New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-06-21
THE ORTHOGRAPHTCAL HOBGOBLIN.
To he raito- Of T7eE. T. TriIune

THE ORTHOGRAPHICAL HOBGOBLIN.
7. he rdito- Of T7sE J. Tribune
SIR The most approved mode OF dealing with ghost
is 10 walk directly up and take the platoon 10y the
beard, If il has one. The result "a usually guide
post, windmill or other useful object We propose
20 treat in this manner and "a briefly as We may, the
orthogaph hobpobp, uredu up by an enterpr.-
ing publishing house for the purpose Of frightening
tin,d and conservative people, and selling Their own
publications. Having laid the specfer, aud exposed
the Windmill We shall the latter over TO our Oak
ote frienos TO fight 81 their leisure.
Some pathological Vsndal,-if We can believe The
in psssop.d statements with which these parties food
the public prints has, with barDaric n'ent, made an
incorsion into our fair heritage Of English und-hled
al our pleasant photographed anomalies are being laid
waste; and DR. Noah Webster is the Vsndal alluded
To- All fogydom is therefore summoned Ia the
If those thing. So is amentable that fve-siIhs
Of all the ichoo books published il this country 80 Tar
a. they follow any standard, follow the tandal ana
that twenty Of his dictionaries are sold yearly 70 one OF
any other author These are moreover very a~k~ard
facts for the begereIts who hold tina. usage - the
only criterion by which 10 tet al matters OF oTthogra
ply -
Few persona for few have investigated the subject
Are aware how small bess these on repeated chsrges
ag ainst Webs.rs Dictionaries have to rest upon and
in bow few words their orthography differs from w ir
ces;er's whose publishers the usga'ors OF this
con.rcysrsy Still less do they know the nature Of
these differences. If Webster no. the standard Of
ortlOgrsphy there is standard in America. NoTc-s
;ers OrthogTaphy ~ neither American nor Enghsn, out
Is mopgrel, yacillaing complaiioD without parpose
or system her than ASSUMED usage. Each succeeding
edition i, proves and conforms and mnre to Web
ster Worcester sets up no such claim a. II assumed
by hs publishers, but he gives list OF i1'J " words
4" Of doubtful and various orthoeraphy, spelled 10 two
three and four different ways the number OF forms
amounting to nearly 600. 1.-THE photography of the
" left hand column he says, " IL claimed 20 be well
authorized and in most cases preferable but win
respect to the authority OF that OF the nghthand
column there is great diversity. In some casea,
>, nfa,ly or guite as rrH auth0ri-ed rs that of The
" LefthaHd etc." With no better standard than mere
usage It is no wonder that his orhogrsphy has been
yac.lle,ilg and Inconsistent. The changes he has
made in words under first four letters Of the alpha
bet in different editions more in number than the
entire differences between his latest edition and Web
s,er Unabridged.
WI At these differences are but in long aud dispar-
aei, q article entitled Websters Dictionary N The
Home Journal Of March 10 (which has since been 10
serted in many other papers) We lind what purport- TO
b, ruch lirt pr'Paled by the beheeiehIs themselves
We could have wished That the list had been more ac
curate hut deemed sufficiently correct for ITS
author purpose, We will give II wider circulation,
aud make il the basis Of come remarks
As matter of course, all the writer's structures upon
W, bsier are expended upon its photography He nj
mite that in the essential features Of dictionary, W.,
definition and vocabulary, Webster's Dictionary has
- from the first stood preeminent. Its definitions had
the then merit of conveying Information IN the
most lucid terms-in terms that did not themselves
need TO be defined, and the voc Abulary contained
many thousauds of words in common use not then to
" be found in any dictionary. WIN this show oil MS
rterestedbess he is prepared for the onset Having
for tears this contest waged with The weapons Oh
personal abuse, that DIR. Webster was Yankee
plodder" whose career was mistake, VINO was
'every way unequal To his task, etc, is cheerlng
nov TO zee a mode Of attack that has the merit Oh
freshness ard originality. The writer's strategy -
this: Wobsters othography IS perple1ing tormenting
permanently mischevous IL lmpedes the sale oil the
work thousands of copies. ii the publishers Knew
their interest they would change the photography and
make it conform to the writer's idea Of spelling, which
il embodied III Worcester (which edition ,. Toe
changes could be made with very lito trouble-per'
hap- IN raIny afternoon thfteeE minutes would be
amply sufficient If the writer WI name his edltlon
and then Web-ier's dictionary would sell. Iudcious
admirable suggestion But before these changes are
made should desire to enter our protest against
some of them To that his proposition l. pract
cable he assures Us that the difference between the
on biography Of the two dictionaries Is very slight,
much less than people suppose which Is precisely cur
view Of the matter lie says:
1.-THE pecuarity lof W-b.te- OrthozsPhy 50
that IL bears about the same pro poron 20
the hole mosquito bears 20 the bulk OF an ne Is
ornrptiug To exhibit real magnitude o Ills petite nissre
b,o he Ewes Of our readers that they weigh and nes
ure IL huseves viii spread the entire e nserin
onr rolrrrs-ha head and dimensions we
csn their rxciam.ton-" Whist. IL that ALI Ih0l
Has that made 90 much uproar IN the mefsIy WORD