Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1884-04-25
a NEW LEXICON.
A Dictionary About -Four Times as LorG
as KrbSter'a

A Dictionary About -Four Times as Large
as WebSter's
There is news from England which
ought more to interest and entertain the
world than any wranglirgs over the
Eastern question, shooting OF crowned
heads, or the construction Of tunnels
through mountains or under seas. 1t is
more than ever probable-so probable
as to be almost an assured fact that
this language we speak will possess in
the lifetime of most men now living
dictionary worthy of its literature and
its renown. A quarter of century ago
the English Pathological Society under
took to prepare such work, got well
into it, then lost its leader in Herbert
Coleridge, tried again to revive the I'M
dertaking, but failed successfully to dc
this until 1869, when DR.. Murray, an
editor, found himself possessed of nearly
two tons of material that had been col
lected before him, and the Clarendon
Press, of Oxford, had undertaken to
publish the dictionary. The news we
now have is of the work that has thus
far been accomplished, and of promises
that in ten years it will oil be finished,
with the actual publication this very
year of the first part, some 460 pages,
containing the letter "a" The society
began first in 1859 to make appeals 10
readers--that is, persons to read books
and make quotations--and several hun
dred volunteers were soon enlisted for
the cause. Other appeals have, from
time to time, been made since then,
until these two tons of material are the
result. Late readers have supplied DIR.
Murray with more than 800, slips;
from one reader alone he got $4,000
slips, and from another 10000. He has
in all $500, 900 quotations, representing
more than q thousand readers. He has
built in his garden an iron building,
where this material ia classified in ovel
q thousand pigeon-holes, and made sure
of safe keeping. Americans have aided
him substantially; he finds in them ear
ideal love for the English language as q
glorious heritage, and pride in being
intimate with its grand memories, such
as one does find sometimes in classical
scholar in regard to Greek" A slight
example of how great the value Of this
dictionary will be is seen in statement
he makes that he finds writer's constant
ly engaged in laborious calculations O.
points "of which the full explanation
lies ready at hand in our pigeon-hole'
waiting to be edited and published.
Should the work be printed in uniform
accordance with the portions now ready
for printing, the dictionary would fl
twelve quarto volumes of 1000 page
each; but many reductions could b.
made in the length of quotations, re
ducing the work to about four volumes
which would leave it four times the siz,
of Webster, and about one and one-hal
the size of Littre. Unlike most othe
dictionaries, it will thus be the work o
many hands, instead of one; so that from
this fact, as we'll as from the advance
ment made in scholarship, DR.. MuTa.
will find it quite unnecessary to write
preface, like DR.. Johnson's, admitting
that ga few wild blunders and visibl
absurdities might for time furnish foil.
with laughter and harden ignorance int
, content, "-NeW York Times.