The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-06
GREATEST OF ALL L|NCUISTS COULD
 TALK 80 TONGUES
Giuseppe Mezzofanti Could Talk With Native Any
 where in World.

The greatest of all linguistic gen. | fuses was undoubtedly Giuseppe Mez- zofanti, who was born in 1774 and who died in 1S49. Mezzofantis achievements can be but feebly de- scribed as "prodigious." The question is, not how many languages did he know, but how many did he not know?. Not only could the wonder full Italian read 50 or 60 different languages, besides many dialects, but he could also speak and write them with astonishing fluency. In a less degree he was familiar with many more. It was contended that Mezzo- fanti could converse with natives of practically every quarter of the globe.
 In the Journal of Byron, the poet. there is a lively account of the curf- ous test, characteristic of Byron, to which he subjected the great linguist, whom he met in Rome.
 ''Mezzofanti," said Byron "is a mon ster of languages, the Briareus of parts of speech, a walking polyglot. who ought to have existed at the Tow CT of Babel as a universal interpre- ter He is, indeed. a marvel, an un- assuming one, too. I tried him in all the tongues of which I knew a single oath Cor adjuratien to the gods against post-boys, savages, Tartars, boatmen, sailors, pilots, gondoliers, muleteers, camel drivers, vetturini, postmasters, post-h orses, post-houses, ost-everything) and, egad, he as- founded nae even to my Englisr." E Tn 1893 Mezzofanti became librarian at the Vatican, where his extraordin- ary abilities must have been of inn mense value.
 Niebhur, the German historian knew about 20 languages, and his fel- low cOuntryman, von Gabelantz, was 8 minor Mezzofanti. While still sc11oolby, the later devoted much of his leisure to the study of Arabic and Chinese. During a busy career he managed to acquire no fewer than 90 languages, of which, it is claimed, he could with ease speak 30, %'.a.
 England, too, has produced not a few linguistic phenemenens. Sir John Bewring, who died in 1872, seems fairly entitled to the first place among them. He had a good knowledge of. no less than 40 tongues, and with al- most as many more he had a nod ding acquaintance." While still a boy he picked up French from refugee priests, Italian from various itinerant vendors of barenetefS, and Spanish, Portuguese, German and Dutch from mercantile friends. There were sub sequently added to his list Swedish, Danish, Russian, Serbian, Polish, Bo- hemian, Magyar, Arabic and even Chinese. Sir Johns knowledge of many languages was perfected. in the course of his wanderings during first, his commercial, and, later, his diplo- matic career.
 George Borrow was another man of many tongues. When he was 8 years of age, we find a clergyman friend of Seuthey's writing thus of him;
 "A Norwich young man is constru- ing with me Schil1er's Wilhelm Tell with the view of traasiating it for the press. His name is George Borrow, and he has the gift of tongues. Though not yet IS, he understands 12 ages-English, Welsh, Erse, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, German Dan ish, French, Italian Spanish and Por- tuguese.n | Little-knewn languages had a spec ial attraction for Borrow, and his fa- vorite method of acquiring a working basis of these was hebnebbing with all H. lerned from a groom, Irish from a school-fellow, and Gypsy from the Romanies, of whom he tells us in 'Lavengro" and "The Romany Rye" He translated the New Testament and several of the homilies of the Church of England into Manchu, besides su- , perintending a similar translation into Tartar tongue. The gospel of St. 1 Lue was rendered by him into the l language of the Gitanos, or Spanish | Gypsies, and, surious1y enough, he put 1 the story of "Blue Beard into Tur- kish!
 Sir Richard Burton, the author and | traveller, was another EngIishman who | was linguistic wonder. Twenty nine 1 languages are credited to him.
 The Rev. Solomon Caesar Malan,