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languages, perhaps not enough. The examples of affiliation that had been given, so far from being visionary, or mere accidental coincidences, would, he believed, be found to rest, in nearly every instance, on a true philological basis. He did not agree with the objection made to this paper that the only true way to study the affinities of language was to begin with the grammatical construction. It was a much readier and surer way to begin with the comparison of vocables. The first word adduced by Mr. Aston, na, English name, which had been objected to as a false example, is certainly of Aryan origin. The word runs through most of the oriental languages. In India its pronunciation fluctuates between nam and nao, while the Sanskrit is naman, the two forms corresponding to the Japanese na and namaye. Mr. Brown thought the suggestion, in the paper read, that the changes of form in Aryan words found in Japanese, were regulated by determinate and discoverable laws, was an important one; and he thought it a confirmation of this idea that the Bonzes, in transliterating Indian terms into Japanese characters, invariably represent the Sanskrit letters by the values which Mr. Aston gives them, h or f for the Sanskrit p, ph and b, and k for the Sanskrit h. The Sanskrit ti is naturally softened to tci or chi, the sibilant being intercalated for ease or euphony, as it is also, not unfrequently, in the Western languages. In philological inquiries similarity of sound is not alone a proof of radical identity; we must also trace the historical connection of the words compared. Nor does dissimilarity of sound disprove identity; words that are very unlike in pronunciation often prove to have been originally the same. For example, the English word pot and the Japanese hatci are as far apart as they well could be, and yet, on historical grounds, we must pronounce them identical, for our pot, which is from the Norse poti, corresponds with the Sanskrit patra, and the Assamese and Bengali bati; and the latter, transliterated by Japanese rules, must become just what it is, hatci or batci. Mr. Brown believed that the comparison of Japanese with the Aryan languages, instead of showing meagre results, would prove a rich field of philological research, especially the comparison of Japanese and Greek. With the Burmese language Japanese has very strong affinities, not only in its vocabulary but in its grammatical structure.
The second paper, (translated and read by Mr. Howell), was on “The Increase of the Flora of Japan,” by Dr. Savatier of Yokoska.
The third paper (read by Sir H. Parkes) was on “A Journey in North-East Japan,” by Captain Blakiston.
Dr. Hepburn read Remarks on the Climate of Yokohama, to accompany his Meteorological Tables for the seven years, from 1863 to 1859.
Meteorological Observations were also presented, made at Nagasaki by Mr. Geerts, during the year 1872.
Arrangements were made for a Special Meeting to consider the Revised Constitution and By-Laws; and it was resolved to hold the Annual Meeting early in July.
