The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-05-31

| CuueilarIG sIeifinE-ats &HafHrfefa hu
| Diisirugsias- !. 81 Deciplacred.
| In connection with Mr. Smiths researches
| and discoveries the following description oI
| cnuriform writing and The manner in which
| IT, is dcciDhcrrd viii In. inlcrcst ling:
4, the mystery OF the ruacltorHh wiring
| i what Stands between lis and an extensive
md accurate knowledge of many periods IN
the history Of Persia, Baby lonia, and a.
| syria. some accG.int Of tliis wiring and is
difficulties, aS wri Il ~ .i,a means by Wli'h
| the dlfli.;iir- were ~ some extent over
| come. may ,, Interesting. Thr element or
| unit in t,I, Kind u writing Is figure III
The shape of Il wedar or arrowhead. Every
,rpara!r symbol, such is letter or nlimria',
| * ,itbcra siriglr wedge placed in certain at
! 1ilut;r, or a cluster Of wedges grouped in Il
nor,irII,r manner. \ siunlr wedge may, OF
course. be written ycrti.'a!ly with tn" thin 81
| ,hc s,iu::d end :ipprrmn-t, il may he written
| horizaulally with the broad end to the right
or t. th,. left. and il may hr written inclined
| 10 the vertical or TO The horizontal, and It's
! n,inl n;rn,d either way representing IN
ever one OF these attitudes Il different sound.
| # Ibis variety can he achieved with single
| wr,i~r. the Great number OF sounds that may
| be represented l,y different combinations
| Of tvo or more wedges may be- imagined.
| 70 find Tie different shapes that ran be made
on Of Il limited number is an exercise III per-
mutaiou: but il the number of wedges he
unlimited the combinations are infinite.
| When iii modern times the remains OF this
! kind of writing began TO attract attention,
there was not the slightest clue to
;ntcrprcatian. The meaning had utterly
| t,eri.nrd. II only Il word. or even letter,
| had been certainly understood. the ingrni-
| ,us h.ai,> Of scholars would >lrrdily b, it,
mcau, lE,.c learned something more, and
| llr.i !i.nu ilat something advanced alilrthrr
stare, FROM l,r mail >rch ni,taiuing At last Il
| Tree with nanny branches. Eut the ignorance
| wIs :,h QUITE ard ye:, - we shall ste, ii
| was moi hppcic>:, neither did It deter stu
dents from .>,:iyiur The solution of this hard
| cniulnq. .iftrra time the iiintc-t possible.
ray Of light ie-in ~ appear. There Wa- re;l-
! Sn,. il believe. from the i'.n@th aud tie Gun'-
| her -. ,hr word in ilrcr different sentences
on The same stone, that ono and the sane
meaning had been cyprr>s't! IN three di-
| Grcnt languages, or that each Of these periods
| was a translation Gi the oihtrtWo. This (li.-
coyrry did not 'rctn To promise much, for all
! three tougttrs were written in cuneinrm
| characters. and I'll three were entirely I'M
| known, II, IL iii the case Of the Rosetta
stone, ore ~ more Of The inscriptions had
| ,ncn lr.it!o and intr!Iigiblc, the unknoWn
| part or parts would III once have hccn to a
certain rTt"rt clear. Bnt where all three
| languages and modes IF writing We're equal
| " obscure liaH could any one of them serve
| To interpret the other: And yet these trl-
in"lai inscriptions were the means OF bring
| in. HIGH! ,iron all three Languages aud modes
| Of writing. 4 learned and most ingenious
| German scholar (irotrtrnGl observed TINT il
great many OF these inscriptions We're nearly
| the same ~ 10 length and characters. the dit
! ference hcn" in iWo or three words miro
| drc2d At 4 particular part of the inscription.
| TIr thought il likely that the inscription
might repeat some ~ form. clarifying
| the king, o. announcing some act OF his,
| rs the erection of building and that the
| words, which were not always the same,
| wrie the names Of the different kings and
their fathers, like ,Icroboam, the son OF Ncbat.
according TO eastern custom. This idea was
STRENGTHENED by the discovery that the word
which seemed 10 represent the king on one
stone would represent tie kings father on n
later stone, and from still! larer stone en-
frcly disappear, "hiIc new name was intro.
ductL. Tire learned dcriphcrcr at last be-
IL
Succession OF kings. He made grcss AZ Tia.
ul,Ea~ on SOME tablets knaw.i 10 relate to
PpiSit, assuming thai the characters of the
oldest atoHc meant Darius, the son of HyS-
! ttspc>, and that when on" Of these names
vanished while TN other remained. although
in different position, and Il new name Vas
introduced, the changed characters meant
NcrXcs. the son OF Darius.
Fortunately hc had hit the mark, and
having assured himself that he knew The
names intended, he was able to ascertain
the sounds Of sGme ol the letters; those lei
tiers, with little clever guessing, led 10 the
discovery Of otlrrs, and so j" breach wa
made in tie WALL al thick IiIrkucaS which
had surrounded The cunctorm writing. Ii
need llar,l, be stated that when one of the
tnnglirs on the iringull tablets came to lie
known Il key more or less c1rrctual would
be found frr the others. In this way
much progress has been made with
the Interpretation, which has nv nialiy
c1ses been proved to hr sound by
IFS disclosure Of facts unknown before,
but which subsequent discoveries have vrri-
fed There remain, outstanding, nllple-
rOuS difficulties TGanslatnrs q" not agree rs
10 all The details, and in some Of the tongues
symbols have been used for whole words,
like hicroglyplics, 20 that one may know the
alphabet aud vet be ignorant of what those
| symbols mean. One .! tho cylinders found
in Eiyey,h pas sort OF horn-bonk, showing
what tang Of these signs meant and thus.
! little by little, the darkness Is being dis
ppllrl