The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1875-06-18

seccrc; and, if 30, will assist them pro-
.fesSioHal'y, if called ON.
MARX Tw.Is ON SPELLING; There was
spelling match at the Congregational
Church, Hartford, Conn.,, and Mr.. Sa-
muel L. Clemens (8Inrk Twain) being
called on for few preliminary remarks,
spoke ms follows:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: have been
honored with the Office OF introducing
these approaching orthographical So
lcmnities with few remarks. The tenn
perancc crusade swept the land some
time ago, that is, that vast portion of the
land where it was needed, but it skipped
Hartford. Now comes this new spelling
epidemic, and this time we are stricken
So suppose we needed the affliction. I
don't say we needed it, for 1 don't see
any use in spelling q word right, and
never did. l mean, don't see any use
in having uniform and arbitrary way of
spelling words. We might as we'll mako
all clothes alike and cook all dishes
alike. Sameness is tiresome; variety is
pleasing. l have correspondent whose
letters are always refreshment to me;
there is such breezy, unfettercd origi-
nality about his photography. lie
always spells Kow with large X. Now
That is just as good as to spell it with n
small one. 1t is better. 1t gives the
imagination broader field, wider
scope. Itsuggests to the mind grand,
vague. impressive, new kind of cow.
Superb effects can be produced by varie-
gated spelling Now. there is Blind
Tom, the musical prodigy. He always
spells word according to tho sound that
is carried to his ear. And he is an en-
thusiast in orthography. When you
give him word, he shouts it outputs
all his soul into it: I once heard him
called upon to spell orang-outang before
orange. ger. ger. granger, tang,
granger tang?" Now body can respect
an ornng-outang that spells his name in
q vigorous way like that. But the feeble
dictionary makes mere kitten of
him. In the old time, peopled used to
spell just as they pleased. That
was the right idea You had two
chances at stranger then You
knew strong man from weak one by
his iron-clad spelling, and his hand
writing helped you to verify your YER
dict. Some people have an idea that
correct spelling can be taught and
taught to anybody. That is mistake.
The spelling faculty is born in n man,
like poetry, music and art. It is n gift;
it is talent. People who have this gift
in n high degree, only need to see n
word once in print and it is forever pho
togrnphed upon their memory They
cannot forget it. People who haven't it
must be content to spell more or less
hke-like thunder-And expect to splin-
ter the dictionary wherever their ortho-
graphical lightning happens to strike
There are ia, 900 words in the una
bridged dictionary. know n lady who can
only spell 180 of them right. She steers
clear of nll the rest. She can't learn
any, more. So her letters always consist
OF those constantly recurring $50 words.
obliged to write upon a subject which
neccssitates the use of some other words.
she-well, she don't write on that sub
ject. l have n relative in New York who
is almost sublimely gifted. She can't
spell any word right. There is game
called Verbarium. A dozen people are
each provided with n sheet OF paper,
across the top of which is written long
word like kaleidoscopicnl, or something
like that, and the game is to see who can
make up The most words out Of that in
three minutes, always beginning the
initial letter of the word. Upon one oc-
casion the word chosen was coflcrlam.
When time was called. everybody had
built five to twenty words except this
young lady. She had only one word
calf. We MI studied moment, and
then said: "Why, there is no in Golfer
DAM! Then wo examined her paper.
TO the eternal honor of that uninspiretl,
unconscious sublimely-independcnt
soul. be it said, she had spelled the word
''caif!' If anybody here can spell calf
any more sensibly.thnn that. let him step
to the front md take his milk The in
snrrcction will now begin.
In the Tilton-Beechcr trial, at Brook
lyn, \. y, on the Sth Mr.. Beach con-
tinucd his argument. Hc reviewed the
history of the scandal, to show thnt
Tilton and Monlton had both acted in
IL