22 



Magyar or Hungarian, the Tschoud or 

 Finlandish belongs to Europe. 



We must admit, that the comparison be- 

 tween the idioms of the two continents has 

 hitherto led to no important conclusion ; 

 but we may cherish the hope, that this 

 study will become more productive, when a 

 great number of materials shall be found, 

 to exercise the sagacity of the learned. 

 How many languages exist in America, 

 and in central and eastern Asia, the me- 

 chanism of which is to us as much unknown 

 as that of the Tyrhenian, the Oscan, and 

 the Sabine ! Among the nations who have 

 disappeared in the Old World, there are 

 perhaps several, of which a few scanty 

 tribes are preserved in the vast solitudes of 

 America. 



If languages supply but feeble evidence 

 of ancient communication between the 

 two worlds, this communication is fully 

 proved by the cosmogonies, the monu- 

 ments, the hieroglyphics, and institutions 



