OF THE HUMAN FAMILY. 33 



the Norman period. Whether fcdcm, paternal uncle, and ./('////', aunt, were in 

 common use among the Saxons, or were developed by scholars with the first 

 attempts at Saxon composition, is not so clear. 



It is evident from the present structure and past liistory of the English system, 

 that its original form was purely descriptive ; tlius, an uncle was described as 

 fatJiers's brother, or mother'' s brother ; a cousin as a father's brother's son or a mother's 

 brother's son, as the case might be, these relationships in the concrete being then 

 unknown. 



In the English language there are but eleven radical terms for blood relatives, 

 of which three are borrowed; and but two in practical use for marriage relatives. 



2. Prussian, and German-Swiss. — The German-Swiss form, as given in the table, 

 presents the legal system of the people speaking the German language. It is 

 founded upon the Roman form of which it is nearly a literal copy, and, therefore, 

 it does not require a special explanation.' 



On the other hand, the Prussian exhibits more nearly the common method of the 

 German people for designating tlicir kindred. There are original German terms 

 for uncle and aunt, grandson and granddaughter, and male and female cousin, 



' After receiving the carefully prepared German-Swiss Schedule given in the table, which was filled 

 out by Mr. C. Ilunziker, attorney-at-law of Berne, Switzerland, I addressed to this gentleman some 

 questions in reference thereto through the Hon. Theodore S. Fay, U. S. Minister Resident in Switz- 

 erland, and received from him through the same channel the following answers. The translation was 

 by Samuel J. Iluber, Esq., Attache of the Legation. 



Translation of the Report of Mr. Hunziker by Sam. J. Iliiber. 



Question 1. Is the wife of a nephew now called a niece (Nichte), in common speech ; and, in like 

 manner, is the husband of a niece called a nephew (Neffe) ? 



Answer. No. 



Question 2. Are the foreign terms Onkel and Tante also applied by a portion of the people both 

 to the paternal and maternal uncles and aunts as well as Oheiin and Muhvie"? 



Ansicer. Yes. The terms are identical, only the denominations Onkel and Tante are of more 

 recent [French] origin, while the terras Oheim (abbreviated Ohm.) and Bluhme are German. So, 

 in French, Onkel is called oncle, in old French uncle, derived from the Latin avunculus. Tanle is 

 the French word for Muhme ; old French ante from the Latin amita. Before the aforesaid terms 

 Onkel and Tante were adopted a portion of the people, for Oheim and Muhme, used the term Velter 

 and Base. This is still the case, even at present, with many, particularly country people, who not 

 unfrequently apply the term Vetter and Base to all collateral relatives. 



Question 3. Are my father's sister's son, my mother's brother's son, and my mother's sister's son 

 described by the term cousin ( Vetter), the same as marked on the schedule for my father's brother's 

 son? And, in like manner, is each of the four female cousins called Base? 



Answer. Yes. The terms Vetter and Base are often used in common life not in a strict sense 

 (in einem uneigentlichen Sinne), and, indeed, their application has nothing actually fixed; the rule, 

 however, may be fixed that no nearer relative but the descendants of brothers and sisters to each 

 other {Geschwisterkinder) are called Vettern and Basen (cousins), and that, therefore, these terms 

 embrace the first and second cousins, and, perhaps, even more remote collateral relations. 



Question i. Was the term Muhme, in ancient times, used to describe a niece and a cousin as well 

 •■xs an aunt, or either of them ? 



Answer. No. The term Muhme never described anything but an aunt. 



Question 5. Did the term Neffe originally signify a grandson as well as a nephew? 



Ansiuer. No. Even our most ancient legal sources contain but the terra Enkcl for Grosssohn 



5 May, 1S68 



