226 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



tenses, the present among the rest, being compounded of the sub- 

 stantive verb and of portions of the verb that is under consideration. 

 It is the ^jj-ese/ii tense of the Irish verb that I have given as the 

 equivalent of the verbs which I have taken from the Inscriptions. 

 Several, indeed all, of the verbs in question could easily assume a 

 Gaelic form and preserve the distinctive termination of Gaelic 

 verbs, e. g. 



Honlorni, dh-aontaiclb mi, I assented. 



Garsoiyie, ghreas mi, I hurried. 



Persnimu, hhrosnuich mi, I incited. 



Pertome, bhruth mi, I bruised. 



Purome, bheir mi, I will give. 



Tettome, dhithich mi, I destroyed. 



Todcome, thainig m,i, I came. 



Spahmei, spoch mi, I robbed, etc. 

 It is thus the past tense of the Gaelic verb that represents the 

 present tense of the Irish verb. It may be well to observe that the 

 aspiration of words in Irish Gaelic is effected by placing a dot over 

 them, and that in Scottish Gaelic aspiration is effected by inserting' 

 the letter h. It may be remai'ked here, that the evidence which 

 the verbs under consideration fiirnish, is in favour of the conten- 

 tion of Irish Grammarians respecting the antiquity of the ^:)rese«.^ 

 ten^e, and against the opinion of Gaelic Grammarians, that Scottish 

 Gaelic is more ancient than Irish Gaelic, because it has a past and 

 future tense merely, and because it is thus on the same level with 

 the Semitic languages so far as the number of tenses is concerned. 



Stahm.ei, stad vii, shuidhich mi, I settled. 



Asame, asam, 1 make. 



Smuirsime, smuais mi, I break to pieces. 



Tertiamne, tairtJd ihiin, I save. 



Randem,e, raonaim, I defeat. 



Totam, tathaim, I unite. 



Proman, pronnaim, I give. 



Pesnimu, beascnaigJmn, I grant. 



Eturstahmu, dh- eadar shuidhich mi, I interposed. 



TerimiO'iie, thearmunnaich mi, I protected. 

 Here are additional verbs which occur in the Inscriptions, and 

 which corroborate the argument that I have sought to extract from 



