he languages of the Latin branch of the Classical stock.

The French requires to be more minutely exhibited.

Between the provincial French of the north and the provincial French of the
south, there is a difference, at the present day, at least of dialect, and
perhaps of language. This is shown by the following specimens: the first
from the canton of Arras, on the confines of Flanders; the second from the
department of Var, in Provence. The date of each is A.D. 1807.

I.

_Luke_ xv. 11.

11. Ain homme avoueait deeux garch['e]ons.

12. L'pus jone dit a sain p[`e]re, "Main p[`e]re, baill['e] m'cheu
qu[^i] doueo me 'r v'nir ed vous bien," et lue p[`e]re leu partit sain
bien.

13. Ain n'sais yur, tro, quate, ch['e]on jours apr[`e]s l'pus ti[`o]
d'cn['e]s d['e]eux ['e]f['e]ans [^o]yant r'cu['e]ll['e] tout s'n'
h['e]ritt'main, s'ot' ainvoye dains n[^a]in pahis gramain loueon, d['u]
qu'il ['e]chilla tout s'n' argint ain fageant l'braingand dains ch['e]s
cabarets.

14. Abord qu'il o eu tout bu, tout mi['e] et tout dr['e]l['e], il o
v'nu adonc dains ch' pahis lo ainn' famaine cruueelle, et i
c'mainchonait d'avoir fon-ye d' pon-ye (i.e. faim de pain).

II.

THE SAME.

11. Un hom['e] avi['e] dous enfans.

12. Lou plus pichoun digu['e]t a son paeir['e], "Moun paeir['e], dounas
mi ce qu[`e] mi reven de vouastr['e] ben;" lou pair['e] faguet lou
partag['e] de tout ce que pouss['e]davo.

13. Paou do jours apr[`e]s, lou pichoun vend['e]t tout se qu[`e] soun
paeir['e] li avi['e] desamparat, et s'en an['e]t d['i]ns un paeis
fourco luench, ount['e] dissip['e]t tout soun ben en debaucho.

14. Quand agu['e]t tou arcaba, uno grosso famino arribet dins aqueou
paeis et, leou, si vegu['e]t reduech [`a] la derniero mis[`e]ro.

Practically speaking, although in the central parts of France the northern
and southern dialects melt into each other, the Loire may be considered as
a line of demarcation between two languages; the term language being
employed because, in the Middle Ages, whatever may be their real
difference, their northern tongue and the southern tongue were dealt with
not as separate dialects, but as distinct languages--the southern being
called Provencal, the northern Norman-French.

Of these two languages (for so they will in the following pages be called,
for the sake of convenience) the southern, or Provencal, appro