41 



however, so used, but improperly, in the Scotch dialect. Treating of 

 the Nouns, Doctor O'Brien, from an old Manuscript called " Kilian's 

 miscellaneous collection," asserts " the ancient Irish never inflected 

 their nouns by Terminations but by Initials.'' On this authority 

 he forms the declensions, which are three in inimber, according 

 to the changes which nouns undergo in their initials. It were to 

 be wished that he had adduced instances, that nouns do not un- 

 dergo terminational changes to express the cases ; for such instances 

 would shew the absurdity of the assertion. This is quite contrary 

 to all preceding grammarians, who have founded the declen- 

 sions on the terminational changes. There is an error respect- 

 ing the doubling of t, n and ^i in sound when they begin a word 

 having reference to the female kind in order to distinguish it from 

 the male. This error I have already pointed out in treating of the 

 mutable consonants. The rules for the distinction of genders are 

 not sufficiently comprehensive ; but his remarks on number are 

 original and curious. When the numeral, he says, attends the noun 

 plurality does not appear in the form of the noun until it goes to the 

 number three ; in consequence of which some might be apt to con- 

 sider the Irish to be like the Greek with respect to the Dual num- 

 ber. — The form of inflected nouns, with rules and examples for 

 their declensions are next given. And though the latter are termed 

 Initial, yet we find the termination to change in the various cases, 

 which are six, as in the Latin, although he uses only two cases in 

 tlie first specimens of declension, which he has given. After these 

 follows a long " Table for finding the Genitive Singular, the No- 

 minative and Genitive Plural of nouns of either gender " according 

 to tlie termination of the Nominative Singular, with examples. Ano- 

 ther immediately follows of Heteroclites ending in vowels, which are 

 treated of very accurately and minutely, as are also the Initial changes 



VOL. XV. G 



