preceded the Crimean war, ????? ? ?????????
??????? ??? ?????? ??????????? (this Crimean
war would not have followed). The British
Star would have convinced the Greek Christians,
both in Greece and in Turkey, that there was no
trusting the hollow promises of Russia, and
would have convinced the British people, and
the world in general, that the best policy of the
Greeks as a people was anti-Russian.

However, our view of the British Star is not
so much political as educational; it furnishes
us with an answer to parents who ask: "But
will Greek be any use to my boy in life?"
"Yes, sir," or "madam, he may converse in
it at the Baltic and elsewhere, if he pleases,
and he may read a newspaper printed in that
language in the heart of London." But
surely, some one will say, you can't talk about
"the markets" in Greek! Read this, then:
A?E?PA. "????? ??? ???????????? ??? ??????,
????? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ????????? ???????
???????? ?????????? ???? ??? ???????????
????????, ?? ????? ???? ???????? ???? ???
???????? ??????????? ??? ??. 60 ?????  65
???? ???. (Flours.—In consequence of the
unsettled state of the weather, holders as well as
buyers have displayed very great reserve during
the past week; prices had risen, however,
according to yesterday's accounts, from 60 to 65fr.
per sack.) Isn't that the true business smack?
Of course if you will be schoolboyish and translate
"so much the holders as much as also the
purchasers," &c., you may make it sound absurd;
but there is nothing intrinsically queer in the
Greek. Then we have ????? (wheats), ????????
(cottons), ??????? (coffees), ????????
(sugars), ?A??????? (tallows), ??E?MATA
(spirits), ?EPMATA (hides), MA??IA
(wools), NHMATA (yarns). Then we read that
?? ????????? ???????? ?????????? ??????????
(winter stuffs were more asked after), or that
? ????? ????? ???????? (the market is firm), or
the old sad tale ?????? ??? ??????? ????????
????? (many of the hands are out of work—
there's no difficulty about translating that, it
means that many men are starving); or we are
a little cheered to find that ?? ????????????
??????????????????? ??? ??? ???????????????????
(black pepper—like a good boy—continues
steady at its former high price), together with
useful information upon the subject of '??????
(rum), ?????? (cocoa), ????? (tea), ????? (coffee),
??????? (rice), ??????? (spices), ?????? (saltpetre),
????? (sago), ????????? (cochineal),
???????????, (indigo), ???????? (hemp), ?????
(oils). And to those who are not commercially
disposed, we would submit for their considera-
tion and amusement the question how they
would translate into Greek "the Prince of
Wales's visit to Canada?" And then, when
they had puzzled sufficiently over it, we would
ask them whether they had any idea it would
result in anything so curious (to look at) as
'H E?? KANA?AN 'E????E?l? TOY ????????
??? ?????! Could they, moreover,
fancy a descendant in a direct line from Plato,
writing: ??? ?????????????? ???" "?????
'???????'' ???????? ??? ? ??????? ??? ?????
??????? ????? ??? ???????????????? ??? 23 ??
???????, ??? ??? ??????? ???????????? ????????
???? ???????? ??? (By telegram from St. John,
we learnt that the Prince of Wales arrived
safely at Newfoundland on the 23rd, in the
evening, and that great preparations were made
to receive him)? At any rate the descendant
of Plato follows the correct rule of composition
enunciated by Mr. Shilleto, and gives us
??????????? like a Greek and not ?????????? like
a scholar of Balliol. Nor let it be for one
instant supposed that crinoline is unrepresented
in the new-old language; but as the Grecian
ladies of the olden time were sung of by the
poets rather as ?????????? than ?????????, a
word was to be invented. That was not difficult:
????????? does well enough. Let us see
how the Greek renders "the wadding struck
the young woman and broke the steel hoops of
her crinoline." Nothing can be simpler: ??
??????? ???????? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ????
??????????? ????????? ??? ??????????.

Advertisements in Greek are particularly
refreshing: we meet Benson's watches, or
'????????: we are notified that X???? ?????????
??? 4 ??? 100 ???????, and '?????? ??? 2 ???
50 ???????, and that ?? ???????? ??????????
???????? ?? ?????? ??? ???????????? (the
watches are sent to all parts at the expense of
the maker). There is here a slight departure
(unless there be a misprint) from Greek accuracy,
which would require ???????? or ?????????.
The 'P??????? ??? K???? (Colt's revolvers) also
greet us, and appropriately near to them the
??????? ???????? (or mourning garments) of
Jay and Co. ?? ??????????? ????? (at a very
moderate price). The K???? ??? Glenfield, or
Glenfield starch, is also before our eyes, and
K????? ???????? ???? (Mr. George Scot)
recommends his A??????? ??? Alderley Edge ???????
??? M??????????.

We hope we have now made it sufficiently ap-
parent that the simple reading of modern Greek,
particularly in the improved and purified form
which is now gaining ground amongst the
Hellenes, is a matter of tolerable ease to any one
who is acquainted even with only the English
system of teaching ancient Greek. The scholar
will occasionally be shocked at the cases which
certain prepositions are made to govern; but
let him only make up his mind to bear it like a
man, and he will soon become accustomed to
it. Conversation will be a little more difficult,
but pronunciation might be learnt in half an
hour. The chief stumbling-block would be the
fusions and clippings in which the modem
Greeks indulge; for instance they say, K???????
????, good day to you; ????? or ?????? (for ??
????? or ?? ??????), what did you say? Then
they use ?????? for ???????, ???? for ?????,