i direkto. Mi komprenis,
kian grandan signifon povas havi por la lingvo konscie kreata la
plena uzado de tiu forto, kiu en lingvoj naturaj efikis nur parte,
blinde, neregule kaj neplene. Mi komencis kompari vortojn, sercxi
inter ili konstantajn, difinitajn rilatojn kaj cxiutage mi
forjxetadis el la vortaro novan grandegan serion da vortoj,
anstatauxigante tiun cxi grandegon per unu sufikso, kiu signifis
certan rilaton. Mi rimarkis tiam, ke tre granda amaso da vortoj pure
_radikaj_ (ekz. "patrino," "mallargxa," "trancxilo," k.t.p.) povas
esti facile transformitaj en vortojn _formitajn_ kaj malaperi el la
vortaro. La mehxaniko de la lingvo estis antaux mi kvazaux sur la
manplato, kaj mi nun komencis jam labori regule, kun amo kaj espero.
Baldaux post tio mi jam havis skribitan la tutan gramatikon kaj
malgrandan vortaron.

(_Finigota en la proksima numero_).

THE BIRTH OF ESPERANTO.

Freely translated, from an Esperanto version of a Private Letter
of Dr. Zamenhof written in Russian, by John Ellis.

"... You ask me how it was that the idea of creating an international
language occurred to me, and what was the history of the Esperanto
language from the time of its birth till to-day? The entire public
history of the language, that is to say, beginning from the day when
I gave it to the world, is more or less known to you; further, it is
not opportune now, for many reasons, to touch upon that period; I
will consequently relate to you, in general lines, merely the story
of the birth of my language.

"It would be difficult for me to tell you all this in detail, for
much of it I have myself forgotten. The idea, to the realisation of
which I have dedicated my whole life, struck me (it is ridiculous to
mention it) in my earliest childhood, and from that time never left
me. This circumstance will partly explain why I have laboured upon
the matter with so much determination, and why, in spite of all
difficulties and hardships, I have not abandoned the idea, as many
other working in the same field have done.

"I was born in Bielstock, in the department of Grodno (Russia), where
I spent the days of my boyhood. This fortuitous circumstance
determined the direction of my future ambitions, for the inhabitants
of Bielstock are of four different nationalities--Russians, Poles,
Germans, and Jews--each of which speaks a separate language, and is
on bad terms with the others. There, more than anywhere else, an
impressionable natur