letter is initial or represents a double _nn_ or _ll_ of Pr. it is always _n_ or _l_ respectively, thus offering a striking testimony to the accuracy of the Jaina and southern MSS. Thus, ordinary Maharastri _na_, but Jaina Maharastri _na_, M. na, not; Maharastri (both kinds) _ghano_, M. _ghan_, dense; Maharastri _sonnaam_, Jaina _sonnaam_, M. _sone_, gold; Maharastri _kalo_, time, southern MSS. of the same _kalo_, M. _kal_, time; Maharastri _callai_, M. _tsale_, he goes or used to go. In some of the local dialects, following the Vedic practice, we find _l_ where _d_ is employed elsewhere, as in (Berar) _ghola_ for _ghoda_, a horse; and there are instances of this change occurring even in Maharastri; e.g. Skr. _tadagam_, Maharastri _talaam_, M. _tale_, a pond. The Skr. compound consonant _jñ_ is pronounced _dny_ in the standard dialect, but _gy_ in the Konkan. Thus, Skr. _jñanam_ becomes _dnyan_ or _gyan_ according to locality. _Declension._--Marathi and Gujarati are the only Indo-Aryan languages which have retained the three genders, masculine, feminine and neuter, of Sanskrit and Prakrit. In rural dialects of Western Hindi and of Rajasthani sporadic instances of the neuter gender have survived, but elsewhere the only example occurs in the interrogative pronoun. In Marathi the neuter denotes not only inanimate things but also animate beings when both sexes are included, or when the sex is left undecided. Thus, _ghode_, neut., a horse, without regard to sex. In the Konkan the neuter gender is further employed to denote females below the age of puberty, as in _cedu_, a girl. Numerous masculine and feminine words, however, denote inanimate objects. The rules for distinguishing the gender of such nouns are as complicated as in German, and must be learned from the grammars. For the most part, but not always, words follow the genders of their Skr. originals, and the abrasion of terminations in the modern language renders it impossible to lay down any complete set of rules on the subject. We may, however, say that strong bases (see below) in _a_--and these do not include _tatsamas_--are masculine, and that the corresponding feminine and neuter words end in _i_ and _e_ respectively. Thus, _mul^aga_, a son; _mul^agi_, a daughter; _mul^age_, a child of so and so. As a further guide we may say that sex is usually distinguished by the use of the masculine and feminine genders, and that large and powerful inanimate objects are generally masculine, while small, delicate things are generally feminine. In the case of some animals (as in our "horse" and "mare") sex is distinguished by the use of different words; e.g. _bokad_, he-goat, and _seli_, a nanny-goat.