But the peculiar character of this language is more remarkable than its wide diffusion. Taking the Mpongwe dialect as a specimen, we have no hesitation in saying that it will be difficult to find any language, ancient or modern, that is more systematic or philosophical in its general arrangements, more marked in the classification of its different parts of speech or their relationship to each other, or in the extent of its inflections, especially those of the verb. The existence of such a language among an uncultivated people is simply a marvel. As many as three hundred oblique forms can be derived from the root of every regular Mpongwe verb, each one of which will have a clear and distinct shade of meaning of its own, and yet so regular and systematic in all its inflections, that a practiced philologist could, after a few hours’ study, trace up any of even its most remote forms to the original root. It is not intended to convey the idea that all these forms are habitually used, for that would indicate a much more extended vocabulary than could reasonably be expected among an uncultivated people. But there is no form of the verb, notwithstanding its extensive ramifications, that would not be distinctly understood by an audience, even if they had never heard it used before. It will be seen, therefore, that the vocabulary may be expanded to an almost unlimited extent. It is not only expansible, but it has a wonderful capacity for conveying new ideas. The missionaries laboring among these people, after they had acquired a thorough knowledge of the structure of this wonderful language, were surprised to find with how much ease they could use it to convey religious ideas. In their native state the people had no knowledge of the Christian religion, and, of course, used no terms for saviour or salvation, for redeemer or redemption, etc. They had, however, the terms _sunga_, to save, and _danduna_, to redeem, or pay a ransom. Now, according to a well established law of grammar, _ozunge_ is a saviour, and _isungina_ is salvation; similarly from _danduna_ comes _olandune_, the redeemer, and _ilanduna_, redemption:—so that they could at once get a tolerably correct idea of these terms, and there was no need (as there is in most unwritten languages) to call in the aid of foreign words. Without multiplying illustrations of a similar character, it will be seen that the language is not only flexible and expansive to a very remarkable degree, but is suitable beyond almost any other known language to convey religious instruction to the minds of the people. It has been preserved, no doubt, by a wise Providence for this very purpose.