THE BASQUES.
We class the Basques among the Indo-European race, because, as we see them to-day and as far as we can trace them, they coincide in physical structure and in manner of living with the other nations of Central and Southern Europe, though in language they seem to be entirely distinct.
Classification.—The Basques—who in the Pyrenees call themselves Euskalduns (Esqualdunac, Euskaldunac)—are the descendants of the Vas cons, a tribe of old Iberians, the aboriginal inhabitants of Spain. Per haps they are also related to the Ligurians. At present they live in the northern part of Spain and in the south-western part of France, and are divided according to their locations into six tribes with different dialects. Three of the tribes live in France: the tribe of Soule along the coast, next the tribe of Lower Navarre, and filially the Labortanian or tribe of Labourd. In former times Labourd and Soule were small independent provinces. In Spain there are the tribes of Upper Navarre, of Gnipuzcoa, and, farthest to the west, of Biscay. The Basques number altogether about eight hundred thousand, and the educated classes generally speak French or Spanish besides their native tongue. Their finest cities are Bayonne and Pamplona.
General Characteristics and Social L'.—The Basques are of middle size, of graceful, slender stature, with dark hair and eyes and South European complexion. Much superstition has been retained among their ancient customs; excessive lamentation and self-inflicted torture in mem ory of the dead have only recently been abolished. Blood-revenge still exists among them, although of course not legally, and in this as well as in other things they exhibit great passion. They are honest, very hospi table, and of a cheerful disposition.
Dramatic performances and lyric poems are numerous and highly prized; their songs are also many and beautiful (Sallaberry). A strange custom exists in Biscay: at the birth of a child the husband goes to bed with the infant and receives the calls of congratulation, while the wife as soon as possible goes about her business—a custom which was observed by Strabo and Diodorus among the ancient Iberians and Corsicans (Francisque Michel). It is probable that both these nations were of like origin, as in ancient times the Balearic Islands had Iberian inhabitants.
Lang wage.—The Basque language (or the Enskara, Eskuara, or Es kara, as they themselves call it) is said to be an incorporative language, and is therefore to be classed with the American idioms. The Euskara
contains, ifideed, much that is peculiar. The roots are all monosyllabic, those of two syllables having been formed either by prefix or by combina tion. The noun is the dominating part of speech, and there are few verbs capable of inflection: Father M. de Larramendi and Abbe Darrigol, both Basques by birth, give only about eighteen in their grammars. On these, especially on two of them, the whole verbal conjugation is based. The language makes a precise distinction between verbal and nominal roots, for all roots do not have both a verbal and a nominal meaning; thus, handl, "great," cannot at the same time mean to make great and the state of being great. Nouns and adjectives are declined alike, and nouns may even be compared like adjectives and with the same endings: mendi, "mountain;" mendiaga, "higher mountain," mena'iena, high, highest mountain." There is no grammatical gender, but there is an extensive system of declension, with singular and plural numbers and many cases, among which the nominative and accusative are not distinctly separated. All these forms are attained by certain suffixes which no longer occur inde pendently and have lost their original meaning. There is a definite article, which is joined, as in the Swedish language, to the end of the word: gizon, gizona, man;" but if two nouns or a noun and an adjective are the article and the declensional ending are attached to only one of them: 1 ur "'fresh 'water;" 1 ur garbi ti,`` the 2 fresh 'water," lur of fresh water" (ren is the suffix of the genitive, and consequently corresponds to our of); and' ur 4 ren, 4 ot 3 the fresh 1 water." The pronouns are declined almost like the nouns, but they seem to have retained (according to Abbe Darrigol) some fuller and older forms. In fact, the variety of their forms is their most peculiar feature. There are various though perhaps only dialectic forms of one and the same pronoun: the regular pronoun of the second person, Thou, has also a polite form in the singular (hi, hie, en, cue, "thou;" zu, zuc," thou, you," polite form; suck, zick, "you," plural); and in the verb itself, in which it is an important element, it appears in numerous forms.