The Miriam Vocabulary belongs to a different class, namely the Papuan.  It is a dialect of language first made known to us through the Voyage of the Fly, as spoken in the islands Erroob, Maer, and Massied.  Admitting this, we collate it with the North Australian tongues, and that, for the sake of contrast rather than comparison.  Here, the philologist, from the extent to which the Australian tongues differ from each other, notwithstanding their real affinity, is prepared to find greater differences between an Australian and a Papuan language than, at the first glance, exists.  Let us verify this by reference to some words which relate to the human body, and its parts.

COLUMN 1:  ENGLISH. 
COLUMN 2:  ERROOB. 
COLUMN 3:  MASSIED.
COLUMN 4:  KOWRAREGA. 
COLUMN 5:  GUDANG.

Nose :  pit :  pichi :  piti :  -. 
Lips :  — :  anka :  — :  angka. 
Cheek :  baag :  — :  baga :  baga. 
Chin, jaw :  iba :  ibu :  ibu :  ebu. 
Navel :  kopor, kupor :  kupor :  kupar :  kopurra. 
Eye :  — :  dana :  dana :  dana. 
Skin :  egur :  — :  — :  equora. 
Vein :  kerer :  kirer :  kerur :  kerur. 
Bone :  lid :  — :  rida :  -. 
Sore :  bada :  — :  bada :  -.

Few Australian vocabularies are thus similar—­a fact which may be said to prove too much; since it may lead to inference that the so-called Papuan tongue of Torres Strait is really Australian.  Nevertheless, although I do not absolutely deny that such is the case, the evidence of the whole body of ethnological fact—­e.g. those connected with the moral, intellectual, and physical conformation of the two populations—­is against it.

And so is the philology itself, if we go further.  The Erroob pronouns are: 

Me = ka. 
You = ma. 
His = eta. 
Mine = ka-ra. 
Your = ma-ra.

All of which are un-Australian.

Are we then to say that all the words of the table just given are borrowed from the Australian by the Papuans, or vice versa?  No.  Some belong to the common source of the two tongues, pit = nose being, probably, such a word; whilst others are the result of subsequent intercourse.

Still, it cannot absolutely be said that the Erroob or Miriam iongue is not Australian also, or vice versa.  Still less, is it absolutely certain that the former is not transitional between the New Guinea language and the Australian.  I believe, however, that it is not so.

The doubts as to the philological position of the Miriam are by no means diminished by reference to the nearest unequivocally Papuan vocabulary, namely that of Redscar Bay.  Here the difference exceeds rather than falls short of our expectations.  The most important of the few words which coincide are: 

COLUMN 1:  ENGLISH. 
COLUMN 2:  REDSCAR BAY. 
COLUMN 3:  ERROOB.

Head :  quara :  kerem. 
Mouth :  mao :  mit = lips. 
Testicles :  abu :  eba = penis. 
Shoulder :  paga :  pagas = upper arm.