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grammars and dictionaries sliould be made as perfect as the opportunities 

 and abilities of the authors will allow. These should be leminded that ac- 

 curacy, perspicuity, and fullness of illustration by means of examples, are 

 the great desiderata; and that as these books are designed for the use of 

 educated persons, it is unnecessary to occupy space with ordinary defini- 

 tions of the terms, article, noun, &c. Let the writer take it for granted 

 that the reader is already acquainted with the common terms and rules of 

 grammar, and proceed at once to describe the particular language under con- 

 sideration ; let all fanciful comparisons with Hebrew, Greek, &c., be excluded. 

 Each grammar should note the dialectical peculiarities of the language of 

 which it treats, and also the changes that may be taking place in it, that 

 is lo say, such as have been observed by the whites since they have been 

 familiar with it, and especially such as are indicated by ditferences in the 

 speech of old and young persons. To each grammar should be appended 

 one or more specimens of composition in the language, with an interlinear 

 English translation. For the purpose of comparison, the 'parable of the 

 Prodigal ."^cn is sujierior on many accounts to the Lord's Prayer, although 

 it would be well to give both. Eut it is very desirable, that to these should 

 be added some original production of the native mind — some speech, fable, 

 legend, or song, that may aiFord samples of aboriginal modes of thought as 

 well as of expression. It seems strange, that so apparently obvious and 

 easy a means of obtaining an insight into the workings of the mind of rude 

 nations, which would prove of the highest interest to the philosophical in- 

 quirer, should have been hitherto almost entirely overlooked. There 

 should also be prefixed to each work of the kind, an introduction giving 

 the name of the tribe and its subdivisions, the territory it occupies, its 

 numbers, a sketch of its past history as far as known, and present condi- 

 tion, and any peculiarities of its language, for which a proper place cannot 

 elsewhere be found. Li the dictionary it is necessary that, besides the defi- 

 nitions of the meaning of words, their etymology, i. e. the elements of which 

 they are composed, should be exhibited in all cases where it can be ascer- 

 tained. The want of this has been a serious defect in all the vocabularies 

 of Indian languages hitherto compiled. In the proposed series of works 

 some uniform and comprehensive system of noting sounds should be adopted, 

 basfd on the principle of representing each articulation by a single character; 

 and in all cases the accented syllable should be marked. A full set of rules 

 and hints, together with a copy of a grammar and dictionary published on 

 the plan of the Institution, might be sent to each person or body of persons 

 wh 1 engage to prepare a similar work to be published under its auspices. 

 Alihough the Institution cannot be expected to defray the whole expense 

 of publishing these works, it should offer to include in its '"Contributions"' 

 all such as are properly prepared. The size of the page is well adapted to 

 exhibit the inflexion of verbs, &c., in tabular forms, by studying which a 

 general view of a subject can be gained much more easily than when the 

 sevt-ral parts are scattered over a number of small pages. The types, too, 

 which are cut to represent certain sounds in one language, can be used 

 for the same sounds in other languages. It would immensely facilitate the 

 comparative study of these languages, if the works describing them were 

 all compiled on the same principle, written according to tlie same system 

 of notation, and embracetl in the same collection. 



What has been said relates only to the Indians within the United States, 

 to which, of course, the operations of the Institutiqp should, for a consider- 



