ana 



ruption of the other, forming an example of the 

 interchangeable 1 and r which occurs so frequent- 

 ly in many languages. A Chinaman always pro- 

 nounces an r like an 1, and Isaac Taylor in his in- 

 teresting work, The Alphabet, tells us that the 

 Japanese r answers to the Chinese 1 and its sign 

 has the same origin ; that in Egyptian, as in some 

 other languages, no clear distinction existed be- 

 tween r and 1, and that the primitive Semitic al- 

 phabet probably only possessed one sign for both. 

 In the edicts of Asoka the letters are inter- 

 changed, " raja " in some copies being written 

 " laja." In various countries, both east and west, 

 I have noticed that 1 and n are also frequently in- 

 terchanged, and I have sometimes heard such a 

 well-known name as Lucknow pronounced Nuck- 

 low. 



These facts once served as text for the follow- 

 ing dedication : 



TO LOLA ON HER BIRTHDAY. 



(A philological analysis) 



Interchangeable letters philologists say 

 Occur in most languages: therefore they may 

 Not only be looked for in words, but as well 

 In names, where they often get mixed up pell-mell. 



