201 

 THE CORNISH LANGUAGE. 



Mu. EDITOR, Many of your readers, though per- 

 haps not all, are aware, that the Cornish are some of 

 the remains of the ancient Celtic inhabitants of this is- 

 land of those who have left the Cromlegh and the 

 stone circle, of which so many specimens still exist on 

 our uncultivated mountain districts, In fact the Celtic 

 tribes, as well as their monuments, have taken refuge 

 in the mountains; and it is in the Highlands of Scot- 

 land ; the hilly parts of Cumberland ; Wales, and Corn- 

 wall that their posterity still occupy the soil. The 

 Scotch Highlander and the Welchman probably do 

 not come within the scope of the " Museum ;" but the 

 Cornishman is our next neighboury and we feel a warm 

 interest in all that belongs to him. The Celtic language 

 is still spoken in Wales and in the Scotch Highlands ; 

 and a dialect of the same was formerly the colloquial 

 speech of Cornwall. We do not very well know how 

 long it has been generally superseded by the English ; 

 the last individual who could speak it freely, died 30 

 or 40 years since ; and very few understood it 100 years 

 ago. It seems, indeed, to have gone very much out, 

 before the invention of printing ; as no old printed books 

 exist in the language. Some old manuscripts have 

 been printed of late years; but unfortunately the 

 Cornish seem never to have felt that pride in their lan- 

 guage which distinguishes the Welch and Highlanders ; 

 and the consequence is, that very little of it remains, 

 even in manuscript. One individual, Mr. Davy, of 

 St. Just, is said still to retain a great many Cornish 

 words, and some phrases, not to be found in the small 

 collections that have been printed ; and with him these 

 must pass away, unless some person be at the pains 

 to get them preserved by the press. If any friend of 

 yours, resident in that neighbourhood, will obtain all 

 that Mr. Davy will communicate, and transmit it to 

 you, your pages may yet rescue it from oblivion. 



The Cornish language, however, differed considerably 

 from the others mentioned, in the oldest manuscripts 



