166 KEV, T. POWELL ON THE 



the Malagasy have come from Arabia, but rather to show that there is not 

 necessarily a proof of common origin, even though isolated words may in 

 some instances correspond with those that belong to Arabia. 



Mr. D. Howard, V.P.C.S. — I am sure we shall all join in thanking Mr. 

 Powell for having brought this interesting subject before us. It is undoubtedly 

 only recently that folk-lore has been regarded as a subject worthy of any 

 one's attention. I believe it was Grimm, the great grammarian, who first 

 began to think the old nursery tales were worth looking into, that we 

 might see what they really meant ; and although in some cases they have 

 been made to mean a great deal more than was originally intended, yet it 

 has been shown that tho nursery stories of one's boyhood, and, much more 

 than these, the old mythical tales, half history and half myth, or half 

 religious and half historical, are well worthy of the examination they are 

 receiving. It is very important, wherever it can be done, that these old 

 stories and legends should be taken down in writing in due time ; because, 

 whea a rude or barbarous people are brought into contact with any form of 

 civilisation, it is wonderful how soon they lose their long-cherished traditions. 

 They do not remember, after a while, what are their ancient legends and 

 what are not ; and therefore, where it so happens that any one can commit to 

 writing and thus preserve a record of such traditionary stories as might 

 otherwise be lost, the probability is that they will be found to have very 

 important bearings. I fully feel the remark that has been made about 

 putting the unfortunate languages of the Polynesian islands into the remark- 

 ably rugged and intractable form of alphabet, whether it be Egyptian, or 

 Greek, or Etruscan, which we use, and which certainly is such as to prevent 

 the full philological study they might otherwise receive. Of course the 

 greatest pains are taken in these matters, but when we get to seven or eight 

 diacritical marks for one vowel, it is difiicult to arrive at any real idea of the 

 philological value of the different words. Here we have undoubtedly a tri- 

 literal language which, as far as philology goes, points very strongly to a Semitic 

 origin. "We have Semitic traditions — not merely the general traditions we 

 find all over the world — of the Creator and the Flood ; and I think it is not 

 too much to assert that not only do we find them everywhere, but that they 

 display the most minute points of connexion with the Jewish nation. "We 

 hear a good deal of discussion as to where the inhabitants of the Polynesian 

 Islands came from. Some would have it that they came to those parts of 

 the world when they united to the mainland, and have remained there ever 

 since. If this be so, the geological changes that have taken place must have 

 gone on with remarkable rapidity, assuming them all to have hapj)ened since 

 the time of Abraham. In that case we shall have to look to our geology. 

 It is, I think, most important to endeavour to get at every point that 

 does throw a light on the past before we attempt to throw a light on it 

 out of our own inner consciousness. In the present instance we have one 

 of those side lights, which may, if duly followed up, prove of great value. 

 I am sure we are all very grateful to Mr, Powell for the important con- 

 tribution be has put befpre us, and I hope be may give us not only this 



