THE INDIAN LETTER.

It is an Indian letter, and is taken from a little work called "Settlers in Canada." This is the scene, in which it is found:

"A letter, Malachi?"

"Yes, sir, an Indian letter; here it is."

Malachi then produced a piece of birch bark. The following drawing is a fac simile, or exact outline of it:—

* D D

"Well," said Alfred, "it may be a letter, but I confess it is all Greek to me. I certainly do not see why you wish to keep it a secret. Tell me."

"Well, sir, I could not read one of your letters half so well as I can this; and it contains news of the greatest importance. It is the Indian's way of writing; and I know also from whom it comes. A good action is never lost, they say, and I am glad to find there is some gratitude in an Indian."

"You make me very impatient, Malachi, to know what Tell me, from whom do you think the letter

it means.

comes?"

"Why, sir, do you see this mark here ?" said Malachi, pointing to the one lowest down on the piece of bark.

"Yes; it is a foot, is it not?"

แ

Exactly, sir; now do you know from whom it comes?"

"Do you remember, two winters back, our picking up the Indian woman, and carrying her to the house, and your father curing her sprained ankle."

"Certainly: is it from her?”

"Yes, sir; and you recollect, she said that she belonged to the band that followed the angry snake."

"I remember it very well; but now, Malachi, read me the letter at once; for I am very impatient to know what she has to say."

"I will, Mr. Alfred. Now, sir, there is the sun more than half up, which, with these, points out it is the setting and not the rising sun: the setting sun therefore means to the westward."

"Very good: that is plain, I think."

"There are twelve wigwams, that is, twelve days' journey for a warrior, which the Indians reckon at about fifteen miles a day. How much does fifteen twelves make, sir?" "One hundred and eighty, Malachi."

"Well, sir, that is to say, it is one hundred and eighty miles off or thereabouts. Now this first figure is a chief, for it has an eagle's feather on the head of it, and the snake before it is his totem, the angry snake, and the other six are the number of the band; and you observe that the chief and the first figure of the six have a gun in their hands, which is to inform us, that they have only two rifles among them."

"Very true: but what is that little figure following the chief, with his arms behind him?"

"There is the whole mystery of the letter, sir, without

which it were worth nothing. You perceive that the little figure has a pair of snow shoes over it."

"Yes, I do."

"Well, that little figure is your brother, Percival, whom we supposed to be dead."

"Merciful Heaven! is it possible ?" exclaimed Alfred; "then he is alive!"

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"There is no doubt of it, sir,” replied Malachi; "and now I will put the whole letter together. Your brother, Percival, has been carried off by the Angry Snake and his band, and has been taken to some place one hundred and eighty miles to the westward; and this information comes from the woman who belongs to the band, whose life was preserved by your kindness."

This is all plain, very plain, said Wilmer. What a plain letter! I must read the book. I see now that a symbol is the picture of a part of a thing, something like it or connected with it.

Wilmer, said Dr. Wisdom, the symbol must be like the thing or connected with it in such a way as to call it to mind. Remember these two words: like the thing or connected with it.

I have now explained to you, Wilmer, said Dr. Wisdom, what is meant by picture and symbol language. You do not use them. You use letter and word language; I suppose you would like to hear something about it.

I would, indeed, Doctor, said Wilmer, if it would not trouble you too much to tell me.

I must tell you something about it to-morrow evening, said the Doctor. The letter or word form of language is the best, and is now used by all educated people. Symbols are seldom used. Pictures are only used now by artists.

Dr. Wisdom rose; and Wilmer led him into the parlor, where Mrs. Cadmus was waiting to receive him and enjoy his fine society.

INSTRUCTION XIX.

THE LETTER AND WORD FORM OF LANGUAGE.

DANTE AND TASSO.

The next evening, when Dr. Wisdom reached the open study of Professor Cadmus, through which the fragrant air was circulating, he saw Wilmer standing before the bust of Dante. He was gazing upon it with delight.

That is well, my son, said Dr. Wisdom. That is an instance of picture language. It is a happy thing to be able to read such instances.

Who is Dante, may I ask, Dr. Wisdom?

Dante, my son, said the Doctor, was an Italian poet, who lived some six hundred years ago. He wrote a wonderful poem, called THE VISION, or Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. It is a great poem, Wilmer.

And who was Tasso, the next bust to Dante's? asked the earnest boy.

Tasso, said the Doctor, was another Italian poet. He was born some three hundred years ago, and about three hundred years after Dante. His great poem is called Jerusalem Delivered. It is a stirring tale of the Crusades, and the taking of Jerusalem from the Turks.

I thank you, Dr. Wisdom. I have many questions which I would like to ask you. But you have come to talk to me about the letter or word form of language.

It gives me pleasure, said Dr. Wisdom, to hear you ask such questions. I will hear and answer them some other

THE ORIGIN OF LETTERS.

Letters, said the Doctor, are a great discovery, and by far the best way of writing our thoughts. I will illustrate this remark. Instead of drawing a picture and painting it; or even making an outline of it, or something like it, we write its name. A few letters, put together in a certain way, form the name, and tell as well as a picture what it is. Instead of a king, for instance, sending his wish to one of his generals, in a painting of a city and soldiers storming it; or even the symbol, a scaling-ladder; he writes, I wish you to storm the city. This is letter language.

It is the best way, said Wilmer, to make known our wishes. Letters are wonderful things.

They are indeed, added Dr. Wisdom. The oldest letter writing which we have is the Ten Commandments, written by God at Sinai. It seems that God taught man the use of letters as well as the use of speech.

That is my father's opinion, said Wilmer. He thinks that God taught man to write as well as to speak.

It is very likely, Wilmer. I say likely, because some learned men have taken another view of it. They think man invented letters. Their reasons do not satisfy my mind. God, I think, is the author of written and spoken language. He was at least man's teacher.

Wilmer here asked: What is a letter? It is not a picture, or a symbol.

Dr. Wisdom answered: A letter is a sign of a sound of the human voice. It is only a sign. It is not known who invented letters: it is not known among what people they were first used. We think, as we said above, that God guided man in making them, and that they first appeared