In this problem of comparing languages for the purpose of testing their relationship, the first duty is to carefully analyse the words under comparison, so as to separate the essential from the non-essential, secondly to study the laws of letter-change which must subsist between the languages, if any close affinity exist. A mere identity of form, even with identity of meaning, may be the result of mere accident. On the other hand a real identity often existts when the words have apparently nothing in common. Thus, our English much and Sp. ourho have the same meaning, yet are utterly unconnected; for the law of letter-change leaves not a doubt that neucho is the Latin mate, Italian molts, a word intimately connected with the Greek wes.u, sweet, and so with wAetov, wAeor, plus, as well as with the English fill and full ; just ex the Spanish radii/to is the Latin eultello ; whereas tho English mud, and Its diminutive muck* or ',tickle represent tarty of the Latin niagoto- and the Greek neran. Very different is the position of our such, and Its Latin equivalent tali-. Here, utterly different as are the fonts, the words are one in origin, such being a corruption of sokh, as seen in the German soldier, and this a compression from so lidi- ; while tali-, like so many Latin words, has loot a final guttural, and so represents ta-lik. Thus, the only serious difference lies hi the interchange of a and 1, a question already considered for the pronouns.
Indeed, had we started from the Scotch equivalent of our suck namely, ank, the passage to tali- would have been too easy to need a word of discussion. As a last example let the Latin candles be compared with the English haul. Here, the words being of the same sense, the form alone needs consideration ; but Lat. c=h, r in Latin has always grown out of an older a, and is before 1 is the habit of Latin, as e before 1 is the habit of English.
The Indo-European family consists of, I. The Indian branch, with Sanscrit at its head, and Pali, or the sacred language of Ceylon, as an important member. 2. Persian, at the head of which stands the ancient Zend. 3. The Slavonic, which must be subdivided into : a, Old Slavic, or the Church language, Russian, Illyrian, Croatian, and the dialects of Carniola, Stiria, and Carinthia ; b, Slowak of Hungary. Bohemian, the Serbian of Upper and Lower Lusatia, and Polish. The characters which distinguish these two subdivisions are given by Dobrowsky in the preface to his ` Institutiones.' 4. Old Prussian, Lithuanian, Lettish. 5. The Teutonic, divided into three classes : a, Scandinavian, including old Norse or Icelandic, Danish, and Swedish ; 1,, Low German, including Gothic, old Saxon, old Frisian, Dutch and Flemish, Anglo-Saxon and English, &c. ; c, High German, or simply German, in its three varieties of old, middle, and new. 5. Greek. 6. Italian, including : a, of old time, Latin, Oscan, and Umbrian ; b, modern or Romance, that is, Italian, Frenoh, Spanish, Portuguese, Norman-English, and Wallachian. 7. Keltio, divided into : a, Irish, Gaelic, Manx ; b, Welsh, Cornish, Breton.
The Turanian family consists of : a, Turkish, Mongolian, Mandshoo ; b, Hungarian ; c, Finn, Lapp, Ostiak, Syriaen, &c.
To the Semitic family belong Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldee, Galla, and Berber.
The remainder may be left for the present unclassified.
The following tables are deduced chiefly from Pott's Etymolog,ische Forschungen,' Bopp's Vergleichende Grammatik; and Grimm's Deutsche Grammatik.' Other valuable works which may be con• milted with advantage, are Zeuss On the Grammar of the Celtio Languages,' Diez On the Romance Languages, Schleicher On tho Lithuanian, Dobrowsky's Institutiones ' on the Slavio family, and generally the Proceedings and Transactions of the Philological Society of London.
which oxidises in water with the evolution of hydrogen gas, and is converted into a white hydrate.
Oxide of lanthanium, in the purest state in which it has hitherto been obtained, is nearly white or of a light salmon colour without any admixture of brown, or brownish red ; there is every reason to believe that the colour is owing to some impurity, from which it has not been hitherto possible to free it. It undergoes no alteration by calcinatiqn at a red heat in close vessels ; it restores the blue colour of reddened litmus-paper ; when sprinkled with water, it is gradually converted into a hydrate, and becomes a bulky white powder ; this alteration occurs very rapidly in boiling water ; it dissolves very readily in adds, even when dilute ; when boiled in a solution of chloride of ammonium, it expels ammonia and an ammonio-ehloride of lanthanium is formed. The equivalent of lanthanium is Hydrate and carbonate of Ian thaniurn are both insoluble in carbonate of ammonia.
Oxide of Lanthanium (La0). Lanthanium seems to combine with oxygen in one proportion only ; this oxide dissolves in hydrochloric acid without evolving chlorine.
Chloride of Lanthanium (Lap. When a solution of oxide of Ian thanium in hydrochloric acid is evaporated over sulphuric acid, pris matic crystals of chloride of lanthanium of a rose-colour are obtained ; it deliquesces on exposure to the air, readily dissolves in alcohol, to the flame of which It Imparts no colour. This salt melts in its water of crystallisation, gives off hydrochloric acid, and leaves a mixture of chloride and oxychloride of lanthanium.
Netrate of Lanthanium ( is obtained by dissolving the oxide in nitric acid. It crystallises with difficulty, and forms a rose coloured saline mass which is deliquescent and soluble in alcohol ; the form of the crystal is a prism, and it contains no water e crys tallisation.
Carbonate of Lanthanium The neutral compound is obtained by precipitating the soluble salts of lanthanium with carbonate of soda. It is a white flocculent precipitate, which on drying becomes a white adherent powder.
It has been found by Mosander that a mineral, which was supposed to be a protocarbonate of cerium, contained only a trace of this metal, and consisted almost entirely of a compound of 1 equivalent of carbonic acid with 3 equivalents of oxide of lanthanium.
Sulphate of Lanthanium Dilute sulphuric acid very readily dissolves the oxide ; by evaporation, acicular radiating amethystine-coloured crystals are obtained. Possibly however the red colour is due to didymium. This salt gives off water, but does not melt at a low red heat.
Double nitrate of Lanthanium and Magnesium ( Mg0, NO, +8Aq). Dilute nitric acid is saturated with equivalent proportions of oxide of lanthanium and magnesia, and the solution left to spon taneous evaporation over sulphuric acid. After a time large, shining, white, crystals are deposited :. they possess a aweet styptic taste, and are only very slightly deliquescent.
The salts of lanthanium give white precipitates with phosphoric and oxalic adds and ferrocyanide of potasaium, but neither hydrosulphuric acid nor tincture of galls produces any change.