The People of Hayti. 
135 
erally,) is it to-day that I am come? ” or “I have been come some time.” 
The meme in Creole is very emphatic: “ Li aimd meme —he»reaily loves.” 
“ Li pas td vld mdme — he would not consent on any account.” All the 
emphasis in pronunciation is thrown upon the meme. “ Eh, bien! com¬ 
ment ou (yd)? “Well, how are you?” The usual answer is: “A la 
volontd maite; ” or “ a la volantd de Did.” 
The Lord's Prayer in Creole. 
“Papa-nou, qui n’en ciel; nou ’mandd ou fait nom ou sanctifld; fait 
rdgne ou veni, fait la volontd ou fait n£n terre comme n’en ciel. Ba nou 
jourdi la nourriture qui va suffit nou pour la jounde; pardonnd nou pdche 
nou, comme nou pardonne 9 a qui pdchd conte, nou, pas quittd nou tombd 
nen tentation mais oudtd nou nen main satan. Amen.” 
The translation furnished to me by Mr. Ackermann is some¬ 
what different. I subjoin it, also, so that both versions may be 
compared with the French original: — 
“Papa nou, ou qui nen ciel, nom ou li saint, que royaume ou pour nou, 
et que volontd ou va fait sou terre cou nen ciel. Bah nou di pain ’joudi 
nou besoin et pardon pour offences nou fait ou, cou nou a pd bay pardon a 
tout moun qui offensd nou et pas quittd nou tombd nen tentation: mais 
delivrd nou de tout sa qui mal, ce royaume la tout c’est pour vou, par not 
seigneur. Amen.” 
Creole can be acquired easily in three or six months if one 
lives among the people. In order to facilitate the acquisition 
of the dialect, a grammar, with conversations, phrases, songs, 
and the proverbs of Hayti, in Creole, will be issued under the 
supervision of the Bureau of Emigration. 
“With ^jj^blacks, ’’ says Moreau de St. Mery, writing of 
Hayti at the close of the last century, “gestures are very 
numerous, and they form an intrinsic part of their language. 
They love, above all, to express imitative sounds. Ho they 
speak of a cannon shot, they add bourne; of a musket shot, 
poume ; of a blow on the face, pimme ; of a kick, or blow with 
a stiek, bimme ; of whipping, v’lap v'lap. Does one fall down 
lightly, they add, bap ; heavy, it is bourn f; in tumbling down, blou 
coutoum ; and whenever’they wish to render an imitative sound, 
they repeat the term as far, far, far, far away, —which sig nify 
at a great distance.” 
