Chapter VII: The Final Consideration

There remains one final consideration. No one who has had the patience to examine dispassionately the facts contained in the preceding chapters can have failed to recognize the loss of time and waste of effort which the acquisition of our present orthography involves. Beside these, the needless squandering of money it causes, though a subject of just complaint, seems to me, after all, of slight account. But even evils of this sort, great as they unquestionably are, yield in importance to one far greater. In truth, it is not because of the waste of time in education--harmful as that unquestionably is--that our present orthography is peculiarly objectionable. It is the direct influence the acquisition of it exerts in putting the intellectual faculties to sleep at the most active period of life. Learning to spell is, with us, a purely mechanical process. As a mental discipline it is as utterly valueless as mere memorizing, where the student does not understand what he is repeating. Like that, it is also a positive intellectual injury. At the very outset of his school life the child is introduced into a study in which one natural and most important process in education, that of reasoning from analogy, is summarily suppressed. He finds at once, because the sound in one word is represented in one way, that it does not follow, as it ought, that in the next word he comes to it will be represented the same way. On the contrary, he finds it denoted by an entirely different combination of letters for no reason which he can possibly discover. It accordingly never enters his head that a sign, whether consisting of a single letter or a digraph, represents a particular sound and strictly ought never to represent but one. For him it can and usually does represent any one of half-a-dozen. This of itself tends to deprive him of the possession of all knowledge of the number and value of the sounds belonging to our speech. Unfortunately such a result is not the worst. The far more serious injury caused is the influence exerted upon the mind by the prohibition which the acquiring of our present orthography succeeds in imposing upon the exercise of the reason.

We can get some glimpse of the havoc wrought to the reasoning powers by considering a single one of hundreds of illustrations that could be cited. At the very outset of his study the child is given, for example, the words _bed_ and _red_ to spell. If he has been properly trained up to this point, the limited acquaintance he has made with the values of letters leads him to say _b-e-d_ and _r-e-d_. These are pure phonetic spellings. They satisfy all the conditions. Then he is introduced to the word _head_. Reasoning from analogy, he proceeds to spell it _h-e-d_. But here authority steps in and directs him to insert another letter for which neither he nor his instructor can see the use. Then the word _bead_ is shown him. Following the analogy of _head_, he naturally pronounces it _bĕd_. Once more authority steps in and directs him to give the combination _ea_ another and quite distinct sound. Next, he is presented with the infinitives and presents, _read_ and _hear_. Conforming to the example just given, and perceiving it to be satisfactory, he fancies that he has reached at last a secure haven. He finds his error when he meets the preterites of these two verbs. Both have the same vowel combinations as the present. One of them has precisely the same form. But he discovers that _read_ of the preterite has quite a distinct pronunciation from _read_ of the present, and that the _ea_ of _heard_ has still another sound, distinct from that of either, to which he has not yet been introduced.

This condition of things is one which in numerous cases cannot easily be remedied, owing to the lawlessness prevailing in our representation of sounds. For the present, therefore, it may have to stand. But let us take up one or two cases where irrationality now prevails, and yet where a rational change can be made easily. It would, for instance, assuredly seem hard for a being who possesses intellect enough to be lost or saved to pretend that he sees any reason why the plural of words ending in _o_ should end sometimes with simple _s_ and sometimes with _es_. Occasionally they have both terminations, according to the fancy of the individual writer. For illustration, the plurals of _grotto_, _halo_, _memento_, _motto_, and _negro_ are spelled by some authors with _os_ and by others with _oes_. In the case of _hero_, the latter ending has become the one regularly employed. This is probably due to the fact that the singular once ended in _e_. Discarded from that, it has transferred its unnecessary existence to the plural. As the large majority of these words never had the _e_ as a termination, there seems not to be the slightest excuse on the ground either of derivation or pronunciation for inserting anywhere in the inflection the unnecessary letter. On the other hand, there seems every reason for making the spelling of the termination of this class of words uniform. Yet men will be found to insist in imposing upon the learner the task of mastering a distinction which serves no other purpose than to defy analogy and insult common sense.

Or take another sort of trouble which adds its burden to early education and contributes its share to the impairment of the reasoning powers. In the case of certain words the child is censured if he leaves a letter out. In the case of other words of precisely the same character and origin he is censured if he puts it in. He is asked, for example, to spell the conjunction _till_. The men who first employed the word had no use for but one _l_. They therefore did not double it. Now if the child spells it, as did his remote ancestors, with a single _l_, he is blamed; but when he comes to its compound _until_, he is blamed again if he spells it with two _l’s_. If such differences of form served any purpose whatever, some justification might be pleaded for their maintenance. But nothing of the sort do they do. They simply heap up the burden of useless or rather harmful knowledge with which children are compelled to load their memory in defiance of their reason. Time which should be spent in learning something valuable in itself, and therefore permanently profitable, is now wasted in mastering empty distinctions in the external representation of words which have no distinction in reality, but are reckoned conventionally of the first importance.

Is it any wonder that in circumstances like these the child should speedily infer that it is of no benefit to him to make use of what little reasoning power he has been enabled to acquire? He must force himself to submit blindly to authority, which compels him to accept as true what he feels to be false. Now, authority in education is a good as well as a necessary thing when its dictates are based upon reason. But when they are not, when in truth they are defiant of reason, no more pernicious element can well enter into the training of the young. Doubtless the logical processes employed in other studies correct in time for most of us the mental twist thus imparted in childhood. But it is not always corrected. We have only to read certain of the arguments advanced against spelling reform to become aware that the faculty of reasoning on this subject which has been muddled in childhood is apt to remain muddled the rest of one’s life.

One illustration will bring out pointedly the truth of this last assertion. There is frequent complaint that the children in our schools spell badly. In this there is nothing new. It is a charge which has been made in every generation since spelling assumed the abnormal importance which has been imparted to it by modern devotion. In the sense in which it is often understood the complaint has no foundation in fact. Children spell just as well now as they did a generation or generations ago. If anything--persons of different periods, but belonging to the same class being alone taken into consideration--the proportion of so-called good spellers will pretty certainly be found larger now than ever before. But there always has been, and so long as our present absurd orthography continues there always will be, a goodly number of persons by whom it will never be thoroughly acquired. By many a respectable mastery of it will not be gained till a comparatively late period in their education. All this, too, in spite of the fact that in the popular mind correctness of spelling has assumed an exceptional importance. A man can blunder in his statement of facts; he can lay down false premises and draw from them the absurdest conclusions; he can exhibit incompetence and inconsequence in the discussion of matters important or unimportant--yet none of these gross manifestations of ignorance and incapacity will bring him so much discredit in the eyes of many as the inability to spell certain common words properly. There is something even worse than this. In many communities a man may be a drunkard or a libertine with far less injury to his reputation than the disclosure of the fact that he is unable to spell correctly.

This state of feeling has imparted to spelling a factitious importance in modern education. But it involves further an inconsistency in the course of many of the stoutest defenders of the present orthography. These are often seeking to reconcile things which are incompatible. No more frequent attacks are made upon the system of education prevalent in our higher institutions of learning than the stress they are supposed to lay upon the cultivation of the memory instead of the reason. Now, if there be any truth in this accusation, the course adopted is nothing more than an extension to the advanced student of the very processes which are used in the instruction of the child. In learning to spell, his memory is developed not merely in place of the reason, but too often in defiance of it. Yet in nineteen cases out of twenty it will be found that the very persons who indulge in the most lugubrious lamentations about the subordination of the reason to the memory in the educational processes employed in our universities, are the ones who insist most strongly upon the retention of an orthography which tends inevitably to produce the very effect they profess to deplore. In one breath they complain of the poor spelling of the students in our schools and colleges. In the next breath they object to any alterations which would bring order where now all is inconsistency and confusion; to changes of any sort which would make English orthography approach nearer rationality, and, therefore, easier to acquire. Is it not fair to consider this attitude on their part a direct result of that mental twist already mentioned as imparted in childhood?

I do not believe myself that the English race, once fully awakened to the exact character of English orthography, will cling forever to a system which wastes the time of useful years, and can only exhibit as its best educational result the development of the memory at the expense of the reasoning powers. I do not underrate the immensity of the obstacles which lie in the path of those who set out to accomplish even the slightest change. There is, first and foremost, the impossibility of effecting, in the present state of public opinion, any thoroughgoing and therefore completely consistent reform. In any partial reform which can be secured there will be certain to remain inconveniences and inconsistencies which it must be left to the future to correct. At these the objector can always plausibly carp. But there is something more than the difficulty inherent in the matter itself. This is the immensity of the efforts demanded to destroy the superstition as to the sanctity of this creation, not of scholars, but of printers, which we call English orthography. Even to do this preliminary work will require the time and toil of years of struggle.

The fact is perhaps not much to be regretted. There is nothing worth living for that is not worth fighting for. But the task is no light one. Not merely have ignorance and prejudice to be overcome, but, what is far worse, stupidities, against which, the poet tells us, even the gods fight unvictorious. The higher class of minds have, indeed, been largely gained over. But there is little limit to the endeavor that must be put forth before any impression can be made upon that inert mass which prefers to remain content with any degree of error, however great, in preference to making any attempt to correct it, however slight. Still, this is the usual experience of all movements which aim to overthrow “the reign of ill custom”--to use Jonson’s words--which has long prevailed. The advocates of reform of English orthography can expect nothing different. But they can be encouraged by the recollection that the efforts of men in the past engaged in even harder enterprises have after long years of struggle been carried to successful completion, because the combatants themselves have been sustained by the hope, and have acted under the inspiration, that what ought to be is to be.

VERBAL INDEX

about, _adv._ and _prep._, 77.

accede, _v._, 254.

acre, aker, _n._, 26, 27.

active, _a._, 271.

æcer, _n._, 27.

æra, _n._, 122.

æther, _n._, 122.

after, _prep._, 101.

again, _adv._, 119.

aghast, _a._, 177, 290.

agile, _a._, 270.

ah, _interjec._, 170.

ail, _v._, 309, 314.

aile, _n._, 87.

aisle (aile, ile, yle), _n._, 77, 126, 137, 181.

ale, _n._, 87, 309, 314.

allowd, _p.p._, 319.

ambassador, -our, _n._, 197, 212, 221.

amphitheater, -re, _n._, 31.

anchor, _n._ and _v._, 178.

annual, _a._, 130.

annuity, _n._, 130.

answer, _v._, 101, 172.

ant, _n._, 299.

anterior, -our, _a._, 211.

antique, _a._, 105.

antre (antar, antree), _n._, 34.

any, _a._, 119, 120.

archangel, _n._, 186.

archbishop, _n._, 186.

are, _v._, 79, 269.

asafœtida, _n._, 152.

author, -our, _n._, 206, 213, 220, 223, 292, 320.

autumn, _n._, 168.

awful, _a._, 312.

aye, _adv._ and _n._, 77.

ayther (either), _a._ and _conj._, 146.

back, _n._, 171, 220, 291.

balm, _n._, 102.

banisht, _p.p._, 319.

bar, _n._ and _v._, 102.

bard, _p.p._, 319.

bare, _a._, 309.

bath, _n._, 102.

bead, _n._, 333.

bear, _n._ and _v._, 309.

become, becum, _v._, 268.

bed, _n._, 333.

been, _p.p._, 124, 136, 262-264.

bethral(l), _v._, 257.

“bile,” _v._, 134.

billet, -doux, _n._, 169, 181.

blood, _n._, 132, 153.

Boston, _n._, 302.

Botolph, St., _n._, 303.

bow, _n._, 169.

break, _v._, 115.

breeches, _n._, _pl._, 124, 136.

broad, _a._, 114.

build (bild, byld), _v._, 124.

builded, built, _p.p._, 184.

bullock, _n._, 171.

burn, _v._, 105.

business, _n._, 124.

busy, _a._, 124.

but, _adv._ and _conj._, 105.

buy, _v._, 77, 126, 157.

byast, _p.p._, 319.

cag, _n._, 120.

calf, _n._, 102, 103, 162.

calm, _a._, 102, 329.

candor, -our, _n._, 212.

canoe, _n._, 152.

caprice, _n._, 105.

car, _n._, 102.

catcal(l), _n._, 257.

catch, _v._, 120.

center, -re, _n._, 28, 30, 31, 33.

centry, _n._, 29.

centure, _n._, 29.

chance, _n._ and _v._, 101.

chart, _n._, 260.

check, cheque, _n._, 159.

chirurgeon, _n._, 298.

choir, _n._, 77, 186.

Cirencester, _n._, 296, 301.

clamor, -our, _n._, 231.

cleave, _v._, 311.

clerk, _n._, 113.

climb, clime, _v._, 165, 166.

cognizance, _n._, 260.

college, colledge, _n._, 188.

colonel, _n._, 262.

color, -our, _n._, 196, 206, 228.

comb, _n._, 165, 166.

come, cum, _v._, 268.

complete, compleat, _a._, 121.

compt, _n._ and _v._, 163.

comptroller, _n._, 162, 188.

conceit, conceipt, _n._, 180.

condemn, _v._, 168, 264.

condemnation, _n._, 168.

confessor, -our, _n._, 197.

confind, _p.p._, 319.

congratulate, _v._, 102.

conspirator, -our, _n._, 220.

contemn, _v._, 264.

controller, _n._, 162, 288.

convey, _v._, 8.

coold, _p.p._, 319.

coquette, _n._, 260.

coronel, _n._, 262.

coud(e), _pret._, 179, 319.

cough, _n._, 77, 156.

could, _pret._, 179, 319.

count, _n._ and _v._, 162.

critick, _n._, 292.

critique, _n._, 105.

crum, crumb, _n._, 167.

cupboard, _n._, 183.

czar, _n._, 165.

dance, _n._ and _v._, 101.

danger (dainger), _n._, 87.

debit, _n._, 173.

debt, det, _n._, 5, 172.

deceit, _n._, 8, 180;
deceipt, 180.

deign, _v._, 8, 284.

diameter, _n._, 8.

diocese, diocess, _n._, 60-68.

disdain, _v._ and _n._, 8.

docile, _a._, 270.

doctor, -our, _n._, 220.

does, _v._, 132.

done, _p.p._, 269.

door, _n._, 127, 153, 293.

doubt, dout, _n._, 5, 172.

downfal(l), _n._, 257.

downhil(l), _n._, 257.

dress, _v._, 311.

ductile, _a._, 270.

dumb, _a._, 165, 166.

duty, _n._, 310.

dwelled, dwelt, _p.p._, 184.

dye, _n._ and _v._, 77.

eager, _a._, 33.

eclat, _n._, 169.

economy, _n._, 152.

economic, _n._, 152.

edit(e), _v._, 267.

eh, _interj._, 104, 115, 170.

either, _a._ and _conj._, 126, 146-148.

emmet, _n._, 299.

emperor, -our, _n._, 197, 212, 221, 320.

empty, _a._, 179.

enclosed, _p.p._, 319.

encyclopedia, -pædia, _n._, 122.

engine, _n._, 270.

England, _n._, 261.

English, _a._, 261.

era, _n._, 122.

error, -our, _n._, 205, 206, 221, 223.

ether, _n._, 122.

etiquette, _n._, 260.

exceed, _v._, 254.

Exeter, Excester, _n._, 302.

exterior, -our, _a._, 211.

eye, _n._, 77, 126.

faild, _p.p._, 319.

fancy, _n._, 8, 102, 288.

fantasy, _n._, 288.

far, _a._ and _adv._, 100, 113, 329.

fast, _adv._, 311.

father, _n._, 113, 133, 329.

fatigue, _n._, 105.

_faveur_, _Fr. n._, 210.

favor, -our, _n._ and _v._, 205, 206, 209, 222-227, 234, 236.

feel, _v._, 104.

feign, _v._, 284.

felt, _p.p._, 184.

fetid, fœtid, _a._, 152.

fiber, -re, _n._, 28, 31.

fill, _v._, 104.

flood, _n._, 132, 153.

floor, _n._, 127, 153.

fonetic, _a._, 287.

fool, _n._, 105.

foot, _n._, 128, 129.

foreign, _a._, 176.

forestal(l), _v._, 259.

forgetful(l)ness, _n._, 258.

fortuitous, _a._, 130.

fortune, _n._, 130.

fought, _p.p._, 77.

four, _num._, 77.

frendly, _a._, 151.

frendship, _n._, 151.

friend, frend, _n._, 150.

full, _a._, 105.

ful(l)ness, _n._, 258.

futile, _a._, 270.

gage, gauge, guage, _v._ and _n._, 116-119.

gaol, _n._, 115, 116.

genuine, _a._, 271.

ghastly, _a._, 177.

gherkin, _n._, 177, 178.

ghost, _n._, 177.

give, _v._, 269.

glass, _n._, 101, 102.

governor, -our, _n._, 197, 212, 221.

grass, _n._, 101.

great, _a._, 115, 144.

grotto, _n._, 334.

guage, _v._ _See_ gage.

guard, _n._ and _v._, 113.

guardian, _n._, 113.

guild, _n._, 124.

guilt, _n._, 124.

guy, _n._, 157.

ha, _interj._, 170.

haddock, _n._, 171.

hale, _a._, 15.

half, _n._ and _adv._, 102, 103.

hallelujah, _n._, 170, 183.

halo, _n._, 334.

hammock, _n._, 171.

harlequin, _n._, 260.

hassock, _n._, 171.

haunch, _n._, 113.

haunt, _n._, 113.

hautbois, _n._, 181.

have, _v._, 269.

havoc, havock, _n._, 171.

head, _n._, 300, 333.

heal, _n._, 15.

health, _n._, 17.

hear, _v._, 333.

heard, _pret._ and _p.p._, 334.

hearken, _v._, 113.

heart, _n._, 113.

hearth, _n._, 144.

hed, heed, _n._, 300.

heifer, _n._, 119, 145.

height, _n._, 77, 126, 145.

heir, _n._, 114.

hero, _n._, 334.

heved, _n._, 300.

hexameter, _n._, 8.

high, hye, _a._, 182.

hillock, _n._, 171.

historick, _a._, 292.

hole, _a._, 15, 319.

hol(e)some, _a._, 319.

honnour, _n._, 234.

honor, _n._ and _v._, 5, 8, 194-237.

honorable, honourable, _a._, 8, 203.

honorary, _a._, 8.

horror, -our, _n._, 221, 231.

hostile, _a._, 270.

hot, _a._, 14, 15.

hour, _n._, 198.

housewife, _n._, 259.

humor, -our, _n._, 195, 203, 205, 232.

huzzy, _n._, 260.

hymn, _n._ and _v._, 168.

iland, _n._, 290.

impoverisht, _p.p._, 319.

impugn, _v._, 285.

infantile, _a._, 270.

Ingland, _n._, 261.

Inglish, _a._, 262.

innovator, -our, _n._, 220.

instal(l), _v._, 257.

interior, -our, _a._, 211.

intrigue, _n._, 105.

inveigh, _v._, 8.

inventor, -our, _n._, 320.

irreconcil(e)able, _a._, 257.

island, _n._, 181.

isle, _n._, 181.

jail, _n._, 115, 116.

jeopard, _v._, 119.

jocose, _a._, 26.

joke, _n._, 26.

kay, _n._, 141.

keg, _n._, 120.

kennel, _n._, 120.

“ketch,” _v._, 120.

key, _n._, 122, 145.

key (quay), _n._, 141, 142.

kiln, _n._, 168.

knave, _n._ 304-306.

knife, _n._, 307.

knoll, _n._, 307.

knowledge, knowlege, _n._, 188.

labor, -our, _n._ and _v._, 196, 203, 205, 209, 211, 228, 232, 319.

lackey, lacquey, _n._, 159.

ladder, _n._, 307.

lamb, _n._, 165, 166.

last, _a._, 101.

late, _a._, 329.

laught, _p.p._, 319.

lead, _v._, and lead, _n._, 313.

legislator, -our, _n._, 220.

leisure, _n._, 119.

leopard, _n._, 119.

lie, _n._ and _v._, 77.

lieutenant, _n._, 262.

limb, lim, _n._, 167.

limn, _v._, 168.

literature, _n._, 130, 131.

lot, _n._, 307.

loud, _a._, 307.

love, _n._ and _v._, 269.

lucre, lukar, _n._, 28.

luster, -re, _n._, 28, 29.

machine, _n._, 105.

magazine, _n._, 105.

many, _a._, 119, 120.

marine, _a._, 105.

massacre, _n._, 26.

masquerade, _n._, 260.

mate, _n._, 103.

mattock, _n._, 171.

meager, -re, _a._, 28, 29, 31, 33.

memento, _n._, 334.

Messiah, -as, _n._, 170.

met, _p.p._, 103.

meter, -re, _n._, 8, 28, 29, 33.

mirror, -our, _n._, 197.

miscal(l), _v._, 257.

miter, -re, _n._, 28.

mixt, _p.p._, 37.

mold, mould, _n._, 319.

monarch (k), _n._, 319.

mood, _n._, 153.

most, _a._, 128.

motto, _n._, 334.

mouth, _n._, 98.

musick, _n._, 292.

nap, _n._, 307.

native, _a._, 271.

nausea, _n._, 294.

nayther (neither), _a._, 146.

neck, _n._, 307.

negro, _n._, 334.

neither, _a._, 126, 146-148.

nigh, nye, _a._, 180.

niter, -re, _n._, 28, 31.

nonpareil, _n._, 119, 145.

numb, _a._, 167.

nut, _n._, 307.

oath, _n._, 98.

obey, _v._, 104.

oblige, _v._, 105.

oblique, _a._, 105.

odor, -our, _n._, 232, 236.

of, _prep._, 162.

oh, _interj._, 170.

onur (honor), _n._, 198.

opprest, _p.p._, 319.

orator, -our, _n._, 221, 320.

our, _pr._, 153.

overfal(l), _n._, 257.

pack, _p.p._, 319.

packet, pacquet, _n._, 159.

path, _n._, 98, 102.

penury, _n._, 130.

penurious, _a._, 130.

people, _n._, 122.

phantasy, _n._, 288.

phantom, _n._, 8.

philosophy, _n._, 287.

phonetic, _a._, 287.

phthisic, _n._, 298.

phthisis, _n._, 165.

pickt, _p.p._, 225.

piece, _n._, 310.

“pint,” _n._, 133.

pique, _n._, 105.

plait, _n._, 138.

plant, _n._, 101.

pleasure, _n._, 119.

plum, plumb, _n._, 167.

plumb, _a._, 166.

police, _n._, 105.

possessor, -our, _n._, 221.

posterior, -our, _a._, 211.

pour, _v._, 155.

prayer, _n._, 114.

precede, _v._, 8.

preceptor, -our, _n._, 220.

prejudice, _n._, 271.

pretty, _a._, 124, 260.

proceed, _v._, 8.

professor, -our, _n._, 220.

profile, _n._, 105.

prosaick, _a._, 292.

psalm, _n._, 103, 165.

pseudo, _prefix_, 165.

ptarmigan, _n._, 165.

publick, _a._, 292.

publisht, _p.p._, 225.

puft, _p.p._, 319.

put, _v._, 106, 124.

quadrille, _n._, 260.

quay, _n._, 122, 141-143.

quick, _a._, 291.

quinsy, _n._, 298.

quire, _n._, 186.

rain, _n._ and _v._, 311.

rancor, -our, _n._, 232.

raspberry, rasberry, _n._, 180.

rather, _adv._, 102.

raven, _n._, 307.

reacht, _p.p._, 225.

read, _v._, 333;
_pret._, 333.

receipt, receit, _n._, 8, 180.

recognizance, _n._, 260.

reconcil(e)able, _a._, 257.

rector, -our, _n._, 220.

red, _pret._, 319.

red, _a._, 333.

redoubt, _n._, 174.

redoubtable, redoutable, _a._, 174.

redoubted, redouted, _a._, 174.

reign, _n._ and _v._, 284, 311.

rein, _n._ and _v._, 104, 311.

reinstal(l), _v._, 257.

rendezvous, _n._, 172.

reporter, reportour, _n._, 197.

reveller, revelour, _n._, 197.

rhinoceros, _n._, 150.

ridiculous, rediculous, _a._, 87.

rigor, -our, _n._, 232.

rile, _v._, 134.

ring, _n._, 307.

rioter, riotour, _n._, 197.

risk, risque, _n._, 159.

roil, _v._, 134.

roof, _n._, 307.

root, _n._, 128, 129.

route, _n._, 154.

routine, _n._, 105.

rusht, _p.p._, 225.

saber, sabre, _n._, 28.

sack, _n._, 171, 220.

said, _p.p._, 119.

salt-peter, -re, _n._, 31, 34.

says, _v._, 119.

scene, _n._, 175.

scent, _n._ and _v._, 175, 289.

scepter, -re, _n._, 28, 29, 31, 33, 175, 319.

sciatica, _n._, 175.

science, _n._, 175.

scimitar, _n._, 175.

scintilla, _n._, 175.

sciolist, _n._, 175.

scion, _n._, 175.

scissors, _n._, 175.

scythe, _n._, 175.

secede, _v._, 254.

sed, _p.p._, 319.

senator, -our, _n._, 197.

sent, _n._, 289.

separate, seperate, _v._, 111.

sepulcher, -re, _n._, 28, 29, 31, 34.

servitor, -our, _n._, 197.

sew, _v._, 127, 149.

shew, _v._, 127, 149.

shoe, _n._, 128, 152.

should, _pret._, 179, 319.

shund, _p.p._, 319.

sick, _a._, 171, 220, 291.

sieve, _n._, 124.

sleight, _n._, 126, 145.

slept, _p.p._, 184.

slough, _n._, 313.

snatcht, _p.p._, 319.

solemn, _a._, 168.

solemnity, _n._, 168.

sovereign, sovran, _a._, 177.

spectator, -our, _n._, 220.

specter, -re, _n._, 28.

“spile,” _v._, 133.

squinancy, squinasy, squinsy, _n._, 298.

stay, _v._, 141.

steak, _n._, 115.

stirrup, _n._, 295.

stock, _n._, 291.

strew, _v._, 127, 149.

stupor, -our, _n._, 212.

succeed, _v._, 254.

successor, -our, _n._, 197, 320.

superior, -our, _a._, 320.

supprest, _p.p._, 225.

surgeon, _n._, 298.

sword, _n._, 172.

tailor, -our, _n._, 220.

tarry, _v._, 313.

tarry, _a._, 313.

tear, _n._, 314.

terror, -our, _n._, 221.

Thames, _n._, 185.

theater, -re, _n._, 28, 29, 30.

then, _adv._, 96, 97.

their, _pr._, 114.

there, _adv._, 114.

they, _pr._, 104, 133.

thick, _a._, 220, 311.

thin, _a._, 96, 97.

thou, _pr._, 153, 155.

through, thru, _prep._, 39, 293.

thumb, thum, _n._, 167.

thyme, _n._, 185.

tierce, _n._, 132.

till, _conj._, 335.

tisik, tizzic, _n._, 299.

tithe, _n._, 98.

toe, _n._, 126, 129.

tongue, _n._, 159, 268.

torpor, -our, _n._, 212.

Towcester, _n._, 296, 301.

trait, _n._, 169.

traitor, -our, _n._, 197.

trough, _n._, 156.

try, _v._, 77.

tsar, _n._, 165.

tutor, -our, _n._, 320.

two, _num._, 172.

unquestiond, _p._, 319.

unrol(l), _v._, 257.

until, _prep._ and _conj._, 335.

uphill, _a._, 257.

ure (hour), _n._, 198.

valor, -our, _n._, 232.

vanquisht, _p.p._, 225.

vast, _a._, 101.

vein, _n._, 104.

vext, vexed, _p.p._, 37.

view, _n._, 149.

vigor, -our, _n._, 224, 232.

villain (villian), _n._, 87.

viscount, _n._, 181.

volume, _n._, 130.

voluminous, _a._, 130.

warrior, -our, _n._, 212, 320.

weather-gage, _n._, 118.

where, _adv._, 114.

Whig, _n._, 87.

whole, _a._, 15, 319.

wholesome, _a._, 319.

whot, _a._, 14, 15.

wind, _n._, 126.

wolf, _n._, 162.

women, _n., pl._, 124.

wood, _n._, 153.

woud, _pret._, 319.

would, _pret._, 77, 179, 319.

wound, _n._, 154.

ye (the), 98.

yeoman, _n._, 127, 148.

you, your, _pr._, 153, 155.

young, _a._, 77.

youth, _n._, 77.

yt (that), 98.

GENERAL INDEX

_a_, as in _fare_, represented by _ai_, by _ay_, by _e_, by _ei_, 114.

“_a_, broad,” 109, 136;
represented by _au_, by _aw_, by _o_, by _oa_, 114;
by _ou_, 114, 156.

“_a_, long,” an _e_ sound, 103, 114;
represented by _ai_, by _ay_, by _ea_, by _ei_, by _ey_, by _e_, by
_ao_, by _au_, 115.

_a_, long, represented by _ua_, by _ea_, by _e_, by _au_, 113.

_a_, short, represented by _ua_, by _ai_, 114.

_a_, sounds of, 100-103, 104, 106;
weakened to _e_, 267;
represents short _e_, 119, 120;
represents short _o_, 126.

Academies, influence of, 59.

Addison, Joseph, 30, 31, 137.

_ae_, digraph, disappearance of, 122, 123;
represents “long _e_,” 122.

_ai_, digraph, represents _a_ of _fare_, 136;
“long _a_,” 115, 136;
“long _i_,” 77, 126, 137;
short _e_, 119, 136.

Allen, Grant, 117.

Alphabet, for what invented, 73;
English, 76;
insufficiency of Roman, 97, 99, 107.

American spelling, so-called, 18, 25-29, 32.

Analogical spelling, 251, 254, 332-334.

Anglo-French words, 234, 288.

Anglo-Saxon, 27, 150, 175, 267, 291, 300.

_ao_, digraph, represents “long _a_,” 115.

Arber, Edward, 151, 268.

Armstrong, John, 216, 217, 220.

Arnold, Matthew, 59-70.

Ascham, Roger, 127, 151, 268.

Association, sentiment of, 10-16, 20, 35, 36.

Ash, John, 228.

_au_, digraph, represents “broad _a_,” 114;
“long _a_,” 115;
long _a_, 113.

_aw_, digraph, 109, 136;
represents “broad _a_,” 114.

_ay_, digraph, represents _a_ of _fare_, 114;
“long _a_,” 115, 140;
“long _e_,” 122,
141;
“long _i_,” 77;
short _e_, 119.

_b_, unpronounced, 165-167, 172-175.

Bacon, Sir Francis, 27.

Bailey, Nathan, 64, 205.

Black-letter, 212.

Bolingbroke, Henry St. John, viscount, 217.

Boston, 89, 302.

Boswell, James, 218-221, 292.

Bullokar, John, 64.

Byron, George Gordon Noel, Lord, 131, 191.

_c_, letter, 79, 80, 97, 305;
before _e_, 26-28;
unpronounced, 172, 175, 289.

Cambridge University, 19.

_Cedo_, derivatives of Latin, 8, 253.

Celtic origin, words of, 156.

_ch_, digraph, 185;
sounded as _k_, _kw_, and _sh_, 186.

Chaucer, Geoffrey, 63, 80, 197, 274.

Child, Francis James, 8, 9, 91.

Clarke, Mary Cowden, 29.

Cocker, Edward, 64.

Coles, Elisha, 64, 205.

Congreve, William, 225.

Consonants, sounds of, 160 ff.

Copyists of manuscripts, 273-275.

_d_, crossed letter, 97.

_d_, letter and sound, 184, 188.

Derivation, influence of, on
spelling, 11, 190, 200, 209, 210, 212, 243, 247-251, 283-307.

Dickens, Charles, 271, 316.

Dictionaries, English, 277.
_See_ under Ash, Bailey, Bullokar, Cocker, Coles, Dyche and Pardon,
Fenning, Johnson, Johnston, Kenrick, Kersey, Knowles, Martin,
Minsheu, Nares, Perry, Phillips, Sheridan, Smart, Todd, Walker,
Webster, Worcester.

Dictionary, New Historical English, 115, 139, 142, 144, 195.

Digraphs, 108, 134-160.

Diphthongs, 108, 133.

Dryden, John, 318.

Dyche and Pardon’s Dictionary, 64, 65, 205, 228.

_e_, letter and sound, 103, 106, 265;
final, unpronounced, 265-271;
medial unpronounced, 246, 257;
represents “short _u_,” 132.

“_e_, long,” 105, 121, 136;
represented by _œ_, 122, 123;
by _ay_, 142;
by _ea_, 142, 143;
by _ee_, by _ei_, by _eo_, 148;
by _ey_, 142;
by _ie_, 149; by _œ_, 152.

_e_, short, represents long _a_, and “short _u_,” 113;
short _i_, 123, 260, 262;
is represented by _ai_, by _ay_, by _ei_, 119;
by _a_, 119, 120;
by _ea_, 119, 143;
by _eo_, 119, 148;
by _ie_, 150.

_ea_, digraph, represents _a_ of _fare_, 114;
of _father_, 113, 144;
“long _a_,” 115, 146;
“long _e_,” 122, 143, 333;
short _e_, 119, 143, 333;
“short _u_,” 132, 143, 334.

_eau_, represents long _o_, 127.

_ed_, termination, sounded as _t_, 37.

_ee_, digraph, 109, 136, 145;
represents “long _e_,” 122, 136, 263;
short _i_, 124, 136.

_ei_, digraph, represents _a_ of _fare_, 114, 145;
“long _a_,” 104, 115, 145;
“long _e_,” 122, 145-148;
“long _i_,” 77, 126, 145-148;
short _e_, 119, 145.

Ellis, Alexander John, 274, 304.

_eo_, digraph, represents “long _e_,” 122, 148;
long _o_, 127, 148;
short _e_, 119, 148.

_er_ or _re_, ending, 8, 26-35.

_eu_, digraph, represents long _u_, 129;
_u_ with _y_ element, 130, 148.

_ew_, digraph, represents long _o_, 127;
long _u_, 129;
_u_ with _y_ element 130, 148.

_ey_, digraph, represents “long _a_,” 104, 115, 142, 145;
“long _e_,” 122, 142, 145;
long _i_, 77, 126.

_f_, letter and sound, 162;
displacing _ph_, 287, 288.

Farquhar, George, 225.

French Academy, 48, 51.

French methods contrasted with English, 42-48.

French derivation, words of, 163, 169, 181, 196, 197, 233, 289, 290.

French orthography, 47, 71.

French, Old, 118, 176, 177, 179, 201.

_g_, letter followed by _e_, 157;
unpronounced, 172, 176, 285.

Garrick, David, 147.

German, orthography, 13, 49, 50, 166, 304, 306, 322.

_gh_, digraph, 170, 172, 181.

Gladstone, William Ewart, 53.

Glossographia Anglicana Nova, 64.

_gn_, words beginning with, 163, 164.

Grammar of writers once altered, 21.

Greek origin, words of, 165, 175, 176, 177, 287, 288, 294, 299.

Grimm, Jakob, 90.

_h_, letter and sound unpronounced, 163, 165, 170, 172, 177-179, 198,
199, 290;
initial, dropped, 198, 303, 307.

Hare, Julius Charles, 224-226.

Heine, Heinrich, 189.

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 130, 149.

Hume, David, 214-218.

_i_, letter and sound, 97, 104, 105, 106;
represents “short _u_,” 132.

“_i_, long,” a diphthong, 105, 133, 159;
sound of represented by _ai_, by _ay_, by _ey_, by _i_, by _uy_, by
_y_, by _ye_, 77;
by _ei_, 77, 126;
by _ie_, 77, 149;
by _oi_, 77, 134;
by _ui_, 158.

_i_, short, represented by _e_, 123, 124, 260;
by _ee_, 124, 136, 262-264;
by _ie_, 124;
by _o_, 124;
by _u_, 124;
by _ui_, 124;
by _y_, 123.

_ie_, digraph, represents “long _e_,” 122, 149;
“long _i_,” 77, 126, 149;
short _i_, 124;
“short _u_,” 132.

_ieu_, represents _ef_, 262;
long _u_, 129.

_ile_, ending, 269, 270.

_ine_, ending, 269, 271.

Italian language and orthography, 49, 201, 287, 322.

_ite_, ending, 269.

_ive_, ending, 269, 271.

_j_, sounded as _y_, 183.

Johnson, Samuel, 64, 65, 102, 123, 127, 137, 145, 205, 207-214, 218,
219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 227, 228, 244, 254, 257, 278, 326.

Johnston, William, 155.

Jonson, Ben, 127, 255.

_Journal des Débats_, 61.

_k_, letter and sound, 26-28,
97, 163, 170, 171, 172, 260, 290, 291-293, 303-306.

Kenrick, William, 155.

Kersey, John, 205.

Knowles, James Sheridan, 66.

_l_, letter and sound, 172, 179, 257, 258, 262, 335.

Lamb, Charles, 266.

Landor, Walter Savage, 225-227.

Latham, Robert Gordon, 68.

L’Estrange, Roger, 115.

_logue_, words ending in, 158.

_m_, letter, 162.

Macaulay, Thomas Babington, Lord, 267, 316.

Manley, Mrs., 87.

Martin, Benjamin, 65, 205.

Metric system, 55.

Middleton, Conyers, 217.

Millar, Andrew, 217.

Milton, John, 144, 225, 299, 312.

Minsheu, John, 64.

Mitford, William, 289.

Moore, Thomas, 191.

Morris, William, 191.

Müller, Max, 91.

_n_, letter and sound, 165, 264.

Nares, Robert, 146, 155.

_ng_, digraph, 185, 186.

Normandy, dialect of, 115.

Northern English dialect, 144.

Notes and Queries, 236.

_o_, letter and sound, 105, 106, 126, 127, 267;
represents “broad _a_,” 114;
long _u_, 128;
short _i_, 124;
short _u_, 128;
“short _u_,” 132.

_o_, long, represented by _eau_, 127, 153;
by _eo_, 127, 153;
by _ew_, 127;
by _oa_, 126;
by _oe_, 126;
by _oo_, 127, 153;
by _ou_, 127, 156;
by _ow_, 127, 156.

_oa_, digraph, represents “broad _a_,” 114, 151;
long _o_, 126, 151.

_oc_, _ock_, ending, 171.

_oe_, digraph, in classical words, 152;
represents long _o_, 126, 152;
long _u_, 128, 152;
“short _u_,” 133, 152.

_oi_, diphthong, 133;
represents “long _i_,” 77.

_oo_, digraph, represents long _o_, 127, 153;
long _u_, 128, 152;
short _u_, 128, 152;
“short _u_,” 132, 152.

_or_, _our_, ending, history of, 193-237.

Orthography, English, creation of printing-houses, 23, 24, 35,
272-278.

_os_, _oes_, ending, 334.

_ou_, diphthong, 133, 153, 154;
digraph, represents “broad _a_,” 114, 156;
long _o_, 127, 156;
long _u_, 128, 153;
short _u_, 128, 156;
“short _u_,” 132;
various sounds of, 77, 156.

_ow_, diphthong, 156;
digraph, represents long _o_, 127, 156, 169.

_oy_, diphthong, 133.

_p_, letter and sound, 163;
pronounced as _b_, 183;
unpronounced, 179-181.

Paris, dialect of, 115.

Perry, William, 155.

_ph_, digraph, 165.

Phillips, Edward, 64, 205.

Phonetic orthography, 71-75, 145, 239, 241, 243, 299, 321-330.

Phonetic sense, lost to English, 308.

Pope, Alexander, 154, 155, 217, 266.

Practical men, easy omniscience of, 91.

Printing, effect of, on spelling, 272-278.

Printing-house, English orthography the creation of, 23, 272-278.

Professors, guilelessness of, 91.

Pronouncing dictionaries, 145, 325-328.

Pronunciation, spelling designed to represent, 11, 73-76;
made to accord with the spelling, 259-265.

Proper names, orthography of, 296, 301-303.

Public, hostility of, toward reforming spelling, 6, 17.

Publishing houses, orthography adopted by, 5, 20-23.

_q_, letter, 97.

_qu_, digraph, 260.

_r_, letter and sound, 79, 80.

Ramsay, Allan, 217.

Reasoning powers, impairment of, 335-337.

Richardson, Samuel, 86.

Ritson, Joseph, 245-248.

Roosevelt, President, his order about spelling, 1, 59, 308.

Runic letters, 97.

_s_, of _pleasure_, represented by _s_, by _si_, by _z_, by _zi_, 187.

_s_, unpronounced, 172, 181, 290.

Sanskrit, 100.

Scott, Sir Walter, 247.

_sh_ (of _ship_), digraph, represented by _ce_, by _ci_, by _s_, by
_si_, by _t_, by _ti_, by _xi_, 187.

Shakespeare, William, 22, 24-30, 32-35, 116, 194, 195, 201-203.

Sheridan, Thomas, 65, 207, 221, 263, 326.

Signs, insufficiency of, in English, 96, 97, 99.

Smart, Benjamin Humphrey, 66, 147, 230, 263.

Sounds, 75, 76;
number of, 96, 107;
ignorance of, 78, 241.

Southey, Robert, 131.

Spanish spelling, 49, 322.

Spelling, difference between present and past, 20-23, 24, 25;
ignorance of nature and history of, 56 ff.

Spelling reform, attitude of men of letters toward, 58;
attitude of women
toward, 82-86;
not limited to English race, 48.

Spenser, Edmund, 14, 155, 184, 185, 225.

Sterne, Lawrence, 52.

Strahan, William, 217.

Swift, Jonathan, 31.

_t_, represented by _ed_, 184, 185;
unpronounced, 165, 169, 172, 181.

Taylor, William, 131.

Tennyson, Alfred, 142, 155.

_th_, digraph, surd and sonant sounds of, 96-99;
represents _t_, 185.

Thackeray, William Makepeace, 316.

“Thorn” letter, 97, 98.

_Times_, London, 18, 60, 61, 62, 67, 68, 69.

Todd, Henry John, 68.

Tonson, Jacob, 30.

Tooke, John Horne, 227.

Trench, Richard Chenevix, 285, 294, 299, 308, 327.

_u_, letter and sound, 97, 128, 129, 267, 293;
represents short _i_, 124;
sounded as _w_, 157;
with _y_ element, represented by _u_, by _ue_, by _eu_, by _ew_,
130.

_u_, long, represented by _o_, by _oe_, by _ou_, 128;
by _oo_, 128, 152;
by _ue_, by _ui_, by _eu_, by _ew_, by _ieu_, 129.

_u_, short, represented by _o_, by _ou_, 128;
by _oo_, 128, 153.

“_u_, short,” 105, 106, 111, 113, 131;
short sound of, represented by _u_, by _oe_, 132;
by _o_, 132, 153;
by _oo_, 132, 153;
long sound of represented by _e_, by _i_, by _o_, by _ie_, 132;
by _ea_, 132, 144;
by _ou_, 132, 153.

_ua_, digraph, represents long _a_, 113;
short _a_, 114;
as _wa_, 157.

_ue_, digraph, represents long _u_, 129, 158;
as _we_, 157;
final, unpronounced, 158.

_ui_, digraph, represents long _u_, 129, 159;
short _i_, 124;
“long _i_,” 159.

Unaccented syllables, indistinctness of sound of, 110.

Uniformity of spelling, desire of, 277-278.

_uy_, digraph, represents long _i_, 77, 126, 157;
short _i_, 126.

_v_, letter and sound, 97, 162, 172.

Vanbrugh, Sir John, 225.

Vowel-sounds, progressive movement of, 99-113.

_w_, letter and sound, 156, 157, 178;
unpronounced, 165, 172;
followed by _h_, 163, 164;
followed by _r_, 163, 164

Walker, John, 65, 66, 101, 102, 139, 141, 147, 154, 155, 169, 178,
207, 221, 222, 223, 230, 260, 263, 292.

Webster, Noah, 228, 248-255.

Wesley, John, 224.

Whitney, William Dwight, 91, 100.

Women, attitude of, towards spelling, 82-86;
former indifference of, to spelling, 86.

Worcester, Joseph Emerson, 89, 229, 252.

_x_, letter, 97, 165.

_y_, represents short _i_, 123;
“long _i_,” 77, 126.

_z_, unpronounced, 172.

THE END

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation errors, mostly in the index, have been corrected.

Page 119: “ryming it” changed to “rhyming it”

Page 151: “from it at possible” changed to “from it as possible”

Page 318: “rymed heroic verse” changed to “rhymed heroic verse”