[14] A selection from this book was printed by Messrs. Field & Tuer under the title of English as she is spoke.

``The necessity don’t know the low.’’

``To build castles in Espaguish.’’

``So many go the jar to spring, than at last rest there.’’

(A little further on we find another version of this well-known proverb:  ``So much go the jar to spring that at last it break there.’’)

``The stone as roll not heap up not foam.’’

``He is beggar as a church rat.’’

``To come back at their muttons.’’ p 207

``Tell me whom thou frequent, I will tell you which you are.’’

The apparently incomprehensible sentence ``He sin in trouble water’’ is explained by the fact that the translator confused the two French words pcher, to sin, and pcher, to fish.

The classification adopted by the authors cannot be considered as very scientific.  The only colours catalogued are white, cray, gridelin, musk and red; the only ``music’s instruments’’—­a flagelet, a dreum, and a hurdy-gurdy. ``Common stones’’ appear to be loadstones, brick, white lead, and gumstone.  But probably the list of ``Chastisements’’ is one of the funniest things in this Guide to Conversation.  The list contains a fine, honourable fine, to break upon, to tear off the flesh, to draw to four horses.

The anecdotes chosen for the instruction of the unfortunate Portuguese youth are almost more unintelligible than the rest of the book, and probably the following two anecdotes could not be matched in any other printed book:—­

``The Commander Forbin of Janson, p 208being at a repast with a celebrated Boileau, had undertaken to pun upon her name:—­`What name, told him, carry you thither?  Boileau:  I would wish better to call me Drink wine.’  The poet was answered him in the same tune:—­ `And you, sir, what name have you choice?  Janson:  I should prefer to be named John-meal.  The meal don’t is valuable better than the furfur.’’’

The next is as good:—­

``Plato walking one’s self a day to the field with some of their friends.  They were to see him Diogenes who was in water untill the chin.  The superficies of the water was snowed, for the rescue of the hole that Diogenes was made.  Don’t look it more told them Plato, and he shall get out soon.’’

A large volume entitled Poluglssos was published in Belgium in 1841, which is even more misleading and unintelligible than the Portuguese School Book.  The English vocabulary contains some amazing words, such as agridulce, ales of troops, ancientness sign, bivacq fire, breast’s pellicule, chimney black money, infatuated compass, p 209iug_ (vocal), window, umbrella, etc.  At the end of this vocabulary are these notes:—­