The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-08-28
A. B c. and Others.

deal of guesswork. Very likely the Egyp-
uan hieroglyphic and hieratic characters
formed the base of the Pheaician letter
making. a is tRe first letter in al the
aiphabets that came from the Phenician,
and in that Language il signified OK,
the Greek alpha" means the same thing.
though its Egyptian hierogiyphic equivs@-
lent was bird somewhat like the WI
ture in outline.
"B" was also the second letter in the
Phenician, as in the Greek. The name CT
the character was beta meaning house.
IL has less variety OF use than any other.
being more frequently silent. as 10
dumb or debt" In the original Indie
European or Aryan languages b. was
rarely found
CO.. in the Phenician and Greek had the
value of a hard g." as in go" and was
similar in the enunciation to TX as
is now. For long time the Latins nadn
&C" do service for both * and g. Nc
word containing &C" pronounced as
is of Anglo-Saxon origin. except few
misspelIed words, as ''cinder, which was
originally ''sinder."
In the English ID" has the same place
fourth letter and third consonant-as in
the Roman. Greek and Phenieian. and is
singularly undressing as d study.
&c" is an unchanging and aristocratic
conservative. Its form was always pref
ty nearly the same as at present. Its
name in Phenician was he" which most
scholars say signified a window. In its
two quantities, as in met" and in they
it constitutes about per cent of English
utterancs.
''Fv' in the Phenician meant peg or hook.
and its value was that of the English
w" This w" sound gradually went out
of use in Greek, and the sign with 1t.
In the adaptation of the alphabet TO Lat
in use the sign was resurrected. and first
received the value We give it
CO. is a sign of Italic origin. having
been fabricated by the Romans by adding
a tail or drop 10 the ga transition very
easily detected. 1t never occurs at the
beginning of words Of Anglo-Saxon ORR
gin In medieval Roman it stood for
400, and with a line over 1t for 100000.
III came from the Phenician, and has
had a curious history, in which the cock
ney inability to manage ii may be traced.
H meant 200 in medieval Roman.
'I' may be traced TO the Egyptian. The
Phenicians represented it rather as
but it was converted 10 vowel
value by the Greeks and the Romans gave
IL both consonan: and vowel duty.
~" is but another form of the same let
ter They wee used Indifferentiy until
about EGO. AS a rumerio II ii had the
same value as -, DIT was used Oily
at conclusion, as will" for eight.
''K'' is Phenician, and still earlier Egyp
tan. 1t was little used in classical Latin,
and is of rare occurrence in languages
derived from the Latin As a numerical
It represented $50.
''I'' was a lion in the Egyptian hero
glyphic. a figure in the Phenician, and
about it's present form in the Greek and
the Latin. 1t is the most sonorous ana !
most purely consonant-
n sound of all letters. AS there are
three RS" in land colloquialism, so
there are three lis" in nautical phrase |
lead, latitude and lookout" 1t is a con- |
sentative, changing title,
M is an ancient and honorable" It's /
1ieroglyphic equivalent. away back in |
Egypt, was almost a feur de lis in the |
oval outline of a birds head-a feur de |
is minus the central branch. As Ro-
nan numerical it denotes 1000. Formerly /
he brand of M was impressed on the /
person of one convicted Of mans!aughter. !
In fragrant cases the brand was applied |
% the forehead. In printing it is the |
ruadrata unit of a. I
ion in any body OF type.
en- is as old, and the value of its char
lcter has been the same through the /
whole history of it's use. The sign has !
10 variety of sounds. and there is no pos
,ible substitute. AS a numerical its value
s 80, which becomes 10000 when line
s drawn above the letter.
80" in the Phenician alphabet repre-
ented a peculiarly-and-to us-unpro-
gutteral, but the Greeks made
/ vowel of it, though they changed Its
orm 10 a square instead Of an oval. II
stood for IL in Roman numerals OF me-
iieval times.
"P'' was evolved from the hieroglyphic
.ge. and in all alphabets it has stood for
he one unvarying sound. 1t has no vari-
ties save that it is silent at the begin
ling of a few Greek words, as psalm ard
1t is 400 in medeva! ndmer-
Is, and an abbreviation for many things.
30" is an ancient also As a sign 1; was
bandoned in Greek. The Latin preserved
I, though it's value was the same as that
f *" In English, as in Latin, II IL
lways followed by u" 1t meant 800 IN
medieval Roman numerals.
"R' looked ike a capital "A" In the
'henIcian. In some languages Y Is
sed as a vowel In Anglo-Saxon times
r. if the initial letter. was given such
orce as to need an n in expressing =.
nd was rolled to a double, SO thai tho
orm survives In such spelling as hemor-
hage, catarrh; but now, 'in many local
lies. even among the most cultivated
no r. Is ever really pronounced
I all" II was 50 as nur7ersl Sir
William Curtis. an eminent bTt nltterats
ord mayor OF London. said in 1s25. w1en
sked for a toast: 81 viii give y0l the
aree R'-Riting. Reading AMI Rithine-
ic:' and he was serious. too
"s'' has lived from the beginning It
,oked Ike w in Pheaician. It answers
,anv demands and has many zaiues vas
in the numerals. and Is 81 common aboTe
iation- ,
IT. was the twenty-second and iasi let ,
n in the Phenician alphabet Its value ,
as ever been the same. II vas 80 a. A ,
mineral. and vas formerly branded IN
he hand Of a convicted thief
49, was added by the Greeks. ard was
--ft-ea - or as Y In the printers
asa IS place is supplementary. Ike that
Z y" and not II order. " = osde-.