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knowledge of the English language; I am absolutely in need of making myself understood, and write in the international tongue, maybe, as follows:—

Mi ne sci'as kie mi las'is la baston'o'n; ĉu vi ĝin ne vid'is?

I hold out to one of the strangers an International English vocabulary, and point to the title, where the following sentence appears in large letters:— "Everything written in the international language can be translated by the help of this vocabulary. If several words together express but a single idea, they are written as one word, but separated by commas; e.g., frat'in'o, though a single idea, is yet composed of three words, which must be looked for separately in the vocabulary." If my companion has never heard of the international language he will probably favour me at first with a vacant stare, will then take the paper offered to him, and, searching for the words in the vocabulary, as directed, will make out something of this kind:—

Mi	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	mi	=	I	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	I
ne	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	ne	=	not	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	not
sci'as	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	sci	=	know	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	do know
		as	=	sign of the present
				tense
kie	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	kie	=	where	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	where
mi	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	mi	=	I	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	I
lasis	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	las	=	leave	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	have left
		is	=	sign of the past
				tense
la	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	la	=	the	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	the
baston'o'n;	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	baston	=	stick	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	stick;
		o	=	sign of a substantive
		n	=	sign of the objective
				case