The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1863-11-24 00:00:00

and after giving some rumples of verbs and pronouns
from the dialect west of the Parrot, be tells us that "it
pervales not only the most western parts of Somerset-
shire, but the whole of Devonshire." This assertion is
corroborated by Mr. Petheram, the author of an "His-
torical Sketch of the Progress and Present State of
Anglo. Saxon Literature in England," who, in a kind and
valuable letter to the lecturer, wrote as follows :—" It
must have been often remarked by those conversant
with the dialects of Somerset, east and west of the
Parrot, that the latter approximates to the Devon
variety, whilst to the eastward it comes nearer to
that of Dorset and Wilts. I do not think it easy
to find anywhere so great a dissimilarity in places
so near to each other as is to be met with in this
instance. The fact is so, but I am unable to account
fur it." Mr. Putman writes in his notes to his
version of the "Song of Solomon." that the pro-
nunciation of sr, as in French, is first beard at
Kilniington, about a mile and a half west of Axminster,
on the lower Axe, which nearly skirts in with the
Ferret. Al Axminster itself, situated as it is on the
very verge of Hornet and Somerset, there is no trace of
the French u sound, at least not among the natives of
the town." So on the old ciaisoh road from Exeter to
Dorchester, a few hints of the Devonshire speech-form
began to show themselves below the chalk bills in the
neighbourhood of Bridport. Shutting in with the upper
Axe is a stream called Mart Yeo, on which is the vil-
lage of Mark, • name which sounds strongly of wedrc,
• boundary, and if the Parra is y Perusal of Welsh,
it also UMW/ the partition. The rev, gentleman then
described in detail the progress of the Saxon conquests
in the west of England, and observed that IA the
Western English took place on the British east of the
Axe and Parret long before it went over them,and made
its way into Devonshire, so the English forms of speech
on the two sides of the Axe and Ferret, and again in
Cornwall, are marked by differences which, we may
believe, are due to the facts of West English History.
We must gather from the laws given by Ina for Britons
as such, as well as from the British names of many of
our little dells, hills and other spots, such that Eng-
lishmen could not have known without the presence
of WeLhmen, that many of them, free as well as
theows, were living here among the English ;
but yet in matching English with Welsh stems
from the primary roots, he (Mr. Barnes) did not
think that Western English bad received from
Welsh so many words as he was heretofore willing to
draw from it. Many words which might be too readily
taken as Welsh are found among Teutonic tribes, who
never lived with Britons either in England or elsewhere,
and they seemed to him to belong to Teutonic sterns;
and if there were two peoples, who had the same stem
in the same or like form, it would hardly he sound to
hold that those who have this same root-form of the
word borrowed it from those who had it not. For in.
stance, the Latins had entree, and the Welsh bad
rather., • chain, and if it were holden that the Welsh
took the word calm," from eareea,he should answer no.
The Welsh have the stem coda', formerly cahr, to keep
or hold, and their milers, like radars, strong, is a
Welsh-rooted word, whereas the Latins have the catelia
without the stein, and therefore did not give it to the
Welsh. How it was the English took from the Britons
the names of places, and yet so little of their speech,
see may understand from the practice of our settlers in
New Zealand. Mr. Barnes thew pointed out the main
characteristics of south-western English as it differs from
the speech-forms of the north, and then read several of
his poem in the Dorset dialect, in illustration of his
remarks, and at the conclusion received the warmly-ex-
pressed applause of his hearers.
The Yen. Archdeacon HOMY proposed a vote of
thanks to the rev. lecturer. . . _

fce- A-RN- In acknowledging the vote of
thanks. obeerved that be quite concurred in what the
Ten. Archdeacon had observed, for there was a great
distinction between what was common and whst was
vulgar. The rev. gentleman espressed his thanks for
the way in whib they had responded to the appeal of
the Van. Archdeacon Hons.