Ancient Egypt, Language of (Vol. iv., p. 152.).
—In Adelung's Mithridates the titles of the best works explanatory of this language will be found. To these must be added those of Dr. Thomas Young and Champollian Junior. There are some recent German works on the subject; your correspondent will, however, be very little benefited after mastering all the writers, for they have really but little to tell. The method to be pursued with a feasible prospect of success is, to acquire the Coptic-Egyptian language from the New Testament and De Woide, with the special object of mastering the roots, about 200 in number, of that language. Next, some knowledge of the Chinese language should be obtained, so far at least as is necessary to comprehend the hieroglyphic principle, whereby 214 letter-keys are made to do duty in representing 5000, or more, distinct ideas. The next matter, which admits of a very simple explanation, is to ascertain how the Chinese dissevers the idea of a character (hieroglyphic) from its sound, and makes his ideas (hieroglyphic characters) stand for syllables alone, by prefixing the character more (mouth) to indicate that the characters next following are to be read as sounds and not as ideas. In the Egyptian hieroglyphic such characters (representing the names of places and persons) are inclosed in a sort of lozenge or parallelogram. Having found out certain sounds in the Egyptian hieroglyphic, e. g. Cle-o-pa-tra, turn to the Coptic Lexicon and ascertain what idea (thing) cle represents in Coptic, and so on with o, with pa, &c., and all other with syllable sounds. Here Champollian Junior stuck fast, and little has been done since his day in the way of translation; and the reason is evident—the separate characters representing sounds found in these lozenges are too few in number to give any hope that the Egyptian hieroglyphics will ever be rendered generally intelligible; their object, however, has been far more effectually secured by the paintings and representations of objects and actions, which supply an infinitely better means of knowing what was interesting in Egypt than mere words, sounds, or ideas (hieroglyphics) could convey.
J. BUCKTON.
Lichfield.
The late William Hone (Vol. iii., p. 477., Vol. iv., pp. 105, 106.).
—If E. V. will take the trouble to apply to the Rev. Thomas Binney, of the Weigh House Chapel, London, he will be in the way of receiving the most authentic information concerning the happy conversion, and triumphant death, of William Hone, who adorned the doctrine of God his Saviour for some years previous to his decease in communion with a congregation of Protestant Dissenters.
O. T. D.
The interesting letter of the late William Hone, published in Vol. iv., pp. 105, 106., scarcely throws any discredit upon an anecdote I often have heard as to the means of his first awakening to a better mind, somewhat as follows:—that, asking a drink of milk of a little child, and observing a book in her hand, he inquired what it was? She answered, "A Bible:" and, in reply to some depreciatory remarks of his, added, "I thought everybody loved their Bible, Sir." I hope that this may not be contradicted, but confirmed.
C. W. B.