St. Mary's gazette., 1865-11-16

ker's Pronouncing Dictionary combinej;"
and. thenceforth his life was chiefly de-
voted TO pathological researches. While
engaged upon his "Comprchensive Pro-
nounsing and Explanatory Dictionary
an exceeding useful work. which passed
through many editions, and which, inn
proved and enlarged, appeared in ls55
as a. .Pronouncing.. Explanatory, and
Synonymous Dictionary and still con-
tinus-lt.o maintain its high and mcritcd
pfaees ID public. estimation, and which
originally appeared in 1880. he was in
duocd by tie publishers of "Webster's
American Dictionary to prepare an
abrii1c,ncnt Of that work. which was
COMPLETED in l>2S--a species Of labor in
which hc greatly s2rolled. In 1880 and
1851 he was abroai. In 1916 apparel
his "Univcrsal AMI Critical Dictionary Of
the English Language. which WAS re-
printed in L,ndon withou: his consent,
with titie-raec altered 70 as Ia read,
"Wcbst>.r'> Critical and Pronouncinc
Dictionary" Sc. calarLrd and revised
bv WORCESTER AMI with d garbled pre-
s,ce. HIS chief and great work. A
Dictionary of the English Language,
Ito. Boston, t!ir fruits of more than -
years Of ir.i.orra pir!cal stu..iu.. o vol
umc Of 500 rac.- appeared il 1860,
anl was greeted Il, it appearanc" as a
war: unsurpassed a learning ai-l value
bv anv that. had hitherto appeared il.
tho realms Of English leSIeography.
The peculiar ds:in gushing eXc'll"nc"
of the work consists III its system Of pro
nuneia;ion, upon which the author cx-
l.niei immense labor. His system Of
!. ,t:t;yn is simple "ni admirable, and is
::,,"~a;l ou an ANALYSIS Of the vowel sounds.
which a, that p:riol had not been equal
!oi in completeness in any other WOW,
AMI it may fairly be sad ,hs: in this
f-.rure his work IS still unrival!ed. His
c..ious vocabulary Of modern gcorraph!-
cal names, with their pronunciation, and
especially his plan Of exhibiting all the
BEST English authorities in relation 70
words to which usage has assigned dif-
f"."nt pronumciat!onS, belong exclusively
Il this dictionary. It may also be ad
i.i that the vocabulary of this wock
- = - - l"'fi 'Ni' l'''A' SSA's Ii'|tioi'c
than that Of all preceding dictionaries un-
tied
Ih.. Worcester was &c years Of az, At
this ti;na-G ycars older than DR.. Web
s.er-whcn the last work Of his life was
finished. These two great American PHI
!o!ogists both lived to a remarkable age.
and retained their faculties to the last
the one dying at s., and the other a,
81 years of aga. The two great works
upon which chiefly their fame respective
" rests have each peculiar merits, AMI
upon the question of the superiority b."
twvcn them. as thcy were left by their
authors. public opinion is divided, and
We have Nd disposition here to express
an opinion uron the subject. The gem
rrous emulation proluc d by the strus
gle Of the two rival works for pu:iic
favor has unquest;onablv been proiuctiv"
of good results in this department of
American literature, and We should not
be disappointed in the appearance in due
time Of an edition Of Worcestcr's work
as much surprising that Of Webster as
wa now rn-ari the last elition of the
latter ,he superior Of that Of the former
Dr. Worcester received the degree Of
Ill. d. from the Brown University aid
Dartmouth College, as DR.. Webster did
from Yale, anl they were both members
Of various American and European learned
lodics. Par noble yJratr an.