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hours leifure to fill this with what I have ftill to in- 

 form you of, with refpect to the different languages 

 of Canada Thofe who have ftudied them to the- 

 bottom, pretend that the three of which I formerly 

 made mention, have all the marks of primitive lan- 

 guages : and it is certain that they have not any 

 common origin. Their pronounciation would be 

 alone fufficient to prove this. The Sioux Indian hif- 

 fes rather than fpeaks. The Huron knows none of 

 the labial letters, fpeaks thro' the throat, and afpi- 

 rates almoft all the fyllables \ the Algonquin pronoun- 

 ces with a fofter tone, and fpeaks more naturally. 

 I have not been able to learn any thing particular, 

 with lefpedt to the fir ft of thefe three tongues ; but our 

 ancient miffionaries have laboured much on the two 

 others, and on their principal dialects : the follow- 

 ing is what I have heard laid by the mo ft able of 

 , them. 



The Huron language has a copioufnefs, an ener- 

 gy, and a noblenefs, which are fcarce to be found 

 united in any of the fineft we know, and thofe whofe 

 native tongue it is, tho' but a handful of people, 

 ftill retain a certain elevation of foul, which agrees 

 - much better with the majefiy of their difcourfe, 

 than with the wretched eftate to which they are re- 

 duced. Some have imagined they found fome re- 

 femblance with the Hebrew in it ; others, and a 

 much greater, pretend that it has the fame origin 

 with that of the Greeks ; but nothing can be more 

 frivolous than the proofs they al ledge in fupport of 

 ' k. We are in a fpecial manner to beware of re- 

 lying on the vocabulary of the Friar Gabriel Saghard 

 a Recollect, which has been cited in favour of this 

 opinion : ftill lefs on that of James Cartier, and of 

 the Baron de la Hon tan. Thefe three authors took 

 at- random a few wordr, fome from the Huron, and 



others 



