The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-11-10
WEBSTER JAS A WORKER.

Perhaps y u new sat down for ar
afternoon to read and enjoy Webster
Unabridged Dictionary. No doubt
you've taken little sips of it when you
wanted to find out the meaning OF
"~elucidation" or how to spell parallel, ="
Or it may be that you've enjoyed the
animal pictures in the book or the col
ored plates with the flags of all nations
or the page with the skeleton, says the
Chicago Record.
But to cit down and read the diction-
ary is quite another thing, and at first
1t sounds odd. And yet there's a really
fascinating story in it. This story is
the very first part, before A begins. In
one edition il is page Is, aud it is en-
titled Authors preface to the edition
Of 1928"
Noah Webster, who wrote the die
tionary, was born in 1853. at a time
when there were no American diction
aries, and in fact, very few American
text books. When he grew up and be-
gan to study he found that when he
read scientific works and came to a
word which he didn't know there was
no place to look it up.
And SO when he was only % years
old he wrote AN elementary work for
facilitating the acquisition of our YER
nacular tcngue"-as IA story has it.
Almost Immediately the young stu
dent began to think of publishing a
really big dictionary, and accordingly
he went to work and was busy about
IS years in writing it. Think of that,
you boys and girls who expect to be
come famous in three or four years.
Webster was poor and had to make
a living by teaching and writing, but
he never let go his task for a day. He
had determined to make a complete
dictionary and nothing should turn
him aside.
After writing all the words beginning
with A and B, he found that he didn't
know enough about his subj~ct, and
there was no book that would give him
this Information, SO he stopped and
laid aside this manuscripts.
Il began by a diligent comparison of
words in about twenty languages" he
says in the dictionary story, ito obtain
a more correct knowledge of the pr.
mary sense of the original words, and
thus to enable myself to trace words to
their source"
Most men would have been satisfied
with studying two or three languages
let alone 20, but Noah Webster wasn't
that kind Of a man. It took him Il
long, dreary years to do this work, dur
ing which tlm9 be had many discour
agements.
II discovered" he Gays, that I hac
I 20 unlearn a great deal that ! had open
years in learning, and that it was neces
taary for me to go back to the first rudi
menta IT erudition,"
During this ne Webster found i
necessary to make a living. s. h
wrote a spelling book and a grammar
both Of which sold widely. Indeed
more than 1000. 900 Of the spoilers were
sold every ear for a time, and al
though Webster got less than 1 cent
each on them, it was enough to heIE
him along. Many gray headed boys
and girls will remember having studied
Webster's old spelIer.
Having gone through these twenty
languages, Webster went on with bis
writing, but before he got to s., he
found he did0't know quite enough
abouthow thelanguage was pronounced
and so he packed his trunk and went
to England, where he studied for a long
time. At last he Yves able to put the
finishing touches on his great work,
the greatest dictionary ever published
up to that time.
And this is the story in front of the
dictionary. Read it some day when
you have time. It will show you what
one man did by pluck and persover-
ance.
ArthUr-You think don't love you,
| darling. whv. would die for Won.