Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-25

scarcely worth while, and I wouldn't have
said another word II you had not come
down to ask me the question"
do you think that the British public will
accept the simplified form of spelling the
words proposed by the American COM
mittee?'
II don't know anything about it. How
can express an opinion when don't know
what the words are? There has been so
much talk in the newspapers about your
Presidents spelling reform and SO much
ridicule and humor that l really do not
know what he has recommended, and l can
only say that the committee has not gone
about it in the right way to get British in
dorsement. We must be very careful not to
throw cold water on the movement. We
are exceedingly interested in it and we
want to encourage it in every way in our
power, but before you. can revise the Eng
fish language you must secure the Coop
Grafton of all the people that speak that
language, and it is certainly premature to
accept President Roosevelt's list as in
ternational reform when it is based upon
Misrepresentation. L do not know of any
authority. in the British empire who has
agreed to the proposed list. I do not be-
lieve that 1t was submitted to anybody
outside the United States. and hence 1t is
purely local. If there Is to be any genuine
reform it must be undertaken by interna-
tional cooperation. 1t must be conducted
upon systematic plan. There ought to be
a committee of competent representatives
Prof. Wright's Career.
Prof. Wright is very remarkable man.
He is a genius in languages. When he was
fifteen years old he couldn't read or write.
Yet today he is probably the highest living
authority upon the English language, and
in 1901, when Max Muller, the greatest of
modern philologists, died, DR.. Wright was
selected to fill his chair in the faculty of
the University of Oxford. He was born in
Yorkshire in 1855. His father was a quar-
ryman. When he was four years old his
mother was left a penniless widow and
earned her living by taking in washing.
When he was six years old DR.. Wright be-
gan to support himself by driving a donkey
cart which carried the tools of the quarry
men. to the blacksmith shop to be sharp
ened and repaired: His wages were 37k
cents a week. Then he got job in a
wooden mill, and up to the year 1870 was
wool sorter. His wages, originally seven
shillings week, were advanced from time
to time until he was fifteen years old, when
he was earning thirty shllings.
About this time he learned to read His
inspira ton was curiosity about the progress
of the Franco-Prussian war, and he was
his own teacher. Then he went to night
school for a while and acquired an insatia-
BILE desire for knowledge which has never
been satisfied even to the present day. He
taught himself French German, Greek and
Latin by sitting up till o'clock in the
morning while he was working from to 6
f4O from his wages. in 1878 he entered the
University of London then he went to Ger
many, where he studied languages at the
universities Of Freiburg, Heidelberg and
Leipsig.
In 1888 he returned to England and earned
his living Coaching undergraduates in
languages. He added to his income by lee
turing in the several schools for women and
other institutions in Oxford. His genius for
languages attracted the attention of Prof.
Max Muller, with whom he pursued his
studies and was appointed his assistant in
1901. Ten years later, when Muller died,
his mantle fell upon Joseph Wright who
has since been carrying on his work. AL
though he could not read word of the
simplest English when he was fifteen years
old. thirty-one years later. at the age of
forty-six, DR.. Wright had mastered San
skirt, Latin, Green, French, German, Swed-
ish, Danish and the other Scandinavian Ian
Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Old Saxon, Gothic
and almost every other language that is
now or ever has been spoken written in
Europe.
His Dialect Dictionary.
His lifework has been a dialect diction-
ary stupendous undertaking, six quarto
volumes of 5000 pages containing a vocab-
ulary of more than 100000 words still in
use or known to have been used during the
last 200 years in all of the English-speaking
countries. In addition to the dictionary
proper are appendices containing detailed
accounts of popular customs, games, pas
times, superstitons and folklore of the
English speaking peoples, showing how the
minds of uneducated people are developed
and how. the ignorant express their thoughts
by signs, observances, slang words, phrases,
proverbs and other forms of speech. 1t
gives the dialect names for birds, beasts,
fishes, fruits, flowers vegetables, diseases,
occupations, industries, ETC., that have
been in use by the common people, and is
mine Of other curious information. To
illustrate the prodigious scope of the work,
it may be said that volume I, covering only
three letters-A, B and C-contains 1853
words, 224S slang or dialect phrases, 42,915
quotations and 81. 496 references to books
and other publications.
Prof Wright compiled and published this
dictionary at his own expense and risk be-
cause he was compelled to do SO. No pub
fishing house would undertake it because
none of them could see any profit. Such
work is not performed for profit. Oxford
University has 100000 invested in an
other dictionary, and the governing body
did not feel like assuming any further finan-
cial responsibility, but Prof Wright had
the energy, the courage and the persever-
ance to undertake and complete the great
est literary task that was ever performed
by an individual. He paid his expenses
from advance subscriptions at 500 per set
of six volumes and from funds furnished by
faithful friends.