XI The dentals 'd' and 't,' and the labials 'b' and 'p' easily displace each other, and it is often almost impossible to know which has been used even when a compound of the word is introduced. It is no trouble for a Micmac to give distinct articulation to two or three vowel sounds in succession, for he connects them with a gliding slur which sounds very musical, but requires deliberation; the words moooin, a bear, and alooadoo, I approve of it, are pronounced with wonderful ease—yet it is to be noted that euphonic particles frequently occur. English students need to mark particularly that every letter is sounded, and sounded as written, in Micmac, for there has not been time for variation since Dr. Rand reduced the language to writing half a century ago. It may be noticed that words are sometimes inserted in the dictionary where local usage—which varies, would scarcely warrant, in order to keep them among their relatives, The long a and short e are by many sounded so nearly alike as to cause confusion; as are also & and ow. Dr. Rand says that the word alasdwa might also be written elas&wa, or elasowwa, thus illustrating the changes referred to above. Letters are often transposed, even in the one dialect, apparently without intention or change of meaning, as shown in the terminations ookse and koose. Unlike the languages taught in our schools, Micmac is agglutinate and polysynthetic in character; often whole sentences are broken down and pieced together into what may be regarded as a single compound word; yet the pronunciation of such a word presents little difficulty, ;>nd Dr. Rand found that a lady friend who had carefully mastered Pitman's Phonetic alphabet could read intelligently to a Micmac f.udience from his translations, though herself quite ignorant of the words she used. Deliberation, and distinct articulation, were all that was required after one had caught the accent. Their long words are not more barbarous than our long sentences; and, though there are those who say it may be charged that neither trouble nor time is saved, yet such is evidently the object, and that object is certainly gained when, for example, a Micmac takes the word wetckooeet, he is coming and etlintok he is singing, and combines them into a word no longer than either, yet without obscuring the root idea of either, by saying