ave come--the German,
French, and Italian, Saxon and others. The Saxon of to-day, compared
with the Saxon of 2,000 years ago, is very different; so much so that for
us to learn and speak it would be equal to learning a new language. Thus
the English language is a thing of growth. In the year 1362 the Saxon
was made the court language of England. From that time onward its growth
has been wonderful.

The prophetic outlines and Divine place of this language may be seen in
the germal foundations, which give unto it such vigour, tenacity, and
capabilities of expansion. All the features of this language go to show
that it is destined to be the medium of a world's intercourse, and that
it very suitably belongs to Israel, in whose hand will be the destiny of
the world. It is the lion of languages. It will grow anywhere, and by
reason of its tenacity when once it gets a foothold it abides. It is
peculiarly suited to the humanities of every race, clime, and condition;
there is no limit to its expansive adaptability. It is in a special
manner voracious in the destruction of other languages; wherever it goes,
it sounds the death-knell of all the rest.

Soon as this language entered Britain, it began its work of destruction.
Before it has disappeared the real British, the Cymric or Welsh, Erse or
Irish, the Gaelic of Scotland, and the Manx of the Isle of Man. The
British Keltic is entirely gone; the rest are entirely local. Beside
these it ousted from the island the Norse, the Norman-French, and several
other tongues that tried to transplant themselves on English soil. It is
at work in every part of the globe, planting itself and displacing
others. A few years ago French was the language best suited for a
traveller on the Continent. But this has changed. Now the English is by
far superior. And why is it that the English is supplanting all others?
To answer such a question in a scientific way, one cannot do better than
quote from the great and learned German philologist, Prof. Grimm, of
Berlin. He says of it: "It has a thorough power of expression, such as
no other language ever possessed. It may truly be called a
world-language, for no other can compare with it in richness,
reasonableness, and solidity of texture." But perhaps the most definite
and distinct testimony given by a foreigner touching the future ubiquity
of the Anglo-Saxon race and language, is that put forward by Provost
Paradol, a learned Frenchman.