method of communicating ideas. The notion of some connection between China and Egypt has been revived, since two small porcelain bottles were brought from Egypt to this country; on these inscriptions have been discovered, apparently in the Chinese character; and the learned have been curious to know their identity and import. A fac-simile of one was seen by the author in China; and a picture of the other has appeared in Davis's Chinese, but without any translation. On examination it has been found, that the inscriptions are in the Chinese running hand, and read as follows: Chun lae yew yǐh nëen, "The returning spring brings another year:" and Ming yuĕh sung chung chaou, "The clear moon shines through the midst of the fir tree." This latter sentence is part of a well-known couplet, composed by Wang Găn-shĭh, a famous writer under the Sung dynasty, A. D. 1068; and as there is a curious circumstance connected with it, we shall here relate it. The original couplet ran thus:—
Ming yuĕh sung këen keaou;
Wang keuen hwa sin shwuy.
"The clear moon sings in the middle of the fir-tree;
"The royal hound sleeps in the bosom of the flower!"
Soo-tung-po, another famous writer, who flourished about fifty years afterwards, found fault with this couplet, and altered it to the following:—
Ming yuĕh sung chung chaou
Wang keuen hwa yin shwuy.
"The clear moon shines through the midst of the fir-tree;
"The royal hound sleeps under the shade of the flower!"
Travelling, afterwards, in the south of China, he heard a bird singing in the woods; and, on enquiry,
