Evening star., 1947-09-24

Enough of the profits came to the editor to
keep him and his family in relative comfort
while he pressed on with other labor
His intellectual capital was of two varieties
the Calvinistic philosophy of pioneer New Eng
land and the "spirit> of national independence
winch pervaded the entire time of his youth
and manhood" Websters patriotism found
expression in a pamphlet, Sketches of Amer
ican Policy" issued in 1785 and personally con-
veyed to George Washington at Mount Vernon.
Thus he earned the right to be remembered as
having "agitated for the calling together of
the Constitutional Convention" as perhaps no
other single citizen did. He visualized the
Nation, not simply as political entity, but
likewise as a cultural organization, and he
contributed toward its establishment directly
and indirectly. In quest of copyright protec-
ton for his educational enterprises he Travelled
over the whole country, meeting the people in
their homes, learning to appreciate their
mother wit" Everything he saw, heard and
felt was grist to his mill. Mr.. Leavitt says:
He found time to write extensively and well
on languages and etymology on history, poll
tics, economics, foreign relations international
law, manners and morals, on epidemiology Ito
which he made remarkable contribution)
and, with something approaching Franklin's
v1rtuosity, on phenomena in meteorology, horti-
culture, and the decomposition of house paints
s"@ He could show turns Of marked versatility
in style; earthly, humorous vigor in an all-too-
brief series of essays for rural readers published
as the Hartford Prompter flashes of rapier-
like, sarcastic brilliance in controversy with his
opponents; occasional moods of immense and
winning dignity in response to criticism; clarity
and eloquence in the revision of text for a Bible
Webster Loved His Work.
More important still, however was what Sir
James Murray, the sponsoring genius of the
oxford English Dictionary, referred to when
he called Webster "a born deflner of words"
Lexicography, as Mr.. Leavitt explains "was
not to him Gas it was to Johnson) drudgery,
but rather end1essly fascinating" He was
industrious and patient yet durably enthusiast
tic. Working alone, "he not only compiled, but
wrote out in his own hand the entire manu-
script of dictionary comprising 10000 listings
a preface Of textbook proportions. and much
supplementary material. The sheer labor OF
pen pushing In such a task would have been
colossal" not to mention the burden of neces-
sary research, the gathering of citations, ar
ranging, proofreading.
Webster's premier lexicon was the so-called
Compendious Dictionary, which appeared in
1905. 1t was followed by abridgments for
school use in 1907 and 1917. "The large work
An American Dictionary of the English Lam
guage'-was not completed till 1928. An abridg-
ment of this for family use appeared in 1929,
and the counting house dictionary followed
last of all in 1e41" The creator of all these
books died on May %, 1S43.
And it is possible that his work would have
stopped when he did, had it not been for the
Merriams, family of Yankee printers and
bookbinders who rescued it from "the slow
oblivion that threatened it." George and