New-York tribune., 1874-07-17
THE PHILOLOGISTS.
,>,c,r>-r ,ND uoDrPN TONGUES.

ANCIENT AND MODERN TONGUES.
Op,ropy AND LOCOMOTIVE wHIsILEs-lHk "Rkhh
Nor1oN OF GOING wESI-1HE LATIN of Ihh
y1uGATF-TuE PROPORTIONS IN WHICH WE VI
TER prrrRENT soUNps-How INDIANS COUNT
TuH ORIGIN or PHILANTHROPY.
-, -, srr-r,t CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIpUNr.l
U,e1roRp. July 15.-For a society of its size
che American Pathological Association gathers at the
present session a remarkably large attendance OF men,
bers THIS meeting is regarded as an unusually success
fu one both in point Of numbers and Of interest There Is
however one serious dra awback The acoustic properties
o. the hall OF the HI gh school rather distressing 10
the audience Alta little distance from the speakers
desk and thence backward 90 the end OF the hal INC
voice in most instances sounds indeed loudly enough
but strangely indstinct Even 10 those who gaher on
the front seats there comes strange meue! VI soun
reyerberatmg from walls and ceiling. Then, TO make
matters worse every and then a shril whistle from
the constantly passing locomotives Is apt 10 DC ln'er
spersed between the words OF the speaker Sometimes
a. merely browns his words. Sometimes II comes I'D AT
the conclusion Of sentence with fierce note as OF dell
snco or pockery Occasionally the thunder OF railway
train inervenes appropriately as II 1t were deafenlnS
applause Gut most frequently the noise simply dlscon-
cer and the speaker, drives his thoughts OH
their course and breaks the thread of his argument
confess pted one OF the professors thus interrupted
to-day. Twice he attempted TO go on, and twice his
words were drowned in shrek from an engine. Let
me suggest to any budding Demosthenes OF an inland
town who is regrettng his inability TO practice oratory
before the noisy waves Of the seacoas that few hours
OF similar effort close tn busy railway depot VIII
answer his purposes equally well.
stn there is an atmosphere of ancient lore aud Ian
guage about this High school-house. There are
photOgrl Of antique statuary and ruins on the walls
and overhead are class notices for successive years
20 posse 0d H. Ne tenteS dW perees; "a, ESSe
quain rderi 70, Yam iBreniemuS Gm fdciemw: IA,
hai An
that whatever were the annoyances OF previous
years, the last was uncommoniy dusty. Most people
found it So especially during the Autumn.
The papers today varied much in interest. Prof W.
Tyler of Amherst College the Propositions in the
Homorc Poems Prof NJ. l.. D'Ooge of the University
Of Michigan. the Authenticity OF the Documents IN
DcmOsthoncs on the Crown; the Rev. C. W. Ernst OF
Providence on the Pronunciation OF German Vowels
and Prof j. b. Sewa OF BOwdOin College, on the Greek
Subjuucuye-lll discussed subjects that would fail to
Interest the reader and shall not attempt to
report But the last of these was the old gage OF
battle Tor certain members, and elected vigorous dis
cussion. Every year there is lively time at the meet
ing over the Greek opave and subunctve lenses, and
1874 was exception Their nice shades Of meaning
afford ample ground for variety OF opinions. Prof
Packard OF Yale stated form OF subuncuve as some
thing Ike this proposition If you ate nothing yes
terday should eat nothing to-day, tomorrow would
be the tbird day" think it Will not be questioned tnat
the expcrmenter under such treatment would be IN
sublunctiyc mood whatever might DC the grammar OF
the
Prof Packards paper on Passage In the Odyssey
proved more entertaining than anticipated from
It's title. bringing 20 mind the strange myths aud mar
wells that wondrOus tale. Prof Shorts paper on the
yugate was evidently the fruit of great research and
possesses high technical value to students OF Biblical
literature Prof Whitney has struck new vein of In
vestigaon his paper the Proportional Elements Of
English U;terance; DR.. Trumbu who knows more than
he can tell in month about Indian languages, exhibited
an Interesting side of that subject and the address Of
Col HigginsOn the Origin and History OF the word
Philanthropy was an exceedingly enjoyable feature OF
the evening session.