36 



scripts in the original characters, with copious Tables of the Con- 

 tractions." 



Part I. — Orthography. — Here the author endeavours to convey the 

 Irish sounds of the letters by means of those corresponding in Eng- 

 lish, but has omitted several peculiar to many of them. He has not 

 been very felicitous in his English correspondences; — These are fol- 

 lowed by the aspirated consonants and a classification of the letters 

 into vowels and consonants. The former are subdivided, ac- 

 cording to the preceding Grammarians, into broad and slender — the 

 latter into mutable and immutable. — The correspondence of vowels 

 in spelling is pointed out, and it is slated to have been unknown in 

 early times. The sounds of the Consonants mutable and immutable, 

 and of the Diphthongs and Triphthongs are then explained. 

 Eclipsis and Accent are next treated of, followed by observations on 

 reading Irish, and a catalogue of words to illustrate the various 

 sounds of the Letters. This part of Grammar is by no means suf- 

 ficiently illustrated. 



Etymology. — In treating this department Doctor Neilson omjts 

 giviiig a definition of it, though usual with other Grammarians; 

 nor has he informed us how many parts of speech in our 

 language, tl.ough they appear in the sequel when he comes to 

 treat of them in order. He commences, as is usual, with the article, 

 which is only one (corresponding with the definite in English,) the 

 declension of which he shews. General Rules for genders of 

 nouns follow, some of which are not correct. The cases he lays 

 down to be six, as in Latin, and on them he throws but little light. 

 The Declensions are i-tated to be only four terminational, with a 

 few Heteroclites. He first declines without the Article, then shews 

 the manner of declining with it, and points out the Initial Changes 

 of Nouns. On this department of granmiar he is remarkably clear, 

 and has nearly reached the wished for point of fixing the Declen- 



