Vocabulary of the Mozambique Idioms. 141 



wretched leaky vessel to the coast of Brazil. On our asking 

 these three swarthy fellow-labourers, hearty of aspect and 

 neatly clothed, who had been so carefully tended by the State, 

 and earned, one as a house-servant, the other two as stone- 

 masons, thirty milreis (£3 3s.) a month, whether they did not 

 feel themselves better off in Rio than in their own home, — 

 they, with one accord, answered that they longed to return to 

 Quillimani, where it is hardly requisite to work above six 

 months, and the rest of the year may be consumed in a 

 genuine ^^ dolce far niente" existence, instead of being com- 

 pelled, as in Rio, to work the whole year round ! 



In spite of long-continued efforts, the vocabulary turned 

 out much less complete than we wished, in consequence of 

 the limited capacity of these negroes. We did not content 

 ourselves, however, with merely transcribing the answers 

 to our questions, but also endeavoured to obtain a more 

 accurate idea of the precise meaning attached to each, by 

 repeating each of the words of the Mozambique language, and 

 translating into it from the questions put in Portuguese. This 

 method seemed to be the most effectual for ensuring the 

 correctness of the pronunciation, so as to permit of its being 

 afterwards reduced to writing. In the arrangement of the 

 vocabulary, we availed ourselves of what is known as Gallatin's 

 method, as it appeared to us more complete and comprehensive 

 than that sent to our academy by the celebrated naturalist 

 and traveller, Dr. Marti us, of Munich, with a request that 

 it should have his list of Latin words translated into the 



