ORIGIN OF AUSTRALIAN NATIVES. 



15 



aborigines of Victoria, says: " In talking to a clever 

 Australian native, one feels that he is speaking to a 

 person who has all the faculties (though undeveloped) 

 of a European. Such a native is quiet and dignified 

 in his manner." 



LANGUAGES. 



Mr. Curr, in his exhaustive work, gives specimens 

 of over two hundred distinct languages, and suggests 

 that the real number will probably approach nearer to 

 five hundred. By this I presume he means to include 

 some that might more properly be termed mere 

 dialects. 



To show the reader how widely these languages 

 differ, I have compiled from Mr. Curr's tables, and 

 have rearranged, several words with the equivalents, 

 as spoken by tribes from different parts of the Aus- 

 tralian continent, as specimens. 



Let us take, e.g., the words kangaroo, opossum, a 

 young man, baby. 



