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Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall), 1868-1938

"A Wanderer in Holland"

German comes first and English third.
The Dutch language often resembles English very closely; sometimes
so closely as to be ridiculous. For example, to an English traveller
who has been manoeuvring in vain for some time in the effort to get
at the value of an article, it comes as a shock comparable only to
being run over by a donkey cart to discover that the Dutch for "What
is the price?" is "Wat is de prijs?"
The best old Dutch phrase-book is _The English Schole-Master_, the
copy of which that lies before me was printed at Amsterdam by John
Houman in the year 1658. I have already quoted a short passage from
it, in Chapter II. This is the full title:--

The English Schole-Master;
or
Certaine rules and helpes, whereby
the natives of the Netherlandes, may
bee, in a short time, taught to
read, understand, and speake
the English tongue.
By the helpe whereof the English also
may be better instructed in the knowledge
of the Dutch tongue, than by any vocabulars,
or other Dutch and English
books, which hitherto they have
had, for that purpose.


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