[HOWLEY | OLD BASQUE TOMBSTONES AT PLACENTIA 83 
damaged and difficult to decipher. As well as can be made out it 
reads Cesana, but such a word is not known in the language. It may 
be a proper name. The fourth and fifth lines read as follows: — 
Usanno — Neneco. 
These words should be divided as follows: — Usann, Oneneco. Usan 
means odour, or perfume. The proper orthography is Usan, but it 
is pronounced by the people with a strong accent on the latter syllable, 
hence they have doubled the N in the inscription. Oneneco means 
“the best.” It is in the genitive case, and in a provincial form or 
patois. ‘Thus, Ona means good; hobea, better; hobeago, or hoberena, 
the best, genitive onenena, of the best, and provincially oneneco. Hence 
the two words Usan oneneco, mean “of the best, or sweetest odour ” 
(optimi odoris). This probably was the name of the house, homestead, 
manor, villa or townland of the family. It may have been so called 
on account of its fertility, and in happy allusion to the Scriptural ex- 
pression of Isaac and Jacob (Genesis XVIIT., 29) “ Odor filit mer sicut 
odor agri pleni ” (the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field). 
The sixth and last line contains the one word, SEME A, “The 
son.” There is no definite Article in the Basque language. The 
effect is produced by adding the termination A. Thus, SEME 
means Son, or A Son, SEM EA, The Son. 
The whole inscription then reads as follows: — 
‘‘ Here lies dead (or having died) 
(on) The first of May 1676 
John De Sale Ce ana 
The Son (or heir) of (the House) 
of Sweetest Odour.” 

The words of the inscription Gannis de Sale Cesana Usann 
Oneneco Semea are given in the following garbled manner in Harvey’s 
“Hand Book ”:—*“Canus de Tale le Araus Anno nenego Semea!” 
This is I presume the corrupt form in which the inscription was sent 
to Professor Robinson, and it is not to be wondered at, that that 
distinguished philologist could make nothing of it. 
As many tourists are of late years beginning to visit Newfound- 
land, it is to be hoped that a correct and authentic Guide Book may 
soon be published. 
