describe a letter which M. Martinez received from an inhabitant of the Caroline Islands, in the Eastern Ocean. The following is the drawing of the letter alluded to, and the description is taken from FREYCINET and ARAGO’S _Voyage_. [Illustration] “This was written to M. Martinez, at Rotta, who had commissioned a Tamor of Sathoual to send him some shells, promising in exchange a few pieces of iron. The captain gave him the sheet of paper, the original of which is in my possession, and is in red characters. The figure at the top of the letter was placed there as the bearer of compliments: the branch under him is the type of peace and amity: the marks in the column on the left hand indicate the sort of shells the Carolinian had sent to M. Martinez. In the column on the right, are placed the objects he desired in exchange; namely, three large fishing hooks, four small ones, two pieces of iron of the shape of axes, and two pieces a little longer.” This curiously-expressed request was gratified, and many handsome shells obtained in return. This is, perhaps, as clear an instance as can be found, of the mode in which an unlettered people would endeavour to convey the expression of their wishes to their friends at a distance, and forms a striking contrast to the elegant though complicated process of our own method of writing. In the written language of the Chinese, a great proof of its having originated in this picture-writing, may yet be seen by a little attention to the forms of their characters, and is, perhaps, the only language now generally in practice, in which these early symbols are discernible, though some have attempted to explain the Hebrew language in the same way, by maintaining that the letters composing the Alphabet were at first characters or drawings of things. In the modern Chinese, however, much of the early rude formation of the characters has been altered, arising, probably, in some degree, from a greater improvement in taste inducing the nation to alter these rough to more elegant forms, and partly from the facility of writing requiring the scribe, in some cases, to strike off, and in others to connect, various parts of the original figure. Thus, the present Chinese character for ‘a man,’ is [Illustration] which was originally drawn [Illustration] or [Illustration] or [Illustration]; here it is plain that, by lopping off some of the limbs of this rude representative of the human species, we leave something like the form of the present character, though it would appear, that a long succession of ages must have polished the rough material to the improved shape which it now possesses. Again, the character to denote ‘the ear,’ was formerly drawn [Illustration] which is now softened into the present form, thus [Illustration]. ‘A range of hills,’ or ‘mound,’ at first drawn [Illustration] has now become [Illustration]. ‘The sun,’ [Illustration] is now [Illustration]. The