The Anglo-Saxon Language.

Eng lish ; and that the German form giessen ( with change of t to ss , as in water to wasser ) , is a common word . Students are beginning to learn these laws of letter-change , and many now know then- consonants . The harder task remains , that we should learn our vowels . False philology considers the consonants to be of no particular value , and the vowels of none at all . True philology recognizes the converse of tins , that the value of the consonants is considerable , but that of the vowels supreme . The life

of the word is in the vowel . The letters ' f' and ' t' mean nothing ; hut fate , fat , feet , fit , fight , fought , and foot , are distinct words . How then are we to believe in any etymology which ignores the history of vowels ? I will take an easy example . Wc know that the plural of foot is feet ; this is because an Anglo-Saxon long o , now represented by oo , passes into long e , now represented by ee . In other words , ee is the modification of oo , and can be derived from it ; but the process cannot be reversed . We cannot derive doom from deem , hut must derive deem from doom . So also , to feed is to give food ; bleed is to run with blood ; breed is to produce a brood .

The Anglo-Saxon ivitenagemdte , or Parliament , is not to be derived from the verb to meet ; but the verb to meet is from moot , the assembly . Hence we gain a clue to English spelling , too much misunderstood . If , as I have heard it said , it be a mark of education to spell system with ' y , ' because it is Greek , it is equally a mark of education to know enough of old English to say why fought is spelt with on , hut taught with au ; and surely we ought to know why gh is found in these words , as well as in light and

night . The most hopeful sign for the scientific study of English is given by the splendid results gained for us by Mr . Ellis and Mr . Sweet . The study of English phonetics is now possible , and the results will be very valuable . We shall be able to explain the spelling of nearly every word that we use , and to say why it has taken its present form . The study of Anglo-Saxon can hardly be ignored as heretofore . The historical method of the study of English is the only rational one , and must one day

prevail . It ought to be well known that there are two stages in the knowledge of Anglo-Saxon ; a first stage , involving the knowledge of essential facts , and a second stage requiring time , research , and critical power . To attain to the second stage is not in the reach of many ; but to attain to the first is in the reach of all . A few weeks is all that is necessary for gaining a true light upon English grammar . It is just this work of a few weeks which is too often set aside . All experience shows that while those who neglect the study of Anglo-Saxon cannot even imagine how much they lose , those who enter upon it will never regret the day when they first sought to investigate the main part of their own language in its oldest form . "

The Oberammergau Play.

THE OBERAMMERGAU PLAY .

^ E are glad to see that the performance in a London Theatre of this remarkable and religious representation has been for a time put a stop to . In our opinion it is a great mistake to have thought to reproduce in London what is a specialite of the most serious and touching kind at Oberammergau . We agree with the Times when it says : — f M , " Weie a ^ stal' ^ e <^ ^ ast wee k hy an announcement that several of the tableaux M the Oberammergau lay to he reproduced at London Theatre bthe oriinal

pwere a y g pertormers . Protests _ against this unworthy desecration , as many considered it , of a ceremony certainly religious in intent and in original purpose , were raised in various quarters . In deference to these protests the manager of the Aquarium announced a raw days ago . that the proposed reproduction had been abandoned . Few will question ne wisdom of this decision . Public opinion would certainly have been shocked , nowever much the curiosity of the vulgar might have been gratified , by the transfer of Jiy portion of the sacred drama from a remote village in Bavaria to a . 'London stage ; a this point , however , it is unnecessary to dwell , as the performances will not be