The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-03-19
The Rage for SpeIllng.aIatchcs.

We AFGR
The Rage for spelllng-lIatChcs.
From tho New York TribunSl
"V.a-l val, G, vale, t-u, vuletu, d-i di,
"valctudi, ma ma, valetudina, ri ri, wal
etudinari, an an-VALETuDINARIAHP
Does tho reader remember how, all the
rest Of the columnar puzzles-Tho Giants
Causeway-OtthO spelling-Book achieved,
his small mouth triumphantly Wrestled
with this septa-syllabic monster? Does
no remember the well-thumbcd dogs
cared, and somewhat soiled little manual,
its drynoss, alas sometimes moiStened by
his tears, with tho wooden frontispieCc in
which Minerva, in the cap Of q French
cuirassier, was represented leading nice
little boy over tho rocks and up to tho
Temple which had 9Famo" on one sign.
board, and knowledge" on tho other ?
Very proud, now, in certain parts Of the
land, arc those who minded their DR..
Webster in the days Of their youth, There
is an epidemic Of Spelling Matches, in
which the old and young Of either Sex are
engaged with equal vigor. Having early
cast their bread upon the waters, are they
not gathering 1t after many days, in the
shape Of prizes-Bibles, Wobster's Una.
bridged, and other mementoes Of tho schol.
aStic fray? Our exchanges are full Of
tho details OF these vociferous engage.
nlents, with the names Of the victorious
and obituary notices Of the defeated.
There hasn't been such IN excitement
upon the subject since years ago Isaac
Pitman invented Photography which
promised to work q revolution in general,
and has only given us an excellent system
Of shorthand, The spelling mania which
has rugged through the late winter began
In Ohio. II thence extended to Hin Dis,
Indiana and Pennsylvania, while symp-
toms Of It are still observablcin the rural
regions Of New York. In some places
the excitement has led to fatal results, as
in Burlington, Iowa, where u slight per-
sonal Misunderstanding occurred among
the contestants, ending in tho death Of q
young man "only nineteen years old"
Various rules are adopted Tor tho regula.
ton Of tho combat; "sidcsv arc usually
cllosenj ind in one instance we notice
mysterious provision that mo geographi.
cal or proper names shall be given out
until after nino o'clock In some
neighbOrhoOds tho base ball players
seem to be hurt by the shade into
which they have been cast, and In |
others tho Crusaders" complain that they
have boon quite superseded In the popu.
lar mind. AT Bellairo, Ohio the meeting
was OF so important a character that Il
was called to order by the Judge, and II
was upon this occasion tllata Doctor Of
Medicine came to grief by emitting one
~" in "nggrievc," while "Niiss BELLE
Gorphy" unhappy maiden I put an un.
necessary Il" In "ventilatc," and retired !
In tears from the field. AT Springfield,
Ohio, the public interest on tho Dist ult. |
was 80 great that the Opera House was
engaged for the match, which was con.
Quoted upon the most catholic principles,
Webster and Worcester being regarded az
OF equal authority. Three hundred and
flfty.threC words were given out on this
mOmentous occasion, and such knOtty
specimens rs "gneiSS " "souClong," "psy.
chology," and "patronymiC" laid many n
brave SpellCr low, until only ono cham.
piOn kept the field, and she woman,
withn none to dispute her title 10 the great
Prize Dictionary. Then with fearful
irony each member Of tho losing side was
presented with Primer, and II was voted
to send half the net proceeds to tho Kan.
sas sufferers.
Lest any reader should underestimate
the Importance, in spite Of the murder
above recorded, OF these syllable shindieE,
we may mention that at Richmond, Ind,
on the 18th ult., the prize to tho victor.
ious speller was actually forty acres Of
land In Missouri. At Charlottesville, Ind,
February 10, there was tnonomachy or
a duellO between Prof. CriLl and Miss
Mires, d school teacher. Long Minerva
held the equal balaneesuspended Words
Of five, six, seven, eight Byllables flowed
ESQ to speak) like water. Silent letters
were struggled with on either side, and
overcome by both man and maid. Syn.
pathy was with tho heroine, and great dis.
gust was expressed when EhO succumbed
to so simple word "a "fusileer," and
went down amidst tho walls Of the audi.
ence. In Humboldt County, Iowa, the
Queen Of the Spelling Arena Il Miss Ella
Cadeitc, that Ingenious maiden having
"spelled down" tile entire population, At
Pittsburgh, PENN, on the 9Th inst, the
sacred walls Of tho Third Presbyterian
Church witnessed tho wotdy battle, the
Rev. DR.. Noble, the pastor, smiling bland.
" on tho useful games. fiofe d gentle.
man ignObly distinguished himself BY
spelling salad" sal.a.e.d, while loud
laughter shook tho vaulted roof, and an
Irish gentleman who spelled "beastn1
"baste, u added to the intensity Of the OK.
citement. An old lady failed lamentably
with "rheumatiSm," and highly respec.
table and sober gentleman made n dread.
Jul mess Of ''deba1chee"-aS why shouldn't
he7
In our own State, we are proud TO say,
ofthogtaphy IL not neglected Al Teach.
erJ Institutes In eighteen counties bat.
ties have taken place. Schenectady cout.
ty carries of the palm, her school chill.
drcn and ma'ams spelling 90 per cent Of
the words given out correctly, while poor
Erie L. at the rear with only 81 per cent,
A good many Of tis, perhaps, may thank
our stars that We arc not exposed 10 these
ordeals. Chatles Lamb once said that he :
had found out why friend wrote to him !
In such blind hand-it was to conceal
hiS bad spellingl We believe that every. !
body makes mistakes In photography, and
that very great writer's arc frequently J
under obligations to the ptpoi.teadcrs. /
There Ia a good deal Of idiosynctasy 4
about II. When everybody, including
The great and good George Washington,
spelled badly, Il wasn't 20 much Of consei :
luencc. But now that the age has taken
The matter up, now that aspellihg reform ]
has been set afoot, now that the accom-.
plishment is 10 be made q sort Of semi. 9
cardinal virtue, lot NO man write ten :
lines Without one or the other Of the Two :