Please can anyone tell me what language the following
inscription,which is on an old wine glass, is in and provide an
english translation of it?
 
"Onse behovwe reys"

Dear connaught,

1. The language is old Dutch (Hollandish).

2. The best translation of the inscription would be: "Our rough
voyage", or "Our exhausting voyage", which surely refers to the
"voyage of life".

I was able to translate it mainly using my knowledge of Low German,
which is quite similar to old Dutch:
Dutch: onse - English: our - Low German: onser
Dutch: reys - English: voyage - Low German: Reise
"behouwe" is written with a "v" representing a "u", as it was very
common in thecenturies past. It means, as the dictionary listed below
told me: "rough, raw".

Source:
Travlang: English-Dutch Online Dictionary
http://diction.travlang.com/EnglishDutch/

Hope this answers your question!
Regards,
Scriptor

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Request for Answer Clarification by connaught-ga on 20 Feb 2003 12:01 PST

Thank you for this quick and excellent answer.It makes more sense than
you could know because also engraved on this glass is a sailing ship!!

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Clarification of Answer by scriptor-ga on 20 Feb 2003 12:29 PST

Dear connaught, 

It was a pleasure to help you.

Regards,
Scriptor