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Article CHRISTMAS DAY ON BOARD HER MAJESTY'S SHIP "NONSUCH." ← Page 4 of 4 Article A PHILOLOGICAL FANCY Page 1 of 3 →
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Christmas Day On Board Her Majesty's Ship "Nonsuch."
" Give honour to their memories who left the pleasant strand , To shed their blood so freely for the love of Fatherland—Who left their chance of quiet age , and grassy churchyard graves , So freely for a restless bed amid the tossing waves . " And even as the old man spake the band had ceased the merry strains of the " Fine old English Gentleman , " and now , as he finished , softly ancl solemnly pealed
forth the hearts stirring tones of Handel ' s " Dead March . " But only for a few minutes ; Christmas festivities are too precious to the sailor—links , like angels visits , few ancl far between , that draw him nearer home—to be move than transiently clouded . So the Admiral waves his hand , and the tune is changed to " Swallows Homeward Fly , " as the procession leaves the lower deck to its undisturbed possession of the enjoyments that have been prepared , not least of which amongst many is reckoned the kindness of tho Admiral in allowing his men to " splice the mainbrace . " Fimui'A .
A Philological Fancy
A PHILOLOGICAL FANCY
BY BKO . W . EOWB 0 TT 0 M .
" QO y ° think the English language destined to become universal ? " ^ " The truth of our theory almost appears to require it . " " All calculations based on the ratio of the increase and progress of peoples prove it . " " Foreign philologists are led to believe it , from the study of the points of superiority it possesses over other tongues . " "It is the language of commerce , and has superseded Latin as the language of '
science . " " Civilization and religion will alike eventually secure it . " " Well , I am somewhat inclined to agree with you ; but it leads to strange conclusions if a line of reasoning acceptable , if I mistake not , to the present company , be followed . " The last speaker , who was the one who had asked the question which had drawnforth so unanimous an expression of opinion , looked round at his companions . Thecompany was chiefly composed of brethren , among whom not a few were believers in the Anglo-Israel theory .
" I do not see how that can be so , " replied one . " To me , it would appear rather a case of ' survival of the fittest , ' than involving any phflosophical speculations . " " You may think so , but can you answer me this : 'What was the primeval language ?'" " 'Tis a question easier asked than answered . " " You may well say that , for I have never yet heard a satisfactory answer given to
it . I remember asking that question when quite a youth . The " subject of man ' s life before the Flood had been under discussion , ancl it struck me as something very strange that the grand primeval language should have left no distinguishing marks upon its off-shoots by which an idea of its nature might have been formed . " " The Jews , or at least many among them , maintain that Hebrew was the original languageon the ground that Abram was called before the Confusion of Tonguesancl
, , therefore , not being involved in the sin of the builders of Babel , would retain the use of the early speech . " " So I have read ; but then what was the language of Abram ? for it appears to me that it would be very difficult to prove that it was Hebrew as now known . The nature
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Christmas Day On Board Her Majesty's Ship "Nonsuch."
" Give honour to their memories who left the pleasant strand , To shed their blood so freely for the love of Fatherland—Who left their chance of quiet age , and grassy churchyard graves , So freely for a restless bed amid the tossing waves . " And even as the old man spake the band had ceased the merry strains of the " Fine old English Gentleman , " and now , as he finished , softly ancl solemnly pealed
forth the hearts stirring tones of Handel ' s " Dead March . " But only for a few minutes ; Christmas festivities are too precious to the sailor—links , like angels visits , few ancl far between , that draw him nearer home—to be move than transiently clouded . So the Admiral waves his hand , and the tune is changed to " Swallows Homeward Fly , " as the procession leaves the lower deck to its undisturbed possession of the enjoyments that have been prepared , not least of which amongst many is reckoned the kindness of tho Admiral in allowing his men to " splice the mainbrace . " Fimui'A .
A Philological Fancy
A PHILOLOGICAL FANCY
BY BKO . W . EOWB 0 TT 0 M .
" QO y ° think the English language destined to become universal ? " ^ " The truth of our theory almost appears to require it . " " All calculations based on the ratio of the increase and progress of peoples prove it . " " Foreign philologists are led to believe it , from the study of the points of superiority it possesses over other tongues . " "It is the language of commerce , and has superseded Latin as the language of '
science . " " Civilization and religion will alike eventually secure it . " " Well , I am somewhat inclined to agree with you ; but it leads to strange conclusions if a line of reasoning acceptable , if I mistake not , to the present company , be followed . " The last speaker , who was the one who had asked the question which had drawnforth so unanimous an expression of opinion , looked round at his companions . Thecompany was chiefly composed of brethren , among whom not a few were believers in the Anglo-Israel theory .
" I do not see how that can be so , " replied one . " To me , it would appear rather a case of ' survival of the fittest , ' than involving any phflosophical speculations . " " You may think so , but can you answer me this : 'What was the primeval language ?'" " 'Tis a question easier asked than answered . " " You may well say that , for I have never yet heard a satisfactory answer given to
it . I remember asking that question when quite a youth . The " subject of man ' s life before the Flood had been under discussion , ancl it struck me as something very strange that the grand primeval language should have left no distinguishing marks upon its off-shoots by which an idea of its nature might have been formed . " " The Jews , or at least many among them , maintain that Hebrew was the original languageon the ground that Abram was called before the Confusion of Tonguesancl
, , therefore , not being involved in the sin of the builders of Babel , would retain the use of the early speech . " " So I have read ; but then what was the language of Abram ? for it appears to me that it would be very difficult to prove that it was Hebrew as now known . The nature