with red pepper 

 sauce evidently was then, as I believe it still is, the favourite dish 

 of the country — and other provisions supplied to the village of 

 Mizquiyauallan. These, and a number of others which have been prac- 

 tically completely deciphered, show that at the end of the sixteenth cen- 

 tury this sj'stem of picture-writing was in common commercial use, and 

 well undersood for ordinary purposes by the Spaniards. What a pity, 

 you may say, that they did not follow it into its more elaborate uses in 

 connection with sciences, such as chronology and astronomy, in which 

 the ancient Mexicans were fairly well advanced, their history and the 

 native religions. Well, exactly in like manner, what a pity it is that 

 none of the scribes who prepared that lengthy polyglot inscription on 

 the Rosetta Stone bequeathed to the world some luminous treatise on 

 Egyptian hieroglyphics, instead of leaving it to Champollion and others 

 some thousands of years later to supply the omission. That the Spanish 

 missionaries did study, and had really a good general working acquaint- 

 ance with the ancient Mexican picture system, is clear from other frag- 

 ments. One particularly illustrating this is Fragment XVI : it is a strip 

 of thick, firm paper, 35cm. long, 45cm. wide, looking like European 

 paper made of rags, and on it is represented, in the picture system of 

 the country, a catechism of the Christian faith — corresponding section 

 for section with the text of a Catecismo en Idioma Mexteco, printed in 

 1339 at Pueblo, but in use. there is reason to believe, since early Spanish 

 times — followed by the Ten Commandments. How unfortunate, again, 

 that such learning should have been lost ! But thanks to Alexander von 

 Humboldt's industry as a collector, it has in part been regained already ; 

 and with an array of acute and unremitting investigators such as Seler, 

 Fiirstemann, Schellhas. and the extensive staff employed by the American 

 Ethnological Society, a more or Jess complete knowledge of the entire 

 system, even in its more difficult branches, such as mythology and ritual, 

 will probably ere long be reached. Then will be the time to speculate 

 as to the origin of the American races ! When we know all that 

 can be known concerning them, their customs and beliefs, not 

 at second-hand, but at first-hand from still extant inscriptions, and 

 primitive communities such as those of the Zuiii Indians, where the old 



