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TAPER.

stances, we observe various passages in scriptural historywhich offer proof that such w as the ancient custom among theprimitive patriarchs of mankind.

Since the scriptural art has been introduced, or invented,many materials have been, in a variety of ages and innumerous countries, used for the purpose of recordingevents to posterity. Let us endeavour to ascertain thechief of those substances, and approach as near as we canto the period of their original use. With regard to theformer portion of our inquiry, we may, perhaps, tind thatcertain names may assist us, and we suppose the evidenceof writers may not be entirely wanting with respect to thelatter consideration.

In various parts of Siberia , Strahlenberg saw severalrocks inscribed. lie particularly describes such materialswhen he mentions characters he found in Siberia . Ilisobservations are too long - to give them entire, so we subjointhe following extracts:

“ Characters. —Chymists, astronomers, and mathe-maticians have their peculiar characters; but this wordlikewise denotes such a kind of writing which none canunderstand but he that hath the key to it; and besides this,a certain sort of figures carved on stone, or engraven onmetal, or w'ritten on parchment, or otherwise, which arepretended to have a secret signification, and are used inmagic and other superstitious ceremonies, are called cha-racters. Of this latter sort are many found in Siberia andTartary, upon rocks and stones, either carved or paintedin the same manner almost as the Laplanders are wont to painttheir drums. There are some,” he says, “ in Great Permia,near the city of Tzerdyn, which are either burnt in orwritten by other means upon the rocks there, with red in-delible colour, perhaps after the same manner as formerlyin Iceland ; they used to write upon the bones of animalsand fish the same sort of figures Jis described in anotherplace. He saw similar figures cut or carved in rocks, onthe banks of the river Tamm, between the cities of Toms-Icoi arid Kutsnetskoi. But the figures here are likewisepainted, or stained with a red colour, as 1 have said-in tab. vii. which were found in the further part ofSiberia, between the cities of Crasnoyahr and Abakan ,upon Ihe rocks On the banks of the river Jenisei ; withthis the reader may compare what Matt. Jielius, (de Vet. Lit.Hunn. Scylh. p. 15.) mentions of these characters, andconsidering that the river Jenisei runs close under thoserocks, which in some places are smooth and steep like a