similarity to
the Finnish. Both belong to the Ugrian stock of agglutinative
languages, i.e., those which preserve the root most carefully, and
effect all changes of grammar by suffixes attached to the original
stein. Grimin has shown that both Gothic and Icelandic present traces
of Finnish influence.

The musical element of a language, the vowels, are well developed in
Finnish, and their due sequence is subject to strict rules of euphony.
The dotted o; (equivalent to the French eu) of the first syllable must
be followed by an e or an i. The Finnish, like all Ugrian tongues,
admits rhyme, but with reluctance, and prefers alliteration. Their
alphabet consists of but nineteen letters, and of these, b, c, d, f, g,
are found only in a few foreign words, and many others are never found
initial.

One of the characteristic features of this language, and one that is
likewise characteristic of the Magyar, Turkish, Mordvin, and other
kindred tongues, consists in the frequent use of endearing diminutives.
By a series of suffixes to the names of human beings, birds, fishes,
trees, plants, stones, metals, and even actions, events, and feelings,
diminutives are obtained, which by their form, present the names so
made in different colors; they become more naive, more childlike,
eventually more roguish, or humorous, or pungent. These traits can
scarcely be rendered in English; for, as Robert Ferguson remarks: "The
English language is not strong in diminutives, and therefore it lacks
some of the most effective means for the expression of affectionate,
tender, and familiar relations." In this respect all translations from
the Finnish into English necessarily must fall short of the original.
The same might be said of the many emotional interjections in which the
Finnish, in common with all Ugrian dialects, abounds. With the
exception of these two characteristics of the Ugrian languages, the
chief beauties of the Finnish verse admit of an apt rendering into
English. The structure of the sentences is very simple indeed, and
adverbs and adjectives are used sparingly.

Finnish is the language of a people who live pre-eminently close to
nature, and are at home amongst the animals of the wilderness, beasts
and birds, winds, and woods, and waters, falling snows, and flying
sands, and rolling rocks, and these are carefully distinguished by
corresponding verbs of ever-changing acoustic import. Conscious of the
fact that, in a people l