áu, a in far, and u in put; producing a flat sound of the ou, such as is sometimes heard in the vulgar pronunciation of round, sound, &c. oi, short o and short i, as in oil, boil. eu, is used to denote a peculiar sound of the Sháns, resembling the French eu in peur, douleur. The combinations ia, iau, iu, eau, óa or úa, ue, ui, and üi, need no further explanation, as each of the vowels is used to express its own invariable sound. Intonations.-The grand peculiarity of all languages connected with the Chinese family, appears to be the complexity and niceness of their system of intonation. The first diversity of tone which strikes us, is the use of the rising and falling inflections, or the upward and downward slide of the voice in pronouncing a syllable. In English, we use inflections not for the purpose of changing the significations of words, but to give them a more striking emphasis, or often perhaps merely for the sake of ornament and variety. Did you go? Where did you go ? The word go, in the first sentence, has the rising tone; in the second, the falling. But in the Indo-Chinese languages, this modification of tone produces distinct words, of an entirely different sense. To express this modification, in the Roman character, it is proposed to draw a straight line under the initial letter of every syllable which has the downward tone; leaving the rising tone in its natural state, without any mark. The Barmese represent the falling tone by writing their shepauk at the end of the syllable; while in the Láos and Siamese systems, this distinction is denoted in writing by a difference in the initial consonant. The latter mode is preferred; for although a diacritical mark, attached to a final letter, might be quite practicable in Romanizing the Barmese, it could not well be adopted in the Shán and Siamese, on account of its interference with other important tones. We may illustrate the proposed plan of using the line underneath, by the words no and not, as heard in the following sentences; in the two former of which we have the rising tone; in the two latter, the falling. Did you say no? Will you not? I said no. I will not. The second peculiarity of intonation, is the abrupt termination of a sound, as if it were broken off in the midst of its enunciation. In this case, the volume of voice is full at the end; contrary to the other modifications, where the sound is drawn out in such a manner, that the volume of voice gradually decreases from the commencement to the close. To distinguish this peculiarity, it is proposed to place a dot under the final vowel or consonant, after the manner of the Barmese aukmyit. The Sháns apply the abrupt termination to words both of the rising and falling inflection, thus making four varieties to every syllable; while the Barmese have only three, the natural or rising, the falling, and the abrupt. The low monotone forms the only remaining peculiarity of the Shán dialects. For the expression of this, a straight line is drawn underneath the intermediate or final vowel. The five varieties of intonation will then be expressed as follows: kang, the natural rising tone. kang, the same, with abrupt termination. kang, the downward tone. kang, the same, with abrupt termination. Consonants.-B, ch, d, f, g hard, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, y, z, are used as in English. H, used after another consonant, shows that it is aspirated; thus kh is sounded as in packhorse; th, as in pot-house, not as in think; ph, as in up-hill, not as in philosophy; sh, as in glass-house, not as in ship. To express the sounds of sh in ship, and th in think, the letters are united by a line drawn through them, thus, sh, th. Ng is sounded as in singing. Change of Consonants.-It is to be noted, that in all Barmese verbal, numeral, and noun affixes, reduplications of monosyllabic roots, and generally, in the added syllables of compound words, commencing with either of the sharp consonants k, t, p, or s, these letters are changed, in pronunciation, to the corresponding flat or soft consonants, g, d, b, and z; unless when preceded by a sharp final consonant, in which case the original sound is preserved. It is particularly requested, that in filling up the blank columns of this list with other dialects, the spelling may agree, as far as practicable, with the plan here laid down. In case new varieties of intonation occur in any language, it is very desirable that they should be denoted by marks under the letters, and not over them. There will then be room above the line for diacritical marks, to express all possible varieties of vowel sound, in every language; while the intonations will be uniformly denoted by appropriate marks underneath. In introducing native terms into English writing and printing, all marks below the line, as they would convey no idea to an English reader, may be disregarded, and only the accents above the vowels be preserved. There can be little doubt that the Roman character may be applied with the greatest ease and advantage to the lan guage of China, and it is quite certain that their present complex hieroglyphical mode of writing must, sooner or later, give way to some regular alphabetic system. The number of the Chinese intonations being, according to Dr. Marshman, not more than four or five, will be even less difficult of expression than those of the Sháns; and it is confidently believed, that several, if not most, of their intonations will prove to be identical with those which have already been found common to both the Barmese and Shán. IV. The Missionary Duties of Private Christians. It is a fact to be deeply lamented, that Christians in this country do not take that interest in missionary exertions which their importance demands. There is reason to fear, that less interest is felt here than in England. How can we account for this? Should it not be otherwise? What can be the cause of the indifference which is manifested in this country? It is not from ignorance. We are acquainted with the awful state of the heathen and Musalmáns around us. We are daily witnessing their superstitions and idolatries; and, in their immoral and sinful conduct, we are made sensible of the pernicious influence of their false systems of religion. We know from the Sacred Scriptures, as well as our fellow Christians in Britain, that they are in a state of perdition, and that from that state the Gospel of Christ only can save them. Yet few attend our prayer meetings, and few take a personal interest in the labours of the missionary. It is but seldom that he is cheered by the presence of a friend, to witness, and to encourage him in his work. It is in vain to say, we do not feel any great interest, because we see so little fruit; and when we compare present success with that of the Apostles, we perceive such a contrast, that we cannot avoid thinking, that there must be something wrong in the measures our Missionaries take to promote the kingdom of Christ. Were the objection valid, still it would not justify our indifference; their want of success, or their want of care in this work, would not relieve us from our duty of promoting His kingdom. It would be our duty to give greater attention to it, and to endeavour to shew them why they have failed; whereas many of us do not even come to see what is the measure of their success, and condemn missionaries without examination. But the objection is altogether, or in a great measure, unfounded. It is unfair to contrast their labours with those of the Apostles, and to condemn them, because they have not had equal success. Let us remember, that success does not altogether depend on their labours; they sow the seed of the kingdom, and God must give the increase. Let us also remember, that they have not the advantages which the Apostles had, who were peculiarly qualified for their work by the Holy Spirit, which was poured out on them ten days after the Ascension of our Lord. They had the promise of the Spirit to guide them into all truth, and to teach them what they had to say. They had the gift of tongues, by which they could immediately converse with the people of other countries. They had the power of working miracles, by which their hearers were made sensible that they were the missionaries of the Most High. These, we must acknowledge, were very peculiar and striking advantages, well calculated to promote their success. They were also greatly stimulated to labour with zeal, from the eminent success they enjoyed, and the countenance they had from all Christians; for at that time all Christians felt it their duty to labour in this cause. Thus, in the days of our Saviour, when the number of converts was so small, yet besides the twelve, He had seventy other disciples, who were engaged in proclaiming the glad tidings. Need I mention also, that it was a new undertaking? Novelty gives a zest to zeal. When we think of these things, we should not be discouraged, if we do not see so much good done as we had expected. However, notwithstanding these observations, I frankly acknowledge, that the progress of the Gospel in this country does not seem to be so great as might reasonably have been hoped for. We should be humbled on account of it, and it should lead us seriously to inquire, why God's blessing has been withheld from us. We should not say, as some have said, that the time to favour this country has not yet come; that God is now unwilling to convert the people. There is in the Sacred Scriptures nothing to warrant such an idea-it is the offspring of Satan to damp our zeal. God ever wills the salvation of men; and he has commamded us to preach the Gospel to every creature. The want of success is owing to our want of zeal and affection. We have not taken a lively interest in the progress of the Gospel-in the salvation of souls. Instead of feeling it to be a common cause, in which all should be united, in which every one should take a part-we have left it to a few individuals-we have kept, in a great measure, aloof from them--we have not given them our countenance by going with them to the scenes of their labours-we have not encouraged them by increasing liberality, and when we have seen them faint, through the small number of labourers, or discouraged by the small apparent success, we have not cheered them by increasing and more fervent prayers in their behalf, nor have we come to their help by assisting them by our private exertions in the sphere in which we are placed. Can we deny this? Then why should we be astonished that so little success has been obtained? Is it not a fact which should humble the Christians of this country, that few amongst them have devoted themselves to preach the Gospel to other lands, or have even given themselves to preach the Gospel to their own countrymen? There is another cause also, which I believe, has, in a very material degree, hindered the progress of the Gospel, namely, the not imparting Christian instruction to our households. The neglect of this duty, I consider, has done great injury to the cause of Christ, and is one of the reasons why God has not granted to us his blessing in so abundant a manner as we might have expected. Why was God so pleased with Abraham as to let him know what he was going to do respecting Sodom and Gomorrah? Why did he look on him with peculiar complacency, and deal with him as a man dealeth with his friend? It was because he attended to this duty: " for I know him, saith the Lord, that he will command his children and his household after him; and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken to him." From this I would infer, that it is the duty of every Christian to promote the kingdom of God by every means in his power. Indeed, who can doubt the truth of this statement? We are told in the volume of inspiration, that Christians should not live unto themselves, but unto him who died for us, and is risen again. And can we live better to him than by promoting his kingdom? Is there any object of equal importance in the sight of God? For the establishment of this kingdom, Christ suffered and died, and is now seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, to exercise an universal power to promote it throughout all ages. Alive to the importance of the subject, the Apostles devoted their whole life to the preaching of the Gospel. Christ, and him crucified, they set forth in all their discourses. They were so convinced of the infinite superiority of this object above all others, that they determined to know nothing among men but Christ, and him crucified. The command of our Saviour to his disciples must convince us also, that this is the great object for which we ought to live: "Go," said He, "and preach the gospel to every creature ;" and it was in obedience to this command that they went every where, calling on the people to forsake their evil ways, and embrace the gospel. Had they neglected this duty and only taught their own countrymen, we should now be in heathen darkness, and exposed thereby to eternal misery. Should not the recollection of this stimulate our zeal—and the more, since it is also the most effectual way of promoting the welfare of our fellow-creatures? We know from the Sacred Scriptures, that the heathen and the Musalmáns, in fact all those who have not embraced the Gospel, are living without God, and are without hope; that on account of sin they are in a state of perdition-they are exposed to eternal misery. The knowledge also, which we have of their moral condition, must make us conscious, that they are indeed not fit to dwell in the mansion of the saints: and, knowing this, is it not then our paramount duty to make them acquainted with that Saviour who only can redeem them? Can he who neglects this duty be said to love God with all his heart, and his neighbour as himself? What must be the state of that man's heart who can see a fellow-creature going the way of perdition, and not strive to rescue him? It is no excuse to say, we are not ministers. In a time of great sickness and mortality, what would you think of that man, who, having some knowledge of the remedies to be used in order to cure the diseases which were then prevalent, would not use them in the behalf of others, because he was not a medical man? And what must we think of that Christian, who will not impart to others that knowledge which has given him joy and peace, and delivered him from that misery to which he with others was exposed? I do not mean to say that we must all give up our trades and professions, and become minis ters; for perhaps we are not all suitably qualified for the work: but we should all of us, as far as we are able, endeavour to spread the knowledge of the truth, and thus strive to enlarge the boundaries of our Lord's kingdom. This, we are told in the Acts, the primitive Christians did: when they were scattered abroad through persecution, they went every where, preaching the gospel to those around them. Thus it appears, that to care for the salvation of others is one of the most important duties we have to perform; that in the neglect of it we are guilty of disregarding his commands, that we are shewing the greatest ingratitude towards him to whom we owe so much, and that we are acting with the greatest cruelty towards our fellow-creatures; for can there be a greater act of cruelty than depriving them of the water of life, which only can remove that deadly poison which will otherwise make them miserable for ever? But if it is our duty to send the Gospel to every creature, even to those who live in the most distant parts of the world, how much more is it our duty to make it known to our countrymen, to our neighbours, to our households and families? Our Saviour went first to his own people, his Apostles did the same, and so should we. Charity should begin at home, though it should not end there. Our great aim should be, to make known the truth to those who are around us, on whom we have the greatest influence. It was because Abraham acted in this manner, that as we are informed in Gen. xix. 19, he was commended of God. With respect to the duty of teaching our children, I suppose, that all are sensible of its importance and attend to it. But with respect to servants, I am afraid, it is very little attended to by many. Abraham |