New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-10-26
YET ANOTHER BESIDE.

To The Editoy Of The n. y. Tribune
SIR: communication admitted into your paper Of
this morning calls in question, with some assurance,
note in Mr. Grant Whites edition of Shakespeare, as
well as your approval of 1.-THE point objected TO be-
ing, briefly, the annotators position that "besHe and
"Jesdes are one and the in all respects, except
slight terminal corruption in the latter This your
CorresnondeDt denouDces 81 "unsound philology."
Far be il from me to imply that Mr.. White and rHr
TRIBUNE die not well able to maintain any position
that they may take. Int % they are h~.. h""'" -
have already labor enough upon their hands, and A.
an son evhat interested in the study will not say OF
priioIcgy, which leave to your correspondent, but
Of the English language, which love-I venture
few lines in reply to Il.
Il. would SET aside Mr.. Whites observation that the
two forms Of the word in question were used indiifer
emily when Shakespeare wrote and the Bible was
translated, by Directing that il proves too much,
because "Sbakespeare used hcply and happily ndif
" ferent'y," and, az b. assumes Mr.. White would
hardly cay that therefore, taPpily and happy are
- one and the same A" II Shakespeare Scholar
saw this, II probably gave him the pleasure of
quiet laugh, and caused him to remember how i'm
portan il is to know something upon subject before
undertaking to write about il. For if he knows half
az much as THE TRIBUNE says he does, lie would not
hesitate moment to tell b. that ShakespeereS hap
PLY" and "hapy" one ard the same.
In the time Of Elizabeth hap was oftenest written
hopDe; and although the q superiuous terminal,
il wGs usually retained in the adverb, haPBcy and
always, when, according to the license Of that day.
writer chose that for rhyhms sake either in pro'e
verse, the word should be pronounced az trisyable
This use Of the superfucus 10 make syllable in
compound OF an infected word was common when
81 -,
became INCOMES, lso pronounced well as writteoli
orre both in the plural and the possessive 0rl-es
ke1re. there's Je,re Jc,c-es; cOmmauHde Commando
uent &c. &c. &C. And SO haPpeiy was pronounced
hal-yey at the pleasure Of the writer who used it, 1t
not unfrequenty occurred in the irregular photography
of a period when rife was spelled sometimes .yt and
sometimes f. that happely was spelled haRply, both
spellings are found in the early editions of Shakes
pesres works, and his editors no: knowing that the
latter was mere irregular spelling Of the former and
that that was trsyable, have preserved the irregu
lar form in all cases and have thus sadly mised
well-moaniug defenders Of sound phology.
As to I,ide and BESIDES, the question OF their identity
may possibly be yet an open one but entirely
with THE TKIBusE and Mr.. White upon the subject.
/ And on turning to Webster | find that his note
besides which Il. quotes in par only cutting it of with
an "Ac" is a. follows, the words in itac letter hsv
ing been conveniently omitted by b.. This word
though radically the same as beside, and corruption
of II. ought not TO be confounded with it, fer 4
rerer Hsca ~ fle ePGiAea under beside, except
IN tie seooad"i Now what is this second sense which
4 even BIS authority excepts '-"Over and above
distinct fom The very sense in which Il Is used in
the passage "a womens man, and besides myself ,
I Oh which MI White note Il written Webster him.
self saw that 6esiGcs j. but "a corruption of beside
Mr. White saws ii Is; and 10 the photographers
tion that the is never used in any Of the
of the latter but one, Mr.. White affords answer
by quoting instances 10 the contrary from the works of
en- inent writers And any competent English scholar
wond have info rrned Il. that the editor might have
peppered his page with quotations 70 the same effect
from the best books written between loco aud JD-a
period during which venture to think there was
some "really good writing" For the English Ian
guage had not its nee yet it, elimination in Noah
Webters Dictionary: and it requires somewhat more
than a corruption AMI the opinion Of Webster, sus-
tanned by that # H. 10 make one English woii into
two. Webster made bis Dictionary very useful
book BY filling il with gil manner Of words and def
nitions: his very ndiscnulination gave his work a
certain value He also deserves vel for biz efforts to
brig about an analogiosl orthogrsphy although they
were as often In wrong rgh, direction. But
Webster as al authority and az rHILoLoGT' fear
that in his devotion 20 that fascinating science your