Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 37 



The author then explains the causes of the observed rise of the ther- 

 mometer to be due to the warm southeast wind, and the subsequent de- 

 pression to the cold northwest wind. 



The author next examines the causes which have been assigned for the 

 fluctuations of the barometer during this storm, selecting, as applicable to 

 the present case, the following : — " The southeast wind, which accompa- 

 nied the rain, moved with an accelerated velocity. The particles, there- 

 fore, of air at one extremity of the current, must have left those of the 

 other extremity at an increased distance. Hence a mechanical rarefaction, 

 and, of course, diminished pressure. The reverse effect must have taken 

 place after the storm had passed. A northwest wind sets in with great 

 violence. A vast body of air is precipitated toward the southeast. The 

 partial vacuum which at first existed, is very soon supplied ; yet, though 

 the first impelling cause has ceased to act, the momentum of the excited 

 current still urges it onward, and a condensation results, which continues 

 the rise of the barometer." 



The author concludes by remarking, that he has availed himself in 

 these discussions of the suggestions of writers on meteorology, and is es- 

 pecially indebted to the labors of Messrs. Redfield, Espy and Reid. 



Dr. Dunglison read a letter from the Rev. James T. Dickinson, of 

 Singapore, to Mr. Du Ponceau, dated Nov. 25, 1839, expressing his sat- 

 isfaction with the views of Mr. Du Ponceau, as contained in his "Disser- 

 tion on the Chinese system of Writing." 



When Mr. Dickinson commenced the study of the Chinese language, 

 nearly four years ago, he attempted to learn the written language by the 

 eye merely, without connecting sounds with the characters. To this 

 course he was led by the fact, that the Hokkien dialect, the one he stud- 

 ies, differs very much as spoken, from the sounds given to the characters 

 as read. His plan was to learn the colloquial language by itself, and to 

 defer the learning of the sounds given to the characters in reading, while, 

 in the mean time, he endeavored to learn to read the characters independ- 

 ently of all sounds. In this way he would have succeeded in learning to 

 read Chinese books, had the common hypothesis, that the Chinese charac- 

 ters are addressed directly to the mind, and not to the mind through the 

 medium of sounds, been correct. Mr. Dickinson, however, found himself 

 always translating either into English or the colloquial Chinese. All his 

 efforts to transfer the ideas represented in Chinese books to his own mind, 

 without the help of words, either Chinese or English, were fruitless, 



Mr. Dickinson considers the work of Mr. Du Ponceau " a most valua- 

 ble gift to the world, and an honor to American learning." 



May 1. — The committee, consisting of Mr. Walker, Dr. Patterson, and 

 Mr. Bache, to whom was referred a paper, entitled " Observations on 

 Nebulae, with a fourteen feet Reflector, by H. L. Smith and E. P. Mason, 

 during the year 1839, by E. P. Mason," reported in favor of publication 

 in the Society's Transactions, which was directed accordingly. 



