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But copy it at all events; the act of copying imprints the words more correctly on the memory. Repeat it aloud when you are alone; and as soon as you have mastered it, begin to arrange the words which you remember, in different little sentences, as we recommended for the French. Learn to handle the instrument which you wish to use.

Those of our readers who intend to combine the study of the French and German, may, if they have sufficiently acquainted themselves with the first principles and grammatical forms of either language, try their strength at translating the French fable into German, and the German fable into French, and by so doing they will soon convince themselves that it is infinitely more easy to convert French into German than German into French, and that the German language is much more congenial with the English than the French. We subjoin both translations for the benefit of those who, having made the attempt which we recommend, may afterwards be anxious to compare their work with ours.

Translation of the French Fable into German.

DER HAHN UND DIE PERLE.

EINST entwendete ein Hahn eine Perle, welche er dem ersten besten Steinschneider gab. Ich glaube sie ist fein, sagte er, aber das kleinste Hirsenkorn würde mir viel besser hehagen.

Ein Unwissender ererbte elne Handschrift welche er zu seinem Nachbar dem Buchhändler trug. Ich glaube, sagte er, dasz sie vortreflich ist, aber das kleinste Goldstück würde mir viel besser behagen.

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UN Coucou parloit à un Sansonet qui s'étoit enfui de la ville. Que dit-on, lui demanda-t-il d'abord, que dit-on de nos chants à la ville? que dit-on du Rossignol? Toute la ville fait l'éloge de son chant. Et de l'Alouette? ajouta-t-il. La moitié de la ville admire le son de sa voix. Et que dit-on du Merle? demanda-t-il ensuite. On en fait aussi l'éloge par ci par là. Il faut cependant que je te encore une question; apprends-moi, je te prie, ce que l'on dit de moi. Cela m'est impossible, répondit le Sansonet, car personne ne parle de toi. Il faut donc, ajouta le Coucou, que je me venge de cette ingratitude en parlant continuellement de moi-même.

fasse

Fing er an zu schreien, " commença-t-il à crier :" rief er wieder, "s'écria-t-il de nouveau:" und von der Amsel fuhr er fort, "et du merle, continua-t-il :" was, rief er, spricht man denn von mir, "que, s'écria-t-il, dit-on donc de moi?" das, sprach der Staar, das weisz ich nicht zu sagen, "pour cela, dit le sansonet, je ne saurois le dire:" keine Seele, "pas une ame:" so will ich, fuhr er fort, "je veux donc, continuat-il," &c. are expressions that, literally translated, would have rendered the narrative uncouth and heavy in the French, which aims at prettiness and clearness, and avoids repetitions, whilst the German studies fulness and energy. The former pares its sentences of every thing superfluous, and smooths them down even at the expense of strength; the latter strives to express the thought in all its bearings, and prefers redundancies to omissions. One is a pretty female neatly attired and adorned, but confined in her stays; the other a powerful athlet, displaying his native vigour in every muscle of his bare arms.

These distinctive characteristics of the two languages, will be more fully developed in the course of these instructions ; and should our efforts be encouraged by the patronage of the public, The Linguist will progressively display the genius of the three languages, and direct the attention of the student to the particular advantages of his native language, which stands as it were between the other two, and has many of their excellencies with but few of their imperfections. . Our readers will have the goodness to observe, that our remarks must necessarily lose much of their dryness, and gain more interest, as we advance; but we offer no apology for their dryness, because we are convinced, that the correct understanding of the first principles of any art or science, is an infallible guide to its knowledge. The memory retains with ease whatever is completely understood.

Sold by T. HOLT, No. 1, CATHERINE-STREET, Strand; and all the Booksellers and Newsmen in Town and Country.

W. WILSON, Printer, 57, Skinner-Street, London.

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BEFORE we enter upon any new theme for our grammatical and philological elucidations, we beg those of our readers who are sincerely desirous of being benefitted by our instructions, not to be deterred from complying with our recommendations by Transatlantic Pretenders to new rapid methods of teaching, or by those Parisian Instructors who hold forth the delusive hope that the French language may be acquired in three months without the trouble of learning by heart. They might as well teach you to dance without moving your feet, or to paint without colours. It is the honest conviction of our mind, derived from a long experience, that the memory must be stocked with a considerable number of words and turns of expression, before any attempt at speaking a foreign language can be successful. Vocabularies and dialogues may do for children; but short pieces of light poetry, which offer a complete narrative, are more satisfactory to the mind that is come to maturity; and should we be supported in our labours we shall progressively introduce our readers to specimens of the best and most recent productions in either language, so that our work will insensibly become a course of both French and German literature. But in the study of languages, as in all other studies, the transition from what is easy to what is more difficult, must be gradual.

To the recommendation of diligently and correctly learning by heart, we also subjoin that of having as many sheets of paper as there are letters in the alphabet of the language

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which is studied, in order to note the remarks of THe LinGUIST under their proper heads. By transferring those observations every week in your own handwriting to your loose sheets, in alphabetical order, you will gradually get a very useful book of reference, which will be more valuable in the end than the most voluminous and most expensive dictionary, as it will explain every idiomatic difficulty. The very act of compiling it will familiarize you with its contents, and this compilation will be the more endeared to you from being your own work. Whatever DR. JOHNSON may have said to the contrary, the old Latin adage, bis legit qui scribit, (he who writes reads twice) remains perfectly true. We have besides a greater authority for our recommendation, that of LEIBNITZ, of whom it has justly been remarked, "qu'il atteloit toutes les sciences de front," (that he harnessed all sciences abreast.) This only rival of the inapproachable NEWTON, Constantly wrote down whatever he wished to remember. The time which the transcribing of our remarks will require every week is so trifling that it cannot possibly be urged as an objection. Languages to be learnt must be studied. There is no road to them but a well-directed application, and there is this comfort in all mental pursuits, that provided the mind be not destitate of all elasticity, it is sure to accomplish its end by perseverance, whilst speculations in worldly transactions depend on the concurrence of circumstances over which we have no control, and on the co-operation of others on whom we cannot always securely rely. In the labours of the mind success depends on our own industry, and on nothing else.

We will now study another of LA FONTAINE's Fables.

LE LION ABATTU PAR L'HOMME.

“On exposoit une peinture

Où l'artisan avoit tracé

Un lion d'immense stature

Par un seul homme terrassé.

Les regardants en tiroient gloire.

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There was a painting exhibited wherein the artist had delineated a lion thrown on the ground by a single man. The lookers-on gloried in this; (but) a lion, passing by, silenced them. I see, indeed, said he, that victory here is actually given to you: (but) we should more justly have the advantage (be represented as conquerors) if my brethren could paint.

Le lion abattu.-Abattu is the part. past of the irr. verb abattre, to knock down, which is a derivative of battre to beat, and has all its irregularities in the conjugation. But as an adj. abattu means " dejected." Vous avez l'air abattu ; you look dejected.

par, prepos. by, through.-Le roi a passé par la ville, the king passed through the town. par ci, par là, adv. here and there.

l'homme, the man, is of course masc.: as the h is not aspirate, you pronounce lomme.

On exposoit, they were exhibiting.-On is a general indeterminate pronoun, meaning people, they, one. Like the German man, mentioned page 10, No. I. it is always construed with the verb in the singular. The French employ it very frequently to avoid the passive voice. They say: On dit, it is said. Que dit on? What do people say? Instead of la maison du coin a été démolie, the corner house has been taken down, a Frenchman would say: On a démoli la maison du coin. Exposoit, imperf. of exposer, to exhibit, a reg. deriv. from poser of the first conjugation. exhibition in French is called une exposition. been at the exhibition? is, Avez vous été à l'exposition des tableaux?

to expose : Hence an Have you

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