The Portland daily press., 1862-11-04
~. Ms, Compliments to ar. w.

If "R. W." is teacher, and l am afraid he
is, judging by his childish pedantry and bad
English, it would be well for him to mend his
manners, though he may not be able to mend
either his language or his pronunciation, be-
fore it is too late.
And so, because "R. w." undertakes to say
what he does, and wiu do, we are to be con-
cluded, are we? My authority is not myself,
but Walker-Todd's Walker. His, it would
appear, is ''R. W." But who the plague is "R.
W?"
But l. To show what his qualifications are
as Teacher of full grown men, if not of the
smaller fry, let me take part of single SEN
tence from his very severe article. "Neither
of the three words are derived" Perhaps "R.
w." has never heard that "neither" means
one OF two, and one of two only; nor that one
of three or more is wretched vulgarism vi
olatlng alike both analogy and derivation; nor
that are" is not the third person singular,
indicative mode, present tense OF what is
called the verb 'to-be." Yet such is the fact
as we can assure him upon the highest author
ty; even that of Lindlay Murray, and Jack
the Giant Killer
2. Falsehood will not help the matter-nor
will downright Misrepresentation, however in
genious. never tried to convince anybody
not even ''us," that Tennyson and Browning
are not to be named with Scott and Byron.
But if had, what has that to do with pronun-
ciaton?
3. "Hedther" was transposed-the pronun-
citation complained of is hether, which is Low
land Scotch. 1t should be "he-thir"
4. Walker says face; and he is my authori-
ity. Todd follows him. and follow both, be-
cause desire to have one standard, and but
one; aud not because the Greek phasis, would
appear to justify me; having little or no faith
in derivations or analogies, where language i,
concerned.
5. A msprint occurs in the first column,
where +" Hypotenuse" appears. What com
plain of is that speakers OF reputation some
times put in that h. Whether it is "good
Greek or not, is another question, which r.
W." raises, not Z" j. n"
To conclude. If we do not follow some ac-
knowedged authority we set up ourselves, our
ears, and our taste, or like II. W." our own
,cilts, without regard to anything else, thereby
sanctioning every sort OF provineialisni, and ev-
cry kind of atrocity in speech; Tor if we may do
so, why not others? Why not everybody, and
each have way of his own: for X. W." says
in so many words, !" We shall never do this
nor sever do that"-as if any body cared
snap what "R. W." may do or not do, in such
matters; penumbra at the best, the " shad-
ow of shade" But we dare say he will keep
his word, like all the rest of the incorfigibles,
and the hopeless, who choose their poets in
their YOUTH" as they do their wives" and
therefore their pronunciation, if we may ven
ture to guess what he is driving at.
Since l made out that very list, have heard
the Teacher of Sabbath School, with hun
dred and fifty pair of ears in training, say
Mash-i-nd-shions, for Vaccinations as |
once heard him say re-mua-er-a tiue instead of
re-lnu-ner-a tive, and two or three Others say,
"steord" for soard. But enough. Let "R.
W. take pull at English grammar, try his
hand at some acknowledged authority in pro-
nunciation, and keep good heart, and hold
up his head. Something may be made OF him
yet, perhaps, if he does not try to be Gerry Sc
we're, nor Gerry witty, nor bounce too much
and knows what to do with his pocket hand
kerchief. J.N.