150 



words have fixed the attention of the learned, 

 who have endeavoured to recognize the Phoeni- 

 cian and Moabite tongues in the word camosi 

 of the Pareni. Fuebot and Zenquerot seem to 

 remind us of the Phoenician words mot (lutum), 

 ardod (robur), ephot, &c. But what can we 

 conclude from simple terminations, which are 

 most frequently foreign to the root ? In He- 

 brew, the feminine plurals terminate also in oth, 

 I noted entire phrases in Poignavi ; but the 

 young man, whom I interrogated, spoke so 

 quick, that I could not seize the division of 

 the words, and should have written them as 

 Aristophanes writes Persian *. 



In reflecting on the names of the missions 

 founded by Spanish monks, we may be led into 

 error with respect to the elements of the popu- 

 lation employed at the period of their founda- 

 tion. The Jesuits led the Maypure Indians to 

 Encaramada and Atures, when they construct- 

 ed these two villages ; but the mission of May- 

 pures itself was not founded by an assemblage 

 of the Indians of the same name. This mission 

 consisted originally of Guipunabis, who came 



* Seethe speech of Artabanes, in Acharn. Act \, scene 3. 

 I cite this passage, because, like the Foenulus of Plautus, it 

 reminds us in what manner travellers have at all times disfi- 

 gured the languages of the nations they have visited, and the 

 sounds of which they fancied they could express by the let-' 

 ters of their own alphabet. 



