Examples, indeed, of this nature would be endlefs; I fhall therefore content myself with producing one more, from the old ballad of The Children in the Wood: "You that executors be made, "And overfeers eke." In this paffage the word overfeers is evidently and properly used as a quadrifyllable; and, in one black letter copy of the ballad, is accurately printed as fuch, overfeeers; which, if Shakspeare's orthography should ever be an editor's object, may serve as a guide for the regulation of the following line: "That high all-feer that I dallied with." Of the words quoted by Mr. Tyrwhitt, as inftances of the liberty fuppofed to have been taken by Shakspeare, those which I admit to be properly a fyllable shorter, certainly obtained the fame pronunciation in the age of this author which he has annexed to them. Thus country, monftrous, remembrance, affembly, were not only pronounced, in his time, the two firft as three, the other as four fyllables, but are fo ftill; and the reason, to borrow Mr. Tyrwhitt's words, "must be obvious to every one who can pronounce the language.' Henry was not only ufually pronounced, (as indeed it is at prefent,) but frequently written as a trifyllable; even in profe. Thus in Dr. Hutton's Difcourfe on the Antiquities of Oxford, at the end of Hearne's Textus Roffenfis," King Henery the eights colledge." See, upon this fubject, Wallifi Grammatica, p. 57. That Mr. Tyrwhitt fhould have treated the words angry, humbler, nobler, used as trifyllables, among those which could "receive no fupport from the fuppofed canon," muft have been owing to the obfcure or imperfect manner in which I attempted to explain it ; as these are, unluckily, fome of the identical inftances which the canon, if a canon it must be, is purposely made to fupport, or, rather, by which it is to be fupported an additional proof that Mr. Tyrwhitt, though he might think it proper to reprobate my doctrine as " fanciful and unfounded," did not give himself the trouble to understand it. This canon, in fhort, is nothing but a moft plain and fimple rule of English grammar, which has, in fubftance, at least, been repeated over and over:-Every word, compounded upon the principles of the English or Saxon language, always preferves its roots unchanged: a rule which, like all others, may be liable to exceptions, but I am aware of none at prefent. Thus bumbler and nobler, for inftance, are compofed by the adjectives humble, noble, and er, the fign of the comparative degree; angry, of the noun anger, and y the Saxon adjective termination 13. In the ufe of all thefe, as trifyllables, Shakspeare is moft correct; and that he is no lefs fo in England, which used to be pronounced as three fyllables, and is fo itill, indeed, by thofe who do not acquire the pronunciation of their mother tongue from the books of purblind pedants, who want themselves the inftruction they pretend to give, will be evident from the etymology and divifion of the word, the criteria or touchftones of orthography. Now, let us divide England as we please, or as we can, we fhall produce neither its roots nor its meaning; for what can one make of the land of the Engs or the gland of the Ens? but write it as it ought to be written, and divide it as it ought to be divided, En-gle-land, (indeed it will divide itself, for there is no other way) and you will have the fenfe and derivation of the word, as well as the origin of the nation, at first fight; from the Saxon Engla landa, the land or country of the Engles or Angles: juft as Scotland, Ireland, Finland, Lapland, which neither ignorance nor pedantry has been able to corrupt, defign the country of the Scot, the Ine, the Fin, and the Lap: and yet in fpite of all fenfe and reason, about half the words in the language are in the fame aukward and abfurd predicament, than which nothing can be more diftorted and unnatural; as, I am confident it must have appeared to Mr. Tyrwhitt, had he voluntarily turned his attention that way, or actually attempted, what he haftily thought would be very easy, to fhew that this " fuppofed canon was quite fanciful and unfounded;" or, in fhort, as it will appear to any perfon, who tries to fubject the language to the rules of fyllabication, or in plainer English to fpell his words; a task which, however ufeful, and even neceffary, no Dictionary-maker has ever dared to attempt, or, at least, found it poffible to execute. Indeed, the fame kind of objection which Mr. Tyrwhitt has made to my fyftem might be, and, no doubt, has, by fuperficial readers, been frequently made to his orn, of inferting the final fyllable in the genitives Peneus's, Thefeus's, Venus's, ox's, afs's, St. James's, Thomas's, Wallis's, &c. and printing, as he has done, Peneufes, Thefeufes, Venuses, oxes, affes, St. Jamefes, Thomafes, Wallifes; an innovation neither lefs fingular nor more juft, than the one I am contending for, in the conjugation, or ufe in compofition, of refemble, wrestle, whistle, tickle, &c. But, as I am confcious that I burn day-light, fo my readers are probably of opinion that the game is not worth the candle: I fhall, therefore, take the hint; and, to fhew how much or little one would have occafion, in adopting my fyftem, to deviate from the orthography at present in ufe, I beg leave, in the few words I add, to introduce that which, as a confiderable easy and lafting improvement, I wish to fee established. Tedious, then, as my note has become, and imperfect as I am obligeed to leave it, I flatter myself I have completely justifyed this divineest of authors from the ill founded charge of racking his words, as the tyrant did his captives. I hope too I have, at the fame time, made it appear that there is fomething radically defective and erroneous in the vulgar methods of fpelling, or rather miffpelling; which requires correction. A lexicographer of eminence and abilitys will have it very much in his power to introduce a fyftematical reform, which, once established, would remain unvaryed and invariable as long as the language endureed. This Dr. Johnson might have had the honour of; but, learned and eloquent as he was, I must be permited to think that a profound knowlege of the etymology, principles, and formation of the language he undertook to explain, was not in the number of thofe many excellencys for which he will be long and deferveedly admireed. RITSON. |