\ 



( 40 ) 



the ifland Haiti, in the Camis of Japan, and in the 

 Chile Camhal of Yucatan ? The detail which he af- 

 terwards enters into, in order to difcover traces of 

 of the Phenician religion and manners in the New 

 World, is pretty nearly in the fame tafte, and car- 

 ries the fame conviction along with it. But what 

 ought not to be (he obferves in this place) paffed 

 over in filence, is that the firft Phenicians, who fet- 

 tled in Africa and the Balearick Iflands, had neither 

 any letters or characters, nor knew the ufe of 

 them ; and that Cadmus, a Phenician, carried into 

 Greece, not the characters which his countrymen 

 afterwards made ufe of, but thofe which in his time 

 were known among the Egyptians. 



All thofe migrations preceded the Chriftian sera 

 many ages : here follow fuch as are of a later date. 

 Our author diftinguifhes three forts of Scythians, 

 who paffed into the New World, namely, Huns, 

 Tartars of Cathay, and the Chinefe, Undoubtedly 

 the partizans for the antiquity of the Chinefe na- 

 tion, will not excufe his making Scythians the foun- 

 ders of this great empire, neither will thofe, who 

 reject what is doubtful in the pretenfions of certain 

 Chinefe, be of his opinion ; for it is now part 

 doubt, that the Chinefe empire cannot be much 

 later than Noah's grand-children. But we mould- 

 never have done, were we to repeat all the falfe and 

 arbitrary conjectures of this Dutch writer. 



Under the name of Huns, he comprehends num- 

 berlefs nations, who poffeffed an immenfe country ; 

 the occafion of the paffage of many of them to 

 America, was, according to him, their overgrown 

 numbers, and the inteftine wars raging amongft 

 them. He pretends, that the route they made 

 choice of, was by the extremity of the North, 

 wlwe they met with frozen feas, Then forgetting 



what 



