medium, must have been so numerous, that the latter could bear scarcelyany proportion to the former. If we add to this the difficulty of forming a polysyllabic medium from a monosyllabic one, and particularly one inflected in so peculiar a manner as is the Hebrew, few things will appear more improbable. Thus on no ground whatever does it appear probable that the Chinese colloquial medium could originate in the Hebrew, or the Hebrew in the Chinese these two, perhaps the most ancient on earth, in their origin appear to be wholly independent of each other. A fact so evident seems naturally to induce conjecture. Whence could a colloquial medium arise, so limited, and so imperfect as the Chinese? Can we account for it in the common course of things? Does it not almost unavoidably carry back our thoughts to the memorable fact recorded in the Holy Scriptures, the Confusion of Tongues? Had that blow, given by divine power to the pride of man, so affected a part of Noah's posterity, as to obliterate in an instant their former language from their minds, this would account for the origin, among others, of a new colloquial medium, perhaps imperfect and limited like the Chinese. And if in such circumstances, these went eastward from their brethren to whom they were now become barbarians, and passing along the north side of the Caucasian mountains, went forward gradually spreading on every side, this would account for the early peopling of China, and the adjacent countries.* * Nothing in the distance renders this impossible, as from Mosul, (supposed to be the scite of the ancient Nineveh,) to Little Tibet, the distance is little more than five hundred geographical leagues; and to China itself scarcely a thousand. If these conjectures be well founded, another circumstance will shew, that China must have been among the countries first peopled. Those who went thither must have been such as originally separated from the rest of mankind, and not the descendants of a colony; as there is no nation to which the Chinese nation can be traced as to a parent stock.. Hence the probability is great that China was peopled very soon after the flood, since those who possessed a medium of communication so very different from the rest of mankind, would naturally hasten from them. Nor does the credible part of the Chinese history claim a higher degree of antiquity than this allows them; as may possibly be shewn from their own records, in some future time, should health and sufficient leisure be afforded. The CHINESE SYSTEM compared with the SUNGskrit. In the eastern part of Asia is found an alphabetic system which has extended itself throughout India, and to which the initials and finals of the Chinese colloquial medium, bear a similarity which seems too striking to be deemed the effect of chance. The Sungskrit alphabet contains five series of consonants, and nine single ones, the last of which is more properly a compound. Compared with the powers in the Chinese colloquial system, they stand as follows: R On comparing these two systems, we find them both formed on the same principle, that of throwing the letters into Classes or Series, of which the first shall be the simple sound, the second the same sound aspirated, and the last in the series a nasal. These series begin with the strongest nasal sound, and gradually lessen their force* till they terminate in the labial m, where the series in the Sungskrit alphabet stop. This arrangement, if we except the Chinese colloquial medium, is found in no system beside the Sungskrit alphabet, and those to which it gives birth. Yet although the Chinese colloquial medium and the Sungskrit alphabetic system appear so evidently formed on the same principle, there are minute differences subsisting between them which are worthy of consideration. The Chinese have all the powers in their system classed in the form of series: they therefore reckon nine; and eight they really have. The Sungskrit system has only five regular series: among its single letters, however, may be found powers selected (if I may so speak), from all the other Chinese series; and the consonant r, which the Chinese have not. It further adds to all the *Thus the nasal of the ch series, and the n of the series have not the same sound in the Sungskrit system and if we examine all the characters placed underneath the n of the Chinese ch series of initials, we shall find that the Catholic Missionaries begin some of them with ni. R 2 : series, what the Greek grammarians term the "mediae," the intermediate powers, b, d, g, &c: and also aspirates them; so that while the Chinese system has in reality only three powers in each series, the Sungskrit alphabet has five. The Chinese colloquial medium has a soft labial series f,. f'h, &c. of which the Sungskrit alphabet has only the last power w; but on the other hand the Sungskrit alphabet has a new t series, of which the Chinese have no vestige. Thus the Chinese series seems the boldest but the rudest sketch; the Sungskrit alphabet, the most improved system. The Chinese colloquial medium possesses the greatest number of series; the Sungskrit system has improved all it has adopted, and retained the most distinct of the powers in each of the remaining Chinese series, as the s of the ts series, the sh of the tch series, the w of the f series, and the l of the last; while, in the additional t series, it has five distinct powers peculiarly its own. In the Vowels the Sungskrit preserves the same characteristic of superior improvement; it has all the simple vowels of the Chinese system; it disposes by Sundhee of the diphthongs, ooi, yeu, ai, &c. and it has two vowels, (if we may so term them,) lee, tree, peculiarly its own. In the Nasal both systems fully agree. Thus while they are founded on the same principle, the consonant, vowel, and nasal powers which they possess in common, are no less than Forty-eight. The powers which the Chinese colloquial medium has beyond the Sungskrit alphabetic system, are f, f'h; ts, tsh; tch, tchh, and hh; and the Sungskrit alphabet has added to the Chinese colloquial system, the intermediate powers b, d, &c. with their aspirates, the consonant r, and the additional t series. On reviewing this similarity between the Sungskrit alphabetic, and the Chinese colloquial systems, several questions naturally arise. Did the |