WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

PRICE REDUCED TO SIX DOLLARS.

THE ENTIRE WORK, UNABRIDGED,
In One Volume, Crown Quarto, of 1452 Pages,

Containing all the matter of Dr. Webster's Original Work, his Improvements up to the time of his death, and now thoroughly revised, and greatly enlarged and improved, by

PROFESSOR CHAUNCEY A. GOODRICH, OF YALE COLLEGE.

PUBLISHED BY

G. & C. MERRIAM, SPRINGFIELD, MASS.,

AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

In the language of an eminent critic, "In its Definitions — the object for which nine tenths of our references to such a work are made — it stands without a rival in the annals of English lexicography." These definitions, without abridgment or condensation, are only given in this Dr. Webster's large work, and are not found in any mere abridgment, or works on a more limited plan. It contains THREE TIMES the amount of matter found in any other English Dictionary compiled in this country, or any abridgment of this work, yet is sold at a trifling advance above the price of other and limited works.

TESTIMONIALS.

The new edition of WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, in Crown Quarto, seems to us deserving of general patronage, for the following reasons: —

It contains the results of the labors of its distinguished author, who devoted himself to the preparation of the original edition for thirty-five years, and expended much of the twelve years following in revising and improving it for a second edition.

To the labor of the author has been added that of Professor C. A. GOODRICH, for nearly three years of constant attention, assisted by several gentlemen distinguished in literature and the sciences.

All the results of the study of the author, as published in the Original Edition in Quarto, and the Revised Edition in Royal Octavo, together with the services of Dr. Goodrich, are now given to the public in one of the cheapest and most beautiful volumes ever issued from the American press.

In the exhibition of the *Etymology* of the language, it is superior to any other Dictionary. There may be a difference of opinion in regard to the correctness of the views of the author as to particular words, yet as exhibiting the roots of the great body of English words, it is an invaluable and indispensable treasury of knowledge. The exhibition of kindred words in other languages, we regard as a valuable accompaniment.

The *Definitions* are given by a precise and full description, and not by a loose collection of terms more or less synonymous. They exhibit, also, the history of the word, as it has passed from its primary and original to its secondary and derived signification. The signification is illustrated, and the use justified, by ample quotations from the best English and American authors. In respect to words of technical and peculiar use, the definitions have not been hastily assumed from professed authorities, but have been carefully scrutinized, and, in very many in-

stances, have been furnished directly by gentlemen of the highest authority in particular departments of knowledge.

The *vocabulary* has been judiciously enlarged by the addition of all the words in actual use, that are properly English. A sufficient number of provincial and obsolete terms has been added, while yet it is not encumbered nor deformed by those which ought not to be admitted into a Dictionary that professes to be a standard of good English.

In *Orthography*, the changes proposed by Dr. Webster, which have not been sanctioned by general adoption, and which seem to be too violent departures from the general spelling, have been judiciously omitted, while real and important improvements have been wisely retained.

In *Pronunciation*, the scheme of notation is simple, and in cases which demand it, the words are respelled. The aim has been to give the actual pronunciation, as practised by the truly educated among the English and American people, ascertained by actual observation, inquiries, and correspondence. The artificial and affected pronunciation is avoided. The whole subject has been elaborated by Professor Goodrich, whose professional duty it has been to train public speakers for thirty years. The variety of vowel sounds, which distinguishes the pronunciation of the English from that of the continental languages, cannot be accurately indicated by any figured key, without destroying its usefulness as a standard, and embarrassing, instead of guiding, the reader. As a guide to pronunciation, the Dictionary, in its present form, can be easily consulted, and at the same time, is accurate and reliable in giving a just exhibition of the language as pronounced by educated men.

The Table of Scriptural Names has been carefully revised. The Classical Table has received large additions, and has been revised and

2

SPRINGFIELD, MASS., 1856.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

A NATIONAL STANDARD.

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY.

"GET THE BEST"
WEBSTER UNABRIDGED

The Entire Work, Unabridged, 1456 Pages, Crown Quarto.

PUBLISHED BY

Webster's Counting House Dictionary.

Webster's Academic Dictionary.

Webster's High School Dictionary.

Webster's Primary School Dictionary.

Webster's Pocket Dictionary.

BY NOAH WEBSTER, LL. D.

FORMING A COMPLETE SERIES, AND AFFORDING A NATIONAL STANDARD;

THUS SECURING UNIFORMITY IN ORTHOGRAPHY AND PRONUNCIATION FOR THE
MILLIONS THAT ARE TO CONSTITUTE THIS VAST REPUBLIC.

OF THE SPELLING BOOK,

ONE MILLION COPIES ARE SOLD ANNUALLY.

THE LEADING SERIES OF SCHOOL BOOKS PUBLISHED IN THIS COUNTRY ARE BASED UPON WEBSTER.

\*\* There is no other acknowledged Standard in this country or
Great Britain.

THE publishers of the foregoing uniform series of Dictionaries are happy in being able to say, that they are receiving, almost daily, confirmation of what may now be regarded as a well-established fact, that we have, in Dr. Webster's lexicographical works, an authoritative National Standard. It is recognized as such with a strength and unanimity of testimony perhaps never accorded to any author in any other department of science in the English language.

For example, nearly every State superintendent of public instruction in the Union, or

2

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

corresponding officer, where such an one exists, has recommended Webster's Dictionary in the strongest terms. Among these are those of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, and including Canada, TWENTY-ONE in all. These gentlemen, occupying this high educational position, can of course exert a very commanding influence in securing that uniformity in the use of language, and in the orthography and pronunciation of words, so greatly to be desired, and to such a great degree already secured by Dr. Webster's Dictionaries. His conceded preëminence as a definer, the convenience, simplicity, and symmetry of his system of orthography, and his scheme of pronunciation, alike free from the extremes of affectation and vulgarity, present the strongest claims for the adoption and general use of his Dictionaries, as well by the scholar and the man of business as the pupils in our common schools and higher seminaries of learning.

The sale and consequent use of his Dictionaries far exceed those of all other dictionaries combined, in this country, and the proportion is regularly increasing. Next to Webster's, in extent of sale, are Walker's; yet neither the orthography or pronunciation of Walker is now followed to any great extent with us.

The feature of SYNONYMES may be found in Webster's Octavo Dictionary, where it was introduced, several years since, by PROP. GOODRICH, being the first instance in this country (or, as far as we are aware, in England) in which it was so incorporated in a popular dictionary: other compilers of minor works have since taken up this idea, apparently thus originated; yet it will be obvious to any intelligent mind, that it needs great caution, lest we put into the hands of the young, without carefully teaching them to discriminate, lists of words which they may suppose can be used interchangeably, and which yet may have, with general similarity of meaning, radical differences.

Prof. Goodrich is now engaged in incorporating this feature into some of our minor dictionaries, in a manner to obviate such objections, and his method, entirely novel, will be found, we feel assured, eminently successful, and give new value to these works.

Some of the most eminent scholars, and leading minds, both of this country and Great Britain, have heretofore expressed their preëminent approval of Webster's Dictionary. Among them are Prescott, Bancroft, Irving, Sparks, Daniel Webster, Winthrop, Horace Mann, Pres. Wayland, Pres. Olin, Pres. Woolsey, Prof. Stowe, Dr. Dick, Lord Brougham, Chancellor Kent, John C. Spencer, and many others.

We now take pleasure in subjoining, from a large mass of materials, recent letters from prominent gentlemen, in different parts of the country, as showing the prevalent estimation in which these works are held, and as presenting

## LATE TESTIMONY.

From President Stearns, of Amherst College.

AMHERST COLLEGE, February 19, 1856.

I have been in the habit of using Webster's Dictionary for many years, and should not think that any scholar could afford to do without it, even if he had all the other dictionaries in the English language. I intend it as no disparagement to any one, when I say that the remarkable philological ability of Dr. Webster, the immense labor bestowed on this work, both by himself and others, together with some valuable peculiarities, particularly in the matter of definitions, have brought it so near to completeness, that, taking all things into consideration, any essential improvement upon it, and not borrowed from it, is hardly to be expected for a generation to come.

WILLIAM A. STEARNS.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

3

From Epes Sargent, Esq., well known as one of the most elegant Scholars of our Country, Author of a Popular Series of School Readers, &c., &c.

BOSTON, February 2, 1856.

The many points of superiority of Webster's Dictionary would overbalance many more defects than the most hypercritical person could suggest. I think that Webster and Dr. Goodrich have both shown wonderful tact in selecting, among varying modes of pronunciation, the best. It is very rarely indeed that I am disposed to differ. The more I study Webster, the more indebted, too, do I feel to him for what he has done towards fixing the orthography of a large class of doubtful words. In many instances where I formerly thought him wrong, I now think him right; and I am not certain that he is not better entitled to the name of a conservator and restorer, than of an innovator.

EPES SARGENT.

From Edward Hitchcock, LL. D., late President of Amherst College.

A letter of President Hitchcock's having recently been published, in which he speaks of using almost exclusively another dictionary than Webster's, and knowing his previously expressed and decided preference of Webster, we addressed to him a note, in reply to which, after remarking, "I regret that a mere letter of thanks for a copy of Worcester's Dictionary should have been used as an advertisement," and, "though it be a matter of fact that I have for several years used Worcester almost exclusively, it was a matter more of accident than otherwise, and I did not mean thereby to convey the impression that I thought Worcester's Dictionary superior to Webster's," he adds, —

AMHERST COLLEGE, February 5, 1856.

In my family, one member keeps on his or her study table a copy of Webster's Dictionary; another, Worcester's; a third, Walker's, &c. For several years past Worcester's fell to my lot, as Webster's did for several years before. I have become much attached to both of them, and consider them of very high literary merit. Certainly they have both answered my purpose exceedingly well; and I am quite ignorant of the merits of the controversies that have been carried on by their friends, not having read a single page. But were I asked which of these dictionaries I should upon the whole regard as most desirable, when only one could be possessed, I should not hesitate to select Webster's.

EDWARD HITCHCOCK.

From President Collins, of Dickinson College.

DICKINSON COLLEGE, CARLISLE, Pa., January 15, 1856.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM. Dear Sirs: I take the earliest opportunity to acknowledge the receipt of the package, which you did me the honor to send, containing Webster's Unabridged, and the School, High School, and Academic Dictionaries, prepared from the same author.

The small Dictionaries, in size and completeness of vocabulary, seem well adapted for the different grades of schools which the titles indicate. Based on the Unabridged Dictionary of Noah Webster, which is now the highest authority, I see nothing to be desired in common school dictionaries which is not here adequately supplied.

The Unabridged Dictionary of Dr. Webster I adopted as my standard many years since. Its Orthoepy is that which is authorized by the most elegant use in England and America. The few changes in Orthography, which Webster is charged with introducing without due authority, were already authorized by good use, and plainly in the direction towards which improvements in the language were tending. Sufficient evidence of this is found in the fact that these innovations have since for the most part become established beyond the power of reversal. In richness of Etymology, accuracy of Definition, and completeness of Vocabulary, I consider that Webster's approximates more nearly to a perfect dictionary of the English language than any one now before the public, or that has been published. It is indeed such a thesaurus of word-knowledge, that the library of the scholar is incomplete without it.

C. COLLINS.

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

From President Cummings, of Tennessee.

O. F. F. COLLEGE, ROGERSVILLE, TENN., April 9, 1855.

When I entered upon my duties as president of this college some months since, I was not a little surprised to find not one copy of Webster's Dictionary in the institution, either among students or teachers. I was led to make a careful examination of the dictionary in use, and a comparison between it and Webster. I feel that it is a duty which I owe to truth and my country to say, that the result of my examination, or rather re-examination, (for I had made it before,) was an overwhelming conviction of the superiority of WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY. I have recently placed a copy of Webster's Dictionary on the teacher's desk in each school room, and publicly informed the pupils that this was the umpire in all disputed cases.

A. W. CUMMINGS.

From President Woods, of Bowdoin College.

BOWDOIN COLLEGE, BRUNSWICK, ME., February 27, 1856.

It gives me pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of the Quarto Edition of the celebrated English Dictionary of Dr. Webster. After the high recommendations it has received from so many of the best writers and teachers in the country, nothing need be said by me in its praise. I will, however, assure you that I regard it as a valuable acquisition, and indispensable to a complete view of the lexicography of the language.

By exhibiting the varying uses in some disputed points of orthography, the learned editor has well obviated the objections of those who have differed from the author, and rendered the work as safe as it is allowed to be learned and ingenious. The style in which it is issued does great credit to the enterprising publishers.

Yours truly,

LEONARD WOODS.

From the President and Faculty of Indiana Asbury University.

GREENCASTLE, IA., January 10, 1856.

Esteeming Webster's Dictionary, as edited by Professor Goodrich, the most complete manual of the English language extant, and a very great improvement on any and all of its predecessors, and also vastly superior to any of its rivals, we use it ourselves wherever such a work is needed, and we heartily commend it as well adapted for both public and private use.

DANIEL CURRY, President.

JOSEPH TINGLEY, Professor Natural Sciences.

CHARLES G. DOWNEY, Professor Mathematics.

SAMUEL A. LATTIMORE, Professor Greek.

C. C. C. BRAYDON, Professor Latin.

H. B. HIBBEN, Adj. Professor Languages.

From Professor Smith, of the Theological Seminary, Bangor, Maine.

BANGOR, January 25, 1856.

Webster's Dictionary stands in need of no man's recommendation. It is known wherever English is spoken as the most complete thesaurus of the language that has ever been composed. Of course it is not without its faults. It is no difficult matter to find here and there a derivation that is far-fetched and fanciful, a definition that might possibly be made more strictly accurate, or a series of definitions that might be so arranged as to indicate more satisfactorily the connection which holds them all together. But those who are best qualified to detect the minor blemishes of the execution best know the difficulties that must have been surmounted in the progress of the stupendous undertaking; and they will ordinarily be the most ready to accord a just tribute of admiration to that rare union of so many and so varied qualifications, both of an intellectual and a moral nature, which is exhibited on every page of the great Dictionary, and of which the whole work will be, to all coming generations, a conspicuous, and perhaps it is not too much to say, hitherto unrivaled monument.

DANIEL TALCOTT SMITH.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

5

From Professor Haven, of the University of Michigan.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN ARBOR, November 20, 1855.

If called upon to sacrifice my library, volume by volume, the book which I should preserve longest, except the Bible, is the AMERICAN DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, by Dr. Webster.
E. O. HAVEN.

From Charles Davies, LL. D., Author of "Davies' Series of Mathematics," late Professor of Mathematics at West Point.

FISHKILL LANDING, October 22, 1855.

I have used the work, as the best Dictionary in our language, since its first publication. Wherever the English language is used, the name of Noah Webster will be honored.

CHARLES DAVIES.

From Professor Webster, Principal of New York Free Academy.

NEW YORK FREE ACADEMY, October 24, 1855.

The merits of this great work are so generally known and so highly appreciated, that it is almost superfluous for me to add my testimony to the opinion of the learned, so universally expressed in its favor. Webster's Dictionary of the English Language is the best extant. I do not see how any person at all desirous of attaining an accurate and thorough knowledge of the peculiarities and structure of this language can do without it.

HORACE WEBSTER.

From Hon. John N. Carrigan, State Sup't of Public Education for Louisiana.

BATON ROUGE, December 31, 1855.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM: During the course of my profession as a teacher, for twenty years past, I have uniformly made use of Webster's Dictionaries. They are so well known, and their merits so thoroughly established, that any opinion from me would be superfluous.

In the mean time I take pleasure in recommending to all Directors and Teachers of our public schools to make use of Webster in preference to all others.

JOHN N. CARRIGAN, Superintendent Public Education.

From Hon. James D. Eads, Superintendent of Public Instruction for Iowa.

OFFICE STATE SUP'T PUBLIC INST.,
IOWA CITY, IOWA, February 2, 1856.

Permit me to express my unqualified approbation of "Webster's Series of Dictionaries." It would gratify me exceedingly to learn of their adoption, as a universal standard in orthography and pronunciation.

His quarto edition, unabridged, in conciseness of definitions, orthographical accuracy, and etymology, stands unrivaled. It is the proudest monument ever erected to the memory of any lexicographer, European or American, adding one more laurel wreath of fame to the multitude that already decked the brow of the author; — one of the *brightest stars* in our crown of national literature, having won, by his unwearied researches in this department of science, the most exalted seat in the philological world. He has stamped an impress on the solid and massive structure of the Anglo-Saxon language that the lapse of time will only serve to deepen, by harmonizing and embellishing its elements.

JAMES D. EADS, *Sup't Public Instruction*.

From the Superintendent of Common Schools for Minnesota.

MINNEAPOLIS, MIN. TER., January 2, 1855.

I have just recommended the use of Webster's Dictionaries in the Common Schools of this Territory. They are, in my opinion, the best Dictionaries of our language. Every school and every family should be in possession of one of the Unabridged, and every student should have at least one of the smaller size for constant reference. Webster's Dictionary has been, is, and will long continue to be, the great standard work.
M. C. BAKER.

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

From Hon. Caleb Mills, Superintendent of Public Instruction for Indiana.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION,
INDIANAPOLIS, December 4, 1855.

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary *needs* no praise. Its use should be universal, and then its merits would not fail to be seen and appreciated. A lawyer without a Blackstone would not be more anomalous than a teacher unfurnished with this *standard* of his mother tongue.

The minor volumes are admirably fitted for the purposes intended, and should be in the hands of the several classes contemplated in their preparation.

CALEB MILLS, *State Superintendent*.

From Hon. Jona. Tenney, Sec'y New Hampshire State Board of Education.

MANCHESTER, N. H., January 1, 1856.

I have for many years, in the pursuit of my studies as a scholar and a teacher, made the lexicography of Noah Webster a matter of constant consultation and examination, with increasing admiration and satisfaction. His large work seems to me an inexhaustible mine of philosophical wealth. Without an acquaintance with it, formed by long and careful study, no one can make great pretensions to a knowledge of our wonderful English language. Unequaled in the department of etymology; unsurpassed in that of definition; progressive, analytical, and consistent in orthography; and quite as rational and conformed to good usage as any other work in pronunciation, it is evidently becoming the standard, in all those things, of all considerate students of our language. Its universal adoption will have a great tendency to purify and harmonize the style of our literature and the vocal expression of our sentiments — a consummation devoutly to be wished. Hence it ought to be the vade mecum of every student and teacher, — the reference book in every school room.

JONATHAN TENNEY, *Secretary of Board of Education for N. H.*

From the State Commissioner of Rhode Island.

EAST GREENWICH, R. I., January, 1855.

Webster has long been my standard for orthography, for pronunciation, and especially for the derivations and definitions of words. Every school in the country ought to be supplied with a copy, and no person tolerably intelligent and desirous of improvement should be without this indispensable book. In my opinion, it is in all respects fit for a national standard, and I believe it is winning its way very rapidly into public favor.

ROBERT ALLYN, *Com. Public Schools, R. I.*

From Ex-Governor Boutwell, recently elected State Sup't Pub. Instruction in Mass.

GROTON, Mass., September 27, 1855.

I am more familiar with Webster's than with any other Dictionary of our language. I may not be an impartial judge, but I regard it as the most valuable contribution yet made to that department of learning.

GEO. S. BOUTWELL.

From Sup't Common Schools for Penn., Sec. of State do., and Prof. Hickok.

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH,
HARRISBURG, December 15, 1855.

No commendation of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary can be extravagant. It should be found in every school in the Commonwealth as the standard authority; and the abridged editions, which are peculiarly adapted to the purpose of their intention, should be found in the hands of every scholar sufficiently advanced to use them as class books.

A. G. CURTIN, *Sec. of Commonwealth, and Sup. of Com. Schools*.

JOHN M. SULLIVAN, *Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth*.

H. C. HICKOK, *Deputy Superintendent of Common Schools*.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

7

From Hon. Paul K. Hubbs, Sup't of Public Instruction for California.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION,
BENICIA, 22 January, 1856.

In this age of complimentary notices, I think the best opinions of literary works are discovered in the action of those immediately interested. When a member of the Senate of the State of California, I advocated successfully, in the judiciary committee, the adoption of Noah Webster's Dictionary, as the standard of usage and authority in our courts of justice. In this department, I designated in 1854, Webster's Dictionary, for usage and authority in all the schools of our State. The great merit of the work is not likely to permit any change.

PAUL K. HUBBS, *Superintendent of Public Instruction*.

From the Hon. William Bigler, Ex-Governor of Pennsylvania.

HARRISBURG, January 9, 1856.

I have examined the Unabridged edition of Webster's Dictionary, and take great pleasure in bearing testimony to the fine style of its mechanical structure, but above all to its admirable adaptation to the great purpose designed. In the general principles of orthography and pronunciation, as also in the construction of language, it is the highest authority, and is, certainly, *specially* suited to the common schools of this State, and to literary institutions generally.

Yours truly,

WILLIAM BIGLER.

From Governor Pollock, of Pennsylvania.

EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, HARRISBURG, December 15, 1855.

Dear Sir: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is without a superior in the English language. No library is complete without it. It should be in every family and every school in our country.

JAMES POLLOCK, *Governor of the Commonwealth of Penn.*

From Governor Gorman, of Minnesota.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE, W. T., ST. PAUL, May 21, 1855.

This noble contribution to the science of lexicography bears marks on every page of the learning and unwearied industry of the late venerable author. The long and arduous studies of a life-time devoted to it with unceasing perseverance, and the care and erudition of the scientific scholars who have contributed so ably to its completion since Dr. Webster's death, have brought it as near to perfection as is possible at present. No one, I presume, will for a moment hesitate to acknowledge that it is equaled by no other dictionary extant, in the perspicuity, copiousness, systematic arrangement, and accuracy of its definitions, as well as in the lucid and successful tracing of words to their etymons in the various languages. Indeed these two qualities constitute the chief excellences of a work which is to lie on the table and be consulted daily; and the manifest superiority of this, in these respects, over all others, renders it unique, and the sole reliable standard.

W. A. GORMAN.

From Governor Minor, of Connecticut.

STAMFORD, April 21, 1855.

As a Dictionary it is unequaled, and the mechanical execution is beautiful. Altogether it is a work of which every American may be proud.
WILLIAM T. MINOR.

From E. P. Weston, A. M., Principal Gorham Female Seminary, Gorham, Maine.

GORHAM, February 26, 1856.

I do not hesitate to express my conviction that Webster's Dictionary, as revised by Dr. Goodrich and his associates, approaches more nearly to the character of a standard work than any other dictionary in the language.

It is not necessary, in saying this, to subscribe to every opinion expressed, nor to follow every method of spelling and pronunciation adopted in this work.

But no other dictionary compares with it in fullness and accuracy of definitions, and none so nearly represents the usage of the best writers and speakers, in the matter of orthography and pronunciation.

E. P. WESTON.

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

From Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

We prefer Webster's Dictionary to any other now extant.

(Signed) A. J. SAWYER, A. M., *Principal of Chicago Female Seminary*; and Principals of ten other leading institutions of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

From the State Teachers' Association of California.

SAN FRANCISCO, December 30, 1854.

"At a State Convention of Teachers held yesterday, Hon. Paul K. Hubbs in the chair,—
'Resolved, That all teachers and schools be furnished with copies of Webster's Dictionary.'
Adopted."

From the Principal of the South-West Normal School, Ohio.

LEBANON, OHIO, December 15, 1855.

No person of intelligence will deny that Dr. Webster, in his series of Spelling Books and Dictionaries, has done more to simplify and harmonize the orthography of the English than any other man, deceased or living.

His Unabridged will ever hold a prominent place, not only on the shelves of the learned, but on the tables of intelligent and ambitious students, as an exhaustless mine of literary and scientific wealth.

It stands forth as a monument of unabridged industry and ability in its full and comprehensive presentations of the various meanings of words, as well as in the thorough searching and profound exhibition of their derivations.

No aspiring, devoted teacher will rest satisfied without free access to this convenient form of encyclopedia.

A. HOLBROOK.

From Hon. S. S. Randall, Sup't of Common Schools for the City of New York.

CITY SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE, NEW YORK, February 15, 1855.

*** An invaluable standard of orthography and orthoepy. Its place in the school room and at the teacher's desk cannot be made good by any similar work, and I trust it may long continue to enjoy the decided preeminence which it now holds as the great standard of "English, pure and undefiled."

S. S. RANDALL.

From Daniel Kimball, Principal of Williams Academy.

STOCKBRIDGE, MASS., April 9, 1855.

In common with the great multitude of my fellow-countrymen, I have, for years, regarded Noah Webster as the great lexicographer of the English language, who, though he is "not without a competitor, is yet without a compeer," as the man who has done more to produce stability, uniformity, and elegance in the use of our rich and noble language, than any and all others since the days of Johnson.

The Unabridged Dictionary, in orthography and etymology, in simplicity and accuracy of pronunciation, in clearness and correctness of definitions, is in my regard superior to any and all others. And as Webster the statesman, himself the purest writer in the language, speaking of our common school system, said, "If I had as many sons as old Priam, I would send them all to the public schools," so I would say in respect to Webster's Dictionary, if I had as many sons as old Priam, and as many daughters as Priam had sons, I would put into the hands of them all a copy of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.

I have just procured Webster's Academic Dictionary, with a view to its introduction into my school; not because I like it so well as the larger work, but because of its cheapness, its convenience, and the love I bear its mother.

Hoping that your efforts to flood the lana with copies of these Dictionaries, from the "Common School" to the "Unabridged," will meet with the encouragement they so richly deserve, and which will do much to enrich and embellish our mother tongue,

I am very truly yours,
DANIEL KIMBALL, Principal of Williams Academy.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

9

## TESTIMONY FROM MAINE.

We, the undersigned, regard Webster as "the great American Philologist, the most learned and devoted scholar in this special department that the English language knows," and recognize his UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY as the standard authority in all questions of English Lexicography. His system of Pronunciation is simple and correct, his principles of Orthography we cordially approve as analogical, and most in accordance with the laws and tendencies of the language, and for Definition he has no rival.

The QUARTO ACADEMIC ABRIDGMENT we cheerfully recommend as a very suitable and convenient hand-book for the ready use of the scholar in the school room. It possesses the same excellences as the larger work, so far as its size may admit, and is greatly to be preferred to any corresponding book of the kind within our knowledge, as it carries out the system which we have in the great National Standard, Webster's Unabridged.

REUBEN FOSTER, Principal of Vassalboro' Academy.

EDWIN NELSON, Principal of Litchfield Academy.

GEORGE WOODS, Principal of Lewiston Falls Academy.

J. T. BRADBURY, Principal of Waterville Academy.

C. W. WILSON, Principal of China Academy.

S. F. NEAL, Principal of Aurora Academy.

ROBERT F. STRATTON, Principal of Limerick Academy.

THOMAS TASK, A. M., Principal of Hampden Academy.

FRANKLIN E. PAIGE, Principal of Oak Grove Seminary, Vassalboro'.

T. K. NOBLE, Principal of Augusta High School.

C. H. FOSTER, Principal of Common School for Boys, Augusta.

DANIEL L. SMITH, Principal of Select School, Richmond.

C. H. SMITH, Principal of Waterville High School.

Z. R. WRIGHT, Principal of High and Grammar School, Auburn.

W. T. WEBSTER, Principal of High School, Lewiston.

J. D. PULSIFER, Superintendent of Public Schools, Auburn.

A. BURRANK, M. D., Superintendent of Public Schools, Lewiston.

GEO. KNOX, Late

CHARLES AYER, Principal of High and Grammar Schools, Brunswick.

JOHN C. SANBORN, Principal of High School, Topsham.

J. T. K. HAYWARD, Mayor of the City of Bangor.

ELLIOT VALENTINE, Superintendent of Public Schools, Bangor.

J. E. LITTLEFIELD, Principal of Girls' Select Public School, Bangor.

I. W. COOMBS, Principal of Boys' Select Public School, Bangor.

J. F. KANE, Principal of Boys' Grammar School, Bangor.
JOSEPH BARTLETT, Bangor, Editor of the Jeffersonian, and late Prin. Hampden Academy, and School Commissioner of Penobscot County.

G. F. SARGENT, M. D., Late Chairman of School Committee, Bangor.

O. R. PATCH, Secretary of School Committee, Bangor.

S. F. HUMPHREY, Member of School Committee, Bangor.

WM. BARTLETT, JR., Member of School Committee, Bangor.

JOSEPH BAKER, Chairman Board of Directors, and Sup. School Com., Augusta.

M. CUNNINGHAM, Principal of Grammar School, Augusta.

B. H. HANSON, Principal of Grammar School, Farmingdale.

N. WOOD, Mayor of the City of Gardiner, and Chairman of School Committee.

N. A. WEST, Principal of North Grammar School, Bath.

HOWARD P. WIGGIN, Principal of South Grammar School, Bath.

JOSHUA J. LAIGHTON, Principal of Select School, Topsham.

GEO. B. GOODALE, Principal of School, Upper Stiltsenter.

ROBERT ELLIS, Principal of School, Upper Stiltsenter.

E. C. BRETT, Principal of High School, Oldtown.

L. C. KNOWLTON, Secretary of School Committee, Oldtown.

JOSEPH W. KNOWLTON, Principal of Public School, Oldtown.

H. M. BUTTERFIELD, Principal of Public School, Milford.

J. F. EVELETH, Principal of Grammar School, Orono.

C. GREELEY, Principal of High School, Orono.

F. S. HOLMES, Member of Superintending School Committee, Orono.

WM. H. HUMPHREY, SUMNER ADAMS, Superintending School Committee, Richmond.

From Hon. Charles A. Lord, late Superintendent of Common Schools for the State.

PORTLAND, MAINE, October 9, 1854.

I hope this Series, varying as it does in size and price, will find that universal circulation so necessary to any uniformity in the use and pronunciation of our mother tongue. Nationality of language is a stronger bond of union than constitutional compromises or commercial affiliations. Your Dictionaries afford every facility for a National Standard.

The thirty years of study, the acquisition of as many dialects, the foreign travel and varied research necessary to rescue from oblivion thirty thousand words, have secured for Mr. Webster the gratitude of every student of lexicology. Such enthusiastic devotion, so distinguished success, ought certainly to command the patronage of all who speak the Anglo-Saxon language, or respect its associations.

"GET THE BEST."

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

Webster's Quarto Dictionary, Unabridged,
PUBLISHED BY G. & C. MERRIAM, SPRINGFIELD, MASS.

WEBSTER'S SCHOOL DICTIONARIES, VIZ. :

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, UNIVERSITY EDITION.

WEBSTER'S ACADEMIC DICTIONARY.

WEBSTER'S HIGH SCHOOL PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY.

WEBSTER'S PRIMARY SCHOOL DICTIONARY.

WEBSTER'S POCKET DICTIONARY.

Published by MASON BROTHERS, New York.

THE Publishers are happy in being able to present the following recent testimony from our own State,
showing the appreciation of Webster in MASSACHUSETTS.

The following embrace ALL the State Normal Schools in the Commonwealth: —

STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS.

1. — BRIDGEWATER STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

From Professor CONANT, Principal of the Bridgewater State Normal School.

Bridgewater State Normal School, September 25, 1854.

MESSRS. MERRIAM: Like every one else who has taken the pains to examine the merits of the various English Dictionaries, I am fully impressed with the superiority of Webster's over all others. It is thorough and systematic; and though in some instances not agreeing with the orthography and pronunciation which certain individuals, cliques, and small communities may at present follow, I nevertheless regard it as the Standard Dictionary for all deep and correct knowledge of the English language. We use it as such in this institution.

2. — SALEM STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

From Professor EDWARDS, Principal of State Normal School, Salem, Mass.

State Normal School, Salem, Mass., December 20, 1854.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM: Webster's Unabridged Quarto Dictionary is our chief resource in this institution, in the study of the English language, to which a large portion of our time is devoted. We have copies of other elaborate Dictionaries, such as Johnson, &c., but so much more useful than any other Dictionary. In deed, for our use, I should not know where to seek a substitute for it. We consider that it furnishes for our pupils a better preparation for studying and appreciating English literature than any other single book. For my own part I should greatly rejoice to see Dr. Webster's improvements in Orthography and Syntax, universally adopted, as I have no doubt they will be in time.

RICHARD EDWARDS.

3. — WESTFIELD STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

From Professor WELLS, Principal of State Normal School, Westfield, Mass.

State Normal School, Westfield, December 25, 1854.

I have always regarded the definitions of Webster's Dictionaries as greatly superior to those of any other work. In Orthography I have watched with much interest the tendency of general usage; and though I still feel a strong reluctance to giving up certain modes of spelling to which I have been accustomed, I hold myself responsible to conform to the usage of the best writers, as the highest law of language. This usage, I am satisfied, is inclining more and more to the standard of Webster, as modified by Goodrich. W. H. WELLS.

4. — FRAMINGHAM STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

From Professor STEARNS, Principal of the Framingham State Normal School.

State Normal School, Framingham, January 10, 1855.

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is our chief reliance in regard to definitions and derivations, and is in use almost hourly by the pupils.

5. — LANCASTER NORMAL INSTITUTE.

From Professor RUSSELL, of the New England Normal Institute, Lancaster, Mass., formerly Editor of the American Journal of Education, and a distinguished Elocutionist.

New England Normal Institute, Lancaster, Mass., January 16, 1855.

The edition of Dr. Webster's Dictionary, revised by Professor Goodrich, I would earnestly recommend to the attention of teachers who are desirous of becoming fully qualified to give instruction in the English language. The copious information which work embodies on all topics connected with Etymology — the extreme exactness, as well as the number, extent, and fullness of the definitions which it furnishes to every important word; and refines and refines in its sentences, and in its enunciations — the exactness of every district school, the effect, as regards the improvement of instruction, would be deeply and extensively felt in the increased skill of the teacher and the higher attainments of his pupils. In the most important part of education — the acquisition of an adequate knowledge and proper use of our language, — the modifications of orthoeptical notations presented in Professor Goodrich's editions of Webster's Dictionary, I cannot, perhaps, express my opinion more definitely than I have had occasion to do in my manual (now in preparation) entitled "Exercises on Words." The following is the note to which I refer: "The critical judgment and refined taste of Professor Goodrich have left in his editions of Webster's little ground of object and regard to the peculiarities which proved the only drawback from the value of the original work."

WILLIAM RUSSELL.

The attention of Committees, Teachers, &c., is solicited to the importance of securing purity and uniformity of language, by the use of such a NATIONAL STANDARD.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

13

VERDICT OF RHODE ISLAND.

The undersigned, teachers and friends of education, hereby certify that we recognize WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY as the great national standard in matters of English lexicography. Its preeminent excellence as a defining Dictionary, its system of orthography, and its principles of notation and pronunciation, have deservedly given it the high position it occupies, of being the national standard authority.

The QUARTO ACADEMIC ABRIDGMENT of this work we regard as a very convenient and suitable handbook for the ready use of the scholar in the school room, and would cheerfully recommend it in preference to any other work of the kind within our knowledge. It embodies all the excellences of the Unabridged, so far as it is possible for the less to include the greater. We hope to see it in very general use in all our schools.

JANUARY, 1856.

ROBERT ALLYN, Commissioner of Public Schools of R. I., Providence.

ZUINGLIUS GROVER, Principal of Prospect St. Grammar School, Providence.

ALBERT A. GAMWELL, Principal of Fountain St. Grammar School.

ALBERT W. GODDING, Principal of Arnold St. Grammar School.

LUCIUS A. WHEELOCK, Principal of Elm St. Grammar School.

STEPHEN A. POTTER, Teacher of Writing and Book-keeping, Providence.

H. C. NASII, Principal of High St. Grammar School, North Providence.

STANTON BELDEN, Principal of Fruit Hill Classical Institute.

ROBERT WILSON, Chairman of School Committee, Johnston.

HENRY H. JENCKS, Principal of Manton School, North Providence.

GEO. W. QUREEAN, Principal of Providence Conference Seminary, East Greenwich.

J. F. KELLOGG, Assistant Teacher in Providence Conference Seminary.

J. M. CARROLL, Assistant Teacher in Providence Conference Seminary.

ROBERT HENRY, Assistant Teacher in Providence Conference Seminary.

MISS L. G. ELDREDGE, Principal of Hillside Female Seminary.

R. C. GREENE, Select School for Boys, East Greenwich.

JAS. H. ELDREDGE, Clerk of School Committee, East Greenwich.

J. J. LELAND, Principal of Grammar School, Wickford.

A. E. MERIAM, Principal of Grammar School, Tiverton.

DRAPER FARMENTER, Principal of Grammar School, Tiverton.

A. M. S. CARPENTER, Instructor in Elocution, in R. I. State Teachers' Institute.

ALBERT H. ESSEX, S. Portsmouth.

CHAS. C. BEAMAN, Chairman School Committee, Scituate.

W. M. CHASE, Principal of Grammar School, N. Kingston.

HENRY CHILSON, Teacher, Little Compton.

W. M. S. KENT, Teacher, N. Scituate.

EDWARD L. PHETTEPLACE, Teacher, N. Scituate.

LYSANDER FLAGG, Smithfield.

JOHN L. HAMMETT, N. Scituate.

FREDERICK ALVORD, Teacher at Smithville Seminary.

JOHN B. KENT, Teacher at Scituate.

ISAAC D. MANCHESTER, Teacher at Tiverton.

ESSEX I. SWEET, Teacher at Scituate.

GEO. O. HOPKINS, Teacher, Gloucester, R. I.

ALBERT T. WILLIAMS, Teacher, Foster.

CALEB T. WOOD, Teacher, N. Kingston.

HENRY W. WILLIAMS, Teacher, Foster.

WILKINS U. POTTER, Teacher, Coventry.

W. M. S. STEERE, Teacher, Johnston.

L. BROWN, Teacher, Rehoboth, Mass.

JAMES B. SCOTT, Teacher, Coventry. ARNOLD W. GORY, Teacher, Smithfield.

VARNUM A. COOPER, Teacher, Appanaug. J. E. FEFTT, Teacher, Arcadia.

D. D. JAMES, Teacher, Smithfield. O. P. SARLE, Teacher, Warwick.

P. F. PIERCE, Teacher, Allenton. R. W. SCOTT, Teacher, Scituate.

A. W. BATES, Teacher, Centreville.

D. R. ADAMS, Warwick; and numerous others.

BOOKS AND STATIONERY.

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OF ALL KINDS,
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To which is invited the attention of Country Merchants, Committees of Libraries, Teachers, and Purchasers generally.

ALSO FOR SALE THE NEW EDITION OF
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In One Vol. (Referred to within,) Crown Quarto,
Price reduced to $6.00.

4

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY IN SCHOOLS.

The Legislature of New York have recently passed an Act to furnish this work to the common schools of the State, and over 8,000 copies have already been purchased, under the provisions of that act.

"The following is an extract from the Report on the subject, by the "Committee on Literature."

"Your Committee regard it as a superfluous labor to enlarge upon the superiority of this Dictionary; this is attested by the general circulation which this work has gained in this country; it is believed to be unprecedented for a work so expensive.

"That this work is peculiarly valuable for common schools, is, in the opinion of your committee, very evident. There is no branch of knowledge in which it is so important that the 750,000 children of this State who are taught in them should be perfected, as in the knowledge of their own language. There is no end so important to the education of the common mind as to use this our common language with correctness, ease and elegance, and to attain which we should make every possible facility readily accessible to all. And, in the opinion of your committee, there is no one book which furnishes so many facilities for this purpose as Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. The habit of referring to it will lead every scholar to a knowledge of this rich mine of wealth intellectual; and as he uncovers its treasures, his mind will be enlarged by the variety of knowledge which is condensed in the definitions of the familiar words he uses. The habit of reflection, too, will be matured, by being employed on objects so entirely within his reach as the words which he spells, and reads, and uses in speech. If he be once taught the habit of reflecting on words, he will soon learn to reflect on the thoughts which these words represent.

"It was proposed in the Legislature of Massachusetts at its session of last year, to provide that a copy of the Dictionary be furnished at the public expense, to every school district in the State who should be able to possess it. It was referred to a committee of that body, who in reporting in favor of it, use the following language. 'Webster's Dictionary is widely and favorably known to the public, not only in this country, but in all others where the English language is used; as a defining dictionary, its superiority over all others is universally admitted. It is, indeed, a most learned and valuable work, reflecting high honor upon the literary character of our country, and cost the author the labor and research, more or less continuous, of some sixty years of his life. It has received the highest commendations from persons of the greatest consideration in this country and in England.' This Report was sustained, and a bill passed in pursuance of its recommendations; and as the result, nearly three thousand copies of this dictionary have been distributed in the common schools of that State." The usefulness of this enactment has been attested by the resolution of thanks to the Commonwealth, which was passed at a meeting of the Association of Teachers of that State, held at Worcester last November.

"In proof of the entire success and useful operation of this measure we present also the testimony of the Rev. Dr. JACKSON, Deputy Superintendent of the common schools of Massachusetts, in a letter dated Feb. 21, 1851, and addressed to one of your Committee. 'I perceive,' he writes, 'that the Superintendent of your Common Schools has recommended that they be presented with WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY from the proceeds of your public fund. You are aware that Massachusetts has just carried out such a measure. It has been highly acceptable to the people generally. Hon. N. P. BANKS, who visited different parts of the State last summer and autumn, and who is now Speaker of the House of Representatives, informed me that no measure of our legislature was more popular or useful. In many towns the dictionary was the only authoritative judge and umpire in literary matters. Where it was enthroned in a district or village school-house, not only the pupils and teacher, but the parents and citizens, appealed to it to settle questions in orthography and definition, and thus it contributed to educate the entire community.'"

"It is constantly cited and relied on in our Courts of Justice, in our Legislative bodies, and in public discussions, as entirely conclusive."—Hon. John C. Calhoun.

There is no Dictionary but this of Webster's that can be adopted as a STANDARD."—Boston Courier.

"As an American, I am proud of this work. I shall recommend it as the STANDARD in the Public Schools of this State.—Thomas H. Benton, Jr., Superintendent of Public Instruction in Iowa.

"Dr. Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language is an honor to the country which gave him birth."—President Humphrey.

"We adopted Webster's Dictionary of the English Language as a STANDARD, in preference to every other, from its very first appearance."—Boston Ch. Register.

"I had the gratification of seeing Webster's Dictionary adopted as the Standard Dictionary of the schools of Vermont. I was gratified because I felt that his work was worthy to be a STANDARD."—Governor Eaton, of Vermont.

"This work has been adopted as the STANDARD DICTIONARY in the schools and colleges of most of the States of the Union, and State officers in charge of the system and subject of education in various States, have recommended appropriations for its purchase by the Legislature."—Secretary Sherman, of Michigan.

3,064 copies have been thus distributed.

The only Complete English Dictionary.

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY,
UNABRIDGED.

PRICE REDUCED TO SIX DOLLARS.

Containing THREE TIMES the matter found in any other English Dictionary compiled in this
name; ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTATIONS, and other peculiarities

and advantages found in no other work.

OPINIONS OF

STATE SUPERINTENDENTS OF COMMON SCHOOLS,
AND LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL JOURNALS.

provided, as the permanent property of every district school, the effect, as regards the improvement of instruction, would be deeply and extensively felt, in the increased skill of the teacher, and the higher attainments of his pupils, in the most important part of education—the acquisition of an adequate knowledge and proper use of our own language.”—William Russell, Esq., Teacher of Elocution.

I. MAINE.

From the State Superintendent.

From the "Common School Advocate," edited by the State Superintendent, Hon. W. M. G. Crosby.

"In presenting to the public this beautiful edition of a work which should be found in every family and school-room, and upon the table of every business and of letters, the publishers have rendered a service which richly entitles them to the commendation and gratitude of every patron and friend of American learning and art."

II. NEW HAMPSHIRE.

From the State Commissioner.

From Hon. R. S. RUST, Commissioner of Public Schools for the State of New Hampshire.

"CONCORD, N. H., June 7, 1850.

"MESSRS. MERBIC: * * * Command my services in the circulation of the best Dictionary of the English Language. "Yours, &c."

From the Com. or Com. Schools in Cheshire County.

* Intending positively to retire from public life at the close of the present school year, the Commissioner * * * * must respectfully recommends to the honorable Legislature of New Hampshire, now to convene, that a resolution be passed to this effect: That 'WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, (UK-AB-DEN,' be furnished, at public expense, to every School District in the State, to be carefully kept and preserved for the benefit both of teachers and pupils.

JOSEPH PERRY,

April 16, 1851.

Com. Com. Schools Cheshire Co."

[The other County Commissioners express similar views.]

New Hampshire Board of Education.—The County Commissioners of Common Schools, organized as a Board of Education, at Concord, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 1850, recommended WEBSTER's DICTIONARY, UNABRIDGED, as a book of reference to be used in District Schools.

"The volume is, in fact, the teacher's encyclopedia, as well as lexicon, for daily reference. Could a copy of it be

III. VERMONT.
From the State Superintendent.

PROFESSOR EAYES, of Public Schools in
Vermont, and late Governor of that State, in a letter under
date of October 9, 1850, remarks as follows:—

"It was my lot to be present and preside, about four years since, at a State meeting of our County Superintendents, then the appointed Board for recommending books for School purposes, — when I had the gratification of seeing WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY adopted as the standard Dictionary for the schools of Vermont. I was gratified, because I felt that this work was worthy to be a standard, — that it afforded a safe harbor after long towsings upon a sea of doubt and uncertainty,—a secure resting-place from the fluctuations to which our language had been long subjected, and to which, without this work, it would still, as much as ever, be exposed."

At a meeting of the Teachers' Association, of Vt., held at Mont-
peller, Oct. 16, 1850, the following resolution was adopted:

"Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Association, the placing a copy of Webster's Quarto Dictionary in each of our District Schools and higher literary institutions, as a book of reference, both for teachers and pupils, would be of inculcable benefit to the cause of education, by the influence it would exert in creating habits of investigation and accuracy as to the use of language, as well as by placing before our youth an amount of information which can be found in no other uninspired volume."

IV. MASSACHUSETTS.

"So far as I know, there is a unanimity of opinion that Dr.

BOOKS AND STATIONERY.

CONSTANTLY FOR SALE, AT WHOLESALE AND RETAIL,
A LARGE AND WELL SELECTED STOCK OF
**STANDARD WORKS**
IN EVERY DEPARTMENT OF
SCIENCE AND LITERATURE.

BIBLES, HYMN BOOKS, SCHOOL BOOKS,
BLANK WORK AND STATIONERY, OF ALL KINDS;
**CHILDREN'S BOOKS, &C.**

ALSO FOR SALE THE NEW EDITION OF
**WEBSTER'S LARGE DICTIONARY,**
In One Vol. (Referred to within) Crown Quarto.

"GET THE BEST."

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

WEBSTER'S SCHOOL DICTIONARIES, VIZ.:

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, Counting House Edition.

WEBSTER'S POCKET DICTIONARY.

The Publishers are happy in being able to present the following recent testimony from our own State,
showing the appreciation of Webster in MASSACHUSETTS.

The following embrace ALL the State Normal Schools in the Commonwealth: -

STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS.

1. - BRIDGEWATER STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

MESSRS. MERRIAM: Like every one else who has taken the pains to examine the merits of the various English Dictionaries, I am fully impressed with the superiority of Webster's over all others. It is thorough and systematic; and though in some instances not agreeing with the orthography and pronunciation which certain individuals, eliques, and small communities may at present follow, I nevertheless regard it as the Standard Dictionary for all deep and correct knowledge of the English language. We use it as such in this institution.
M. CONANT, Principal of said institution.

2. - SALEM STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM: Webster's Unabridged Quarto Dictionary to which a large portion of our time is devoted. We have copies of other elaborate Dictionaries, such as Johnson, &c., but so much more useful than any do we find Webster, that we have furnished our reference library with six times as many copies of it as of any other Dictionary. Indeed, for our use, I should not know where to seek a substitute for it. We consider that it furnishes for our pupils a better preparation for studying and appreciating English literature than any other single book. For my own part I should greatly rejoice to see Dr. Webster's Improvements in Orthography universally adopted, as I have no doubt they will be in time.
RICHARD EDWARDS.

3. - WESTFIELD STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

STATE Normal School, Westfield, December 25, 1854.
I have always regarded the definitions of Webster's Dictionaries as greatly superior to those of any other work. In Orthography I have watched with much interest the tendency of general usage; and though I still feel a strong reluctance to giving up certain modes of spelling to which I have been accustomed, I hold myself responsible to conform to the usage of the best writers, as the highest law of language. This I am satisfied, is inclining more and more to the standard of Webster, as modified by Goodrich. W. H. WELLS.

4. - FRAMINGHAM STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

STATE Normal School, Framingham, January 10, 1855.
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is our chief reliance in regard to definitions and derivations, and is in use almost hourly by the pupils.
EBEN L. STEARNS.

5. - LANCASTER NORMAL INSTITUTE.

New England Normal Institute, Lancaster, Mass., January 16, 1855.
The edition of Dr. Webster's Dictionary, revised by Professor Goodrich, I would most respectfully recommend to the attention of teachers who are desirous of becoming fully qualified to give instruction in the English language. The copious information which that work embodies on all topics connected with Etymology, the extreme exactness, as well as the number, extent, and fullness of the definitions which it furnishes to every important word — render it a most valuable wealth to instructors. The volume is, in fact, the teacher's encyclopaedia, as well as lexicon, for daily reference. Could a copy of it be provided, the permanent proper property of every district school, the effect, as regards the improvement of instruction, would be deeply and extensively felt in the increased skill of the teacher and the higher attainments of his pupils, in the most important part of education — the acquisition of an adequate knowledge and proper use of our language. In reference to the modifications of orthopœrical notations presented in Professor Goodrich's edition of Webster's Dictionary, I cannot, perhaps, express my opinion more definitely than I have had occasion to do in my manual (now in preparation) entitled "Exercises on Words." The following is the note to which I refer: "The critical judgment and refined taste of Professor Goodrich have left in his editions of Webster's Dictionary little ground of objection in regard to the peculiarities which proved the only drawback from the value of the original work."

WILLIAM RUSSELL.

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY,

UNABRIDGED.

Containing THREE TIMES the matter found in any other English Dictionary Complied in this country, or any Abridgement of this work; a GEOGRAPHICAL TABLE of 12,000 Names; ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTATIONS, and other peculiarities and advantages found in no other work.

I. MAINE.

From the "Common School Advocate," edited by the State Superintendent, Hon. Wm. G. Cresby.

"In presenting to the public this beautiful edition of a work which should be found in every family and school-room, and upon the table of every man of business and of letters, the publishers have rendered a service which richly entitles them to the commendation and gratitude of every patron and friend of American learning and art."

II. NEW HAMPSHIRE.

From the State Commissioner.

From Hoy, R. S. RUST, Commissioner of Public Schools for the State of New Hampshire.

"MESSRS. MERRIAM: * * * Command my services in the circulation of the best Dictionary of the English Language. * * * Yours, &c. R. S. RUST."

From the COM. OF COMMON SCHOOLS in Cheshire County.

"Intending positively to retire from public life at the close of the present school year, the Commissioner * * * most respectfully recommends to the honorable Legislature of New Hampshire, now to convene, that a resolution be passed to this effect: That

"WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, (UNABRIDGED,) is furnished at public expense, to every School District in the State, to be carefully kept and preserved for the benefit both of teachers and pupils.

"JOSEPH PERRY,

April 10, 1851. Com. Com. Schools Cheshire Co." [The other County Commissioners express similar views.]

New Hampshire Board of Education.—The County Commissioners of Common Schools, organized as a Board of Education, at Concord, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 1850, recommended WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, UNABRIDGED, as a book of reference to be used in District Schools.

"The volume is, in fact, the teacher's encyclopedia, as well as lexicon, for daily reference. Could a copy of it be provided as the permanent property of every district school, the effect, as regards the improvement of instruction, would be deeply and extensively felt, in the increased skill of the teacher, and the higher attainments of his pupils, in the most important part of education—the acquisition of an adequate knowledge and proper use of our own language.”—William Russell, Esq., Teacher of Elocution.

III. VERMONT.

PROFESSOR EATON, State Superintendent of Public Schools in Vermont, and late Governor of that State, in a letter under date of Oct. 9, 1850, remarks as follows:—

"It was my lot to be present, and preside, about four years since, at a State meeting of our County Superintendents, then the appointed Board for recommingending hooks for School purposes—when I had the gratification of seeing WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY adopted as the Standard Dictionary for the Schools of Vermont. I was gratified, because I felt that this work was worthy to be a standard,—that it afforded a safe harbor after long tossings upon a sea of doubt and uncertainty,—a secure resting-place from the fluctuations to which our language had been long subjected, and to which, without a doubt, work, it would still, as much as ever, be exposed."

(37)

8

WEBSTER'S UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY.

"Resolved, That a copy of Webster's Unabridged Quarto Dictionary be placed upon the desk of each teacher in the Grammar department of the St. Louis Public Schools, as a book of reference for teachers and pupils."

### XIV. PENNSYLVANIA.
From the State Superintendent.

From HON. THOS. H. BURROWS, late Superintendent of Public Instruction of Pennsylvania, and now editor of Pennsylvania School Journal.

"Being applied to by several teachers to designate the best large defining and Etymological Dictionary for the use of teachers, we unhesitatingly named and still name Webster's Unabridged Quarto Work."

From Rev. Dr. Ely.

"PHILADELPHIA, April 26, 1830.

"The most comprehensive, learned, accurate and valuable work of the kind which has ever been published in the English language. EZRA STILES ELY."

### XV. KENTUCKY.
From Professor Matthews.

LEXINGTON, Ky., May 17, 1830.

"The best effort hitherto made to establish the orthography and pronunciation of the language on their true principles."

THOMAS J. MATTHEWS,
Prof. of Mathematics and Nat. Philos.
Tran. University."

New and Revised Editions of Webster's School Dictionaries have recently been issued, in handsome style, with Tables of Geographical, Scripture and Greek and Latin Proper Names, forming the best PRONOUNCING and DEFINING School Dictionaries of the Language.

Dr. Webster's Educational Works, it is believed, have done more to secure the uniformity of Pronunciation and use of language, and freedom from Provincialisms, so remarkable in this country, especially when the great influx of foreigners from all nations is considered, than any other cause.

The attention of the friends of popular education, superintendents, teachers, and parents, is solicited to the importance of perpetuating this purity by the use of such a NATIONAL STANDARD.

(32)

### XVI. CANADA.

Webster's Quarto Dictionary Unabridged.

"In the unanimous judgment of the leading literary press of Great Britain and the United States, Webster's Dictionary is the most learned, the most comprehensive, and the most complete work of the kind in the English language."—*Journal of Education for Upper Canada, Toronto, Jan., 1849.*

From Rev. Dr. RYERSON, Ch. Sup. of Schools in Canada.
EDUCATION OFFICE, Toronto, Dec. 6, 1851.

"I regard Webster's Dictionary as the most comprehensive and valuable work of the kind in the English language. I have for several years used it more than any other English Dictionary; and the more I use it the more I am impressed with its excellence and value EGERTON RYERSON."

### XVII. GREAT BRITAIN.

"This volume must find its way into all our public and good private libraries, for it provides the English student with a mass of the most valuable information, which he would in vain seek for elsewhere.—*London Literary Gazette.*

RECENT TESTIMONY.

33

"GET THE BEST."

## WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

### WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY, UNABRIDGED.

ALSO,

### WEBSTER'S SCHOOL DICTIONARIES; Viz.,

WEBSTER'S ELEMENTARY SPELLING BOOK.

Forming a complete series of Standard Dictionaries of the language, securing uniformity in the use of language, as well as in Orthography and Pronunciation.

The Definitions in Webster's School Dictionaries are taken from his large work, and combine the excellences, in this and other features, of the latter.

## LATE EDUCATIONAL AND OFFICIAL TESTIMONY.

1855.

MAINE.

From Hon. CHARLES A. LORD, Superintendent of Common Schools for the State.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM: Your graded series of Dictionaries is admirably calculated for our Educational Course. The editions for the Primary School, Academy, and University, are all that taste and economy can ask. While your Diamond edition furnishes a convenient pocket companion, the Crown Quarto is sufficiently splendid to grace the library of a millionaire. I hope this series, varying as it does in size and price, will find that universal circulation so necessary to any uniformity in the use and pronunciation of our mother tongue. Nationality of language is a stronger bond of union than constitutional compromises or commercial affiliations. Your Dictionaries afford every facility for a National Standard.

Very respectfully yours,
CHARLES A. LORD.

## MASSACHUSETTS.

BRIDGEWATER STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, September 25, 1854.

MESSRS. MERRIAM: Like every one else who has taken the pains to examine the merit of various English Dictionaries, I am fully impressed with the superiority of Webster's over all others. It is thorough and systematic; and though in some instances not agreeing with the orthography and pronunciation which certain individuals, cities, and small communities may at present follow, I nevertheless regard it as the Standard Dictionary for all deep and correct knowledge of the English language. We use it as such in this institution.

M. CONANT, Principal of said Institution.

From Prof. EDWARDS, Principal of State Normal School, Salem, Mass.

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, SALEM, MASS., December 20, 1854.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM: Webster's Unabridged Quarto Dictionary is our chief resource in this institution, in the study of the English language, to which a large portion of our time is devoted. We have copies of other elaborate Dictionaries, such as Johnson, &c.; but so much more useful than any other do we find WEBSTER, that we have furnished our reference library with six times as many copies of it as of any other Dictionary. Indeed, for our use, I should not know where to seek a substitute for it. We consider that it furnishes for our pupils a better preparation for studying and appreciating English literature than any other single book. For my own part I should greatly rejoice to see Dr. Webster's improvements in Orthography universally adopted, as I have no doubt they will be in time.
Very truly yours,
RICHARD EDWARDS.

34

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, WESTFIELD, December 25, 1854.

I have always regarded the Definitions of Webster's Dictionaries as greatly superior to those of any other work. In Orthography I have watched with much interest the tendency of general usage; and though I still feel a strong reluctance to giving up certain modes of spelling to which I have been accustomed, I hold myself responsible to conform to the usage of the best writers, as the highest law of language. This usage I am satisfied is inclining more and more to the Standard of Webster as modified by Goodrich.

W. H. WELLS.

From J. W. P. JENKS, Esq., Principal of Peirce Academy, Middleboro'.

MIDDLEBORO', July 29, 1854.

I adopt Webster's Dictionary as the standard authority in definition, orthography, and pro-
nunciation, in the school under my charge, and Webster's Academic Dictionary, of the
school series, is recommended, and in general use, as a hand book among my students,
and is better adapted, in my judgment, to meet the wants of Academies and High Schools,
as a hand book for convenient reference, than any other dictionary of corresponding size in
the English language. Unquestionably Webster must be acknowledged to be the greatest
English lexicographer that has yet lived. For copiousness, for exactitude of definitions,
and adaptedness to the present state of science and literature, Webster's Dictionaries are
J. W. P. JENKS, Principal of Peirce Academy.
unrivaled.

RHODE ISLAND.

From Professor ALLYN, Superintendent elect of the Public Schools of the State.

EAST GREENWICH, May 10, 1854.

For many years it has been a standing rule with me to recommend to my students, at least once in a quarter, the purchase of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. I consider it an indispensable companion to a student, as well on account of its lucid definitions, and valuable philological information, as of its systematic and comprehensive analysis, and its models of Orthography and Pronunciation. It is with me a standard authority, from which I rarely appeal, and scarcely ever with any degree of success.

My attention has been called to-day to an Abridgment of this work, styled the "Academic Dictionary," which appears to be a very convenient hook for the student whose means do not allow him to procure the large work. I hope this Dictionary will obtain an extensive circulation, and together with its parent, the Unabridged, do much towards systematizing and rendering permanent in its purity the English language.

ROBERT ALLYN.

From the School Committee of Scituate.

SCITUATE, R. I., October 31, 1854.

We have this day voted, in committee, to introduce Webster's Dictionaries (School Series) into our schools, eighteen in number. We have been led to do this for two reasons: first, because our scholars are without dictionaries, which we feel to be highly important to put into their hands. The other consideration is, that we deem Webster's to be superior, in exactness and fullness of definition, and equal in all other respects, to every other dictionary. There is also a pride in doing as we have done in the recollection that Webster has labored so long in this department, and obtained from European nations praise awarded to no other American as a lexicographer.

C. C. BEAMAN, Ch'm. School Com.

CONNECTICUT.

From Professor CAMP, of the State Normal School.

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, NEW BRITAIN, Ct., December 11, 1854.

I have used Webster's Dictionaries in instruction for fourteen years. Having compared the quarto edition with other American and English Dictionaries, I universally recommend it to schools and to individuals, as the best Dictionary of the English Language to be obtained. We have used it in our Normal and High Schools for more than four years, and should not be willing to do without it a single day.

DAVID N. CAMP.

NEW YORK.

From Professor WOOLWORTH, Principal New York State Normal School.

N. Y. STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, ALBANY, September 12, 1854.

I urge all my pupils to furnish themselves with this work, which has become a necessity to every literary man.

S. B. WOOLWORTH.

NEW JERSEY.

From the New Jersey State Superintendent.

OFFICE OF STATE SU'P. PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PENNINGTON, N. J., Nov. 29, 1854.

The high opinion I entertain of Webster's Dictionary induces me to recommend its intro-
duction into our Common Schools.
JOHN H. PHILLIPS, State Sup't.

We, the undersigned, officers of the Camden and Gloucester County Teachers' Institute heartily concur in the above recommendation of the State Superintendent.

DATUS DRURY, President.

JACOB H. SIDES, Secretary.

RECENT TESTIMONY.

35

From Dr. HOAGLAND, a distinguished Friend of Education in New Jersey.

* * * In an affectionate appreciation (for I truly love it) of its enlarged excellence, I have not failed to commend it as the book of the school, second only to the Bible. I would have it always on the desk of the teacher, beside the Bible — this as the symbol of Christianity, the source and foundation of all government and authority — that as the symbol and foundation of all intellectual knowledge and improvement. * * * I have always put it in the front rank of the essentials of a good school, and I hope to live to see the day when every teacher in New Jersey will find his school desk adorned by "Webster's Unabridged," at the expense of the township or the State. In my own family, my children make it the hand book, and dwell on its pages with a delight equaled only by that derived from the page of the historian.
C. C. HOAGLAND.

INDIANA.

From President WHITE, of Wabash College, Indiana.

WABASH COLLEGE, November 10, 1854.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM: * * * I think Webster's worthy to supersede every other English Dictionary. It will, I have no doubt, be used almost universally this side the Alleghanies. I hope America will adopt the work of her own great and unrivaled lexicographer.
CHARLES WHITE.

CHARLES WHITE.

From Professor MILLS, Superintendent elect of Public Instruction.

WABASH COLLEGE, October 24, 1854.

* * * As Superintendent of Public Instruction of Indiana I shall have it in my power to promote its introduction, and shall take great pleasure in improving such oppor- tunities. * * * I was much pleased with the three minor volumes. We shall intro- duce into our Preparatory Department the "Academic Dictionary."

CALEB MILLS.

Yours truly,

MICHIGAN.

From Professor WELCH, Principal Michigan State Normal School.

YPSILANTI, October 23, 1854.

I have employed such leisure as I could command in giving the School Dictionaries (Webster's) a careful examination. We have long wanted cheap and portable Abridgments of Webster's large work for the use of our common and higher schools. The young should receive uniform instruction in the principles of the Standard Orthography and Pronunciation. The High School and Academic editions are admirably adapted to this purpose. We shall use them in the State Normal School, and encourage their circulation in the State.

A. P. WELCH, Principal Michigan State Normal School.

KENTUCKY.

From his Excellency, Governor POWELL, of Kentucky.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, FRANKFORT, Ky., November 9, 1854.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM, Springfield, Mass.: I have examined Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, edited by Professor Goodrich, recently published by you. It is the best Dic- tionary of the English language ever published. It should have a place in the library of every gentleman. This very useful Dictionary should be in all our public schools.

Very respectfully,
L. W. POWELL.

L. W. POWELL.

From the Rev. Dr. JOHN D. MATHEWS, Sup't of Public Instruction for the State of Kentucky.

OFFICE SU'P. OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, FRANKFORT, KY., November 9, 1854.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM. Gentlemen: I have no hesitation in making the avowal that Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is essential as a standard, in our language, in every study, and in every office in our Commonwealth. Indeed we refer to no other; all others have gone out of use. I have no doubt that the Board of Education may be induced to recommend your abridged editions of Webster in all our Common Schools.

JOHN D. MATHEWS

Very respectfully, your ob't serv't,

From the Kentucky State Board of Education.

OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE, KENTUCKY, November 23, 1854.

The Board of Education would respectfully call the attention of Teachers in the Com-
mon Schools of Kentucky to the several editions of Webster's Dictionary as a standard of
our language in Orthography, Ortho'épy, and Defining; and recommend the use of them
throughout the State as a class book.
JOHN D. MATHEWS,
Chairman of the Board, and State Su'p' Public Instruction.

JOHN D. MATHEWS,

J. HARLAN, Attorney General.

GRANT GREEN, Secretary of State.

A library is as incomplete without WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY as the SOLAR SYS
TEM would be without the SUN. — Scientific American, November 4, 1854.

18

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

FROM DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS.

And Writers of Eminence, other than those enumerated as connected with Colleges and Literary Institutions.

From DR. DICK, of Scotland, author of Christian Philosopher, Sidereal Heavens, and other popular works.

"This Dictionary is, undoubtedly, the most complete Dictionary of the English Language that has ever been published, and AGES WILL ELAPSE before any other dictionary of that language will be required. It is, in every respect, far superior to the folio editions of Johnson's Dictionary. The introductory matter, on the origin and progress of language, and other topics—contains an immense mass of useful information, which must have cost the author a very great degree of labor and research. The pronunciation of Scriptural, Classical, and Geographical names, forms a most valuable appendix to the Dictionary, and cannot be too highly appreciated."

From Lord BROUGHAM, High Chancellor of England.

"A very valuable work—A NECESSITY TO EVERY EDUCATED MAN."

From W. M. H. PRESCOTT, the Historian, author of Ferdinand and Isabella, Conquest of Mexico, &c.

"Every scholar knows the value of a work, which, in addition to its etymological learning, has done so much to enlarge our acquaintance with the English vocabulary, both by the number of its words, and the accuracy and extent of its definitions."

From Hon. GEORGE BANCROFT, the Historian.

"The etymological part surpasses any thing that has been done for the English Language by any earlier laborers in the same field."

From JARED SPARKS, author of American Biography, Compiler of Washington's Writings, Franklin's Writings, &c.

"Its reputation is widely extended. I doubt not this edition has received essential improvements from the able hands it has passed through."

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TESTIMONY OF DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS.

19

From G. P. R. JAMES, the English author, and whose writings are extensively known in this country.

"I need hardly tell you that the labors of that eminent man are most highly esteemed in England. I know no dictionary of our language so complete in its vocabulary, and so clear in its definitions. The Pronouncing Vocabularies, with which the work concludes, also, are invaluable to a public speaker."

October, 1850.

G. P. R. JAMES.

From WASHINGTON IRVING, author of the Sketch Book, &c.

"I consider this Lexicon, in many respects, the best in our language, and find it an invaluable eade mecum; I must frankly tell you, however, I do not make it my standard for orthography in the publication of my works. My reason simply is, that it differs occasionally from the orthography in use among the best London Publishers."*

From Rev. JOHN ANGELL JAMES, of Birmingham, England, whose writings are extensively known in both hemispheres.

"Webster's work is one of the literary wonders of your country. That the best Dictionary of our language which has yet appeared, should have been written by an American, is not exactly for the credit of the Father Land.

J. A. JAMES."

From HON. HORACE MANN, Author of Lectures to Young Men, &c.

"So far as I know, there is a unanimity of opinion that Dr. Webster's is the best *Defining* Dictionary in the English language. Whoever may choose to purchase the Dictionary of other lexicographers, I should earnestly advise to purchase Dr. Webster's also; and I assure you it will give me pleasure, as far as I have the opportunity and ability, *to recommend to Students, and ESPECIALLY ALL THOSE WHO ARE MAINLY DEPENDENT ON SELF-CULTURE, OR SELF-EDUCATION, TO KEEP A COPY OF THIS WORK BY THEIR SIDE, AS A HAND-BOOK."

From HON. DANIEL WEBSTER, hardly less favorably known as a writer, than as a Statesman, lawyer, and forensic debater. His writings, in six octavo, volumes, constitute a most valuable contribution to our national literature.

WASHINGTON, March 26, 1848.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM:

Gentlemen: * * * Dr. Webster's Dictionary is a work of extraordinary merit and value. On the great head of *Etymology*, I know nothing to supply its place. I put my name to your proposals with very great pleasure.

I am, with regard, your obt. servant,

WASHINGTON, Jan., 1850.

I possess many Dictionaries, and of most of the learned and cultivated languages, ancient and modern; but I never feel that I am entirely armed and equipped, in this respect, without Dr. Webster at command.

DANIEL WEBSTER.

*The English usage, however, is fast conforming to Dr. Webster's system, and Mr. Irving's writings, in ecent editions, have likewise adopted some of his peculiarities.

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20

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

From HENRY CLAY, the distinguished statesman, civilian, and orator.

I think it the most useful Dictionary of the English and American language ex-
tant.

HON. THOS. H. BENTON, U. S. Senator from Missouri, an able Scholar, as well as distinguished statesman; HON. LEWIS CASS, formerly U. S. Minister at the Court of Versailles, and more recently U. S. Senator from Michigan; HON. THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN, Chancellor of New York University; HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP, of Boston, late Speaker of U. S. House of Representatives, and a ripe scholar, with many others, attach their signatures to a testimonial concerning Webster's Dictionaries, ending as follows:—

It is with pleasure that we greet this new and valuable contribution to American literature. We recommend it to all who desire to possess THE MOST COMPLETE, ACCURATE, AND RELIABLE DICTIONARY OF THE LANGUAGE.

From WILLIAM RUSSELL ESQ., formerly Editor of the American Journal of Education, and a distinguished Elocutionist.

The edition of Dr. Webster's Dictionary, revised by Prof. Goodrich, I would ear-
nestly recommend to the attention of all teachers who are desirous of becoming
fully qualified to give instruction in the English language. The copious informa-
tion which that work embodies on all topics connected with Etymology—the ex-
treme exactness, as well as the number, extent, and fullness of the definitions which
it furnishes to every important word, render it a mine of philological wealth to
instructors. The volume is, in fact, the teacher's encyclopædia, as well as lexi-
con, for daily reference. Could a copy of it be provided as the permanent pro-
perty of every district school, the effect as regards the improvement of instruction,
would be deeply and extensively felt, in the increased skill of the teacher, and the
higher attainments of his pupils, in the most important part of education—the
acquisition of an adequate knowledge and proper use of our language.

W. M. RUSSELL.

From Chancellor WALWORTH, of the State of New York.

"SARATOGA SPRINGS, June 18, 1851.

* * The work is, certainly, creditable to our country, as it is, unquestionably superior to any other Dictionary that has ever been published of the English Language. I think it is also important, that our youth should be taught to resort to this standard American work, that there may be, as far as possible, uniformity in the spelling and pronunciation of the American people.

R. H. WALWORTH."

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21

From Chancellor KENT, author of Kent's Commentaries, and known wherever
American jurisprudence has a name.

"For nearly half a century, 'amidst obstacles and toils, disappointments and infirmities,' he [Dr. Webster] has nobly sustained his courage; and by means of his extraordinary skill and industry in the investigation of languages, he will transmit his name to the latest posterity. It will dwell on the tongues of infants, as soon as they have learned to lisp their earliest lessons. It will be stamped on our American literature, and be carried with it over every part of this mighty continent. It will be honored by three hundred millions of people; for that is the number which, it is computed, will, in some future age, occupy the wide space of territory stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, and from the torrid to the arctic regions. The American Dictionary of the English language is a work of profound investigation, and does infinite honor to the philological learning and general literature of this country. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and grandeur, are now annoyed by the depredations of curiosity, and greatly corroded by the elements, and gradually sinking under the encroaching sands of the desert. This Dictionary, and the language which it embodies, will also perish; but it will not be with the gorgeous palaces. It will go with the solemn temples, and the great globe itself."

From Hon. JOSEPH STORY, Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Professor of Law in the University of Cambridge.

"The recommendations of President Day, and other distinguished gentlemen, would be decisive with me, as to the merit and ability of Dr. Webster's work. I also have had occasion to use and examine his Quarto Dictionary, and the abridgment of it. Each of them appears to me to be executed with great care, learning, and ability. I cheerfully concur in the opinion, that they form a very valuable addition to our lexicography, and deserve the patronage of the American public."

JOSEPH STORY.

From Judge CRANCH of the U. S. Supreme Court.

I agree with Mr. Justice STORY in the sentiments which he has expressed.

WILLIAM CRANCII.

From Hon. JOHN C. SPENCER, well known as a distinguished jurisprudent.

"More than twenty years ago I procured the Quarto edition, and have used it con-
stantly ever since. My pursuits in life have rendered it necessary to consult it fre-
quently, as well as other works of a kindred or similar character, particularly Dr.
Johnson's Quarto, of the latest and best edition, Richardson's Dictionary, Crabbe's
Synonymes, and Horne Tooke's Diversions of Purley. In professional, political, and
literary discussions, the turning point of the argument has often been the exact mean-
ing of words, as ascertained not only from their use, but from their derivation
While in many cases, perhaps in the majority of them, the works referred to hav
failed to give the desired information, that of Dr. Webster has always furnished
precisely what has been desired ; and I have long felt individually indebted to the
illustrious author for the labor and time he has saved me by his unwearied patience,
profound learning, and unsurpassed industry.

"It is unquestionably the very best Dictionary of our language extant. It is a model of copiousness and precision; and its great accuracy in the definition and derivation of words gives it an authority that no other work on the subject possesses.

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20

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

*From Rev. JOHN COVERT, President Ohio Female College.*

In our Institution we have adopted Webster's Crown Quarto Dictionary, (Unabridged,) revised edition, as our STANDARD authority in spelling, pronunciation, and defining. We regard Webster as the only reliable authority, and one to which all our educational establishments should adhere.

February 28, 1852.

[Signed,]

JOHN COVERT.

CINCINNATI, 21st February, 1852.

The American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah WEBSTER, LL. D., the most honorable monument of American literature and talent, and of which every American may be justly proud, after a struggle of nearly twenty years, may be considered, in its revised form, fully established as authority in spelling, pronunciation, and definition. As such, it has been adopted by States in their common schools, by colleges, by academies, and most educated men who are in favor of a judicious progressive reform in language, securing simplicity in the spelling of words, and accuracy in their use. In view of these facts, therefore, it is of great importance that Webster's Dictionary should be made the STANDARD in our schools, and in all text books used in them.

WM. GREENE, E. S. BROOKS, Examiners of Cincinnati
D. SHEPERDSON, M. SIMPSON, Public Schools.
HENRY SNOW, H. H. BARNEY,
JOSEPH RAY,
P. B. WILBER, Pres't Wesleyan Female College, Cincinnati.
LYMAN HARDING, Principal of Female Academy, Cincinnati.

*From the Annual Report of Hon. BELLAMY STORER, President School Board, Cincinnati, for the year ending June 30, 1851.*

"A copy of Webster's (Unabridged) Dictionary has been placed in each District School, for the use of the Teachers, and is now our STANDARD in Orthography, Pronunciation and Definitions. This great work has become universally popular, and is sanctioned by the best educators and scholars in our country."

*From the National Magazine for April, 1853, (published at the Methodist Book Concern, 200 Mulberry St., New York.)*

"Webster's Dictionary, the entire work unabridged, in 1 vol., crown quarto, of one thousand four hundred and fifty-two pages, containing the last improvements of Dr. Webster, and the additions of Professor Goodrich. Our readers are aware of our partiality for this work, for they must have perceived that we use its Orthography without scruple. We are pledged to that, both because we approve it, and, we confess, because of a little national prejudice for the work. Webster's definitions are unrivaled; the merit of the work in this respect is enough to settle its claims; he was the best etymologist that ever attempted to define our language. Such provincial words as are necessary to Dictionary readers, have been admitted into the present edition with proper discriminations. Some of Webster's more violent orthographical peculiarities have been omitted.

The Pronunciation is marked by a simple and excellent system of notation, and in difficult cases, words are re-spelled. The lists of Scriptural, Classical, and Geographical names are very full—the latter more so than we have seen in any Dictionary; it comprises twelve or thirteen thousand names. Every American student, and, as far as possible, every American family, should possess this great standard of our language."

*From the Pittsburg Christian Advocate, April 9, 1853.*

"This is now the acknowledged standard of the English language, wherever spoken. England has laid aside her great Johnson for the American Webster. The English press generally, has admitted the 'American Dictionary' to be the best extant. Dr. Thomas Dick, than whom no living or modern transatlantic writer, is better known, or more generally read, in this country, says, 'This Dictionary is undoubtedly the most complete Dictionary of the English language that has been published, and ages will elapse before any other Dictionary of that language will be required.' He declares it in every respect far superior to Johnson's large Dictionary. It is indorsed and strongly recommended by the most eminent names which adorn American literature. It ought to obtain a universal circulation. Every school-house, academy and college, every professional office, every reading room, every library in the land, should contain a copy of Webster's large Dictionary. All who aspire to speak or write the English language with accuracy and force, will find this work an indispensable auxiliary. To the young who are aiming at self-culture and self-im-

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

21

provement, it will be of the greatest value. A constant and careful reference to it will tend to form intellectual habits of much importance, as to accuracy, discrimination, and condensation of thought; for the work is remarkable for these properties, as well as for purity of language. Nor is it merely a book of words, as young people sometimes imagine a Dictionary to be. It is, in fact, an encyclopedia of knowledge, 'All young persons,' says the Phrenological Journal, 'should have a standard Dictionary at their elbow; and while you are about it, get the best; that Dictionary is Noah Webster's—the great work unabridged. If you are too poor, save the amount from off your back, to put it into your head.' This is true doctrine. If you do not mean to spell wrong, read wrong, speak wrong, write wrong—go halting and blundering intellectually, as long as you live—buy WEBSTER'S LARGE DICTIONARY; and when you have it, use it."

*From the Presbyterian of the West, March 21, 1853.*

"NOAH WEBSTER, the best orthoptist and linguist of his age in this country, and perhaps without a superior in these departments in Europe, spent the greater part of a long and industrious life, in arranging and perfecting this master-work. Since the author's death, in 1843, it has been carefully examined, revised and stereotyped; and as now presented to the American people, is confessedly without an equal as a definer, in amplitude and correctness. In its way as a book, it stands out bold and prominent to the American mind, and to the learned world, without a comparable rival—aptly symbolizing in many respects the greatness and superiority of the country from which it emanates; for as this country in coming time promises to exert a controlling influence in shaping and molding the political destinies of the world—so this book will, we think, over the same minds exert its power in reducing to a harmonious unity of language and speech the 'confusion of tongues' which now exists."

*From the New York (Catholic) Freeman's Journal.*

\*\*\* "But, of Dictionaries, what one? We have been educated in the contempt and horror of Noah Webster's on the ground that it is an innovation; that it makes havoc of the fine old language of Shakspeare and Milton, of Bacon and Hooker, and all the rest of those old worthies. \*\*\* But we have noticed more and more, during the last twelve or fifteen years, that not only in this country, but wherever the English language is spoken, most of the changes that were advocated by Webster, have been gaining in authority and becoming the STANDARD METHOD OF SPELLING. This has given us occasion to reconsider the notions of our early training. \*\*\* Our good opinion of the work has so grown on acquaintance that it is only inadvertence, at moments when we have had opportunity, that has prevented us from purchasing a copy of it. \*\*\* We have spent some few hours in examining it, and have found some of our remaining objections to it as a standard, very satisfactorily answered."

*From the Ladies' Repository, (Meth. Book Room, Cincinnati, May, 1852.)*

"We have found the work an indispensable auxiliary in our editorial labors, and except the Bible, it is the last book we should feel willing to part with."

*From the Watchman and Observer, Richmond, Va., March 3, 1853.*

"It is now, we believe, generally admitted among English scholars, that there is no Dictionary of the language superior to Webster's—none more full—none more exact in its definitions, and none more reliable as a STANDARD."

*From the Crawford County Journal, Nov. 24, 1852.*

"This work has been adopted as the STANDARD, not only in this country, but in England, and for accuracy of Definition, and faithfulness in tracing out the various shades of meaning of words, it has no equal, and is probably the only full and complete Dictionary of our language extant."

## 'Get the Best.'

*All young persons should have a standard*

## DICTIONARY,

at their elbows. And while you are about it, get the best; that Dictionary is

**NOAH WEBSTER'S,**

The great work unabridged. If you are too poor, save the amount from off your back, to put it into your head.'—Phrenolog. Journal.

22

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

## Webster's Quarto Dictionary Unabridged.

"We believe we shall be certain of doing a service to the people of the State, if we say a word or two upon the Unabridged Quarto Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster. The word UNABRIDGED has been purposely employed, because if such a work is wanted for any but the very lowest uses—those of mere orthography, or orthoepy—it can not be too copious and comprehensive. When one is ignorant of the proper and precise powers of a word, he can not endure to be turned over to an abridgment that gives him a SYNONYM, instead of a definition; but he demands to know as much as anybody knows of its history or etymology, and its different shades of meaning. Then only can he employ it with confidence and effect, as a mighty weapon for the expression of intellect or passion."—Newark Daily Advertiser, March 25, 1851.

"A Dictionary is the last book which a scholar ever wants to have abridged, the process being sure to cut off THE VERY MATTER WHICH HE MOST VALUES."—ChRONOType.

### ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE.
—"We must pay this compliment to Webster's QUARTO DICTIONARY,—it contains scientific terms not to be found in any other work, and we have often been surprised to find that it contained full and clear definitions of many technical phrases, which we thought had never been outside of the workshop. It is a real ENCYCLOPEDIA of Science, for it not only gives the definitions of scientific terms, but describes the nature of many chemical actions, and the operation of many machines. In its UNABRIDGED present form, it is complete, and no man pretending to scientific knowledge can be without it. In Chemistry, Architecture, Geology, Engineering, Mechanics, &c., &c., it is full and accurate, and is not only essential to the student in science, but to the most erudite philosopher. We are proud of this work as an American production; it is certainly gratifying to know and feel that England looks to America as having now produced the standard work of the English language."—Scientific American, Oct. 4, 1851.

### "WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY.
—Everybody knows about Webster's Dictionary, and every man, woman, and child, ought to have access to it.

It will tell you everything in regard to your mother tongue, which you want to know. It shows you the words in all their aspects—giving you a sort of history of each individual, that is in any way worthy of attention—developing their powers and delineating their features and general appearance so precisely, that the unlearned will remember them, after the first sight, and know who they are and what they are, whenever he meets them. A MAN WHO WOULD KNOW EVERYTHING, OR ANYTHING, AS HE OUGHT TO KNOW, MUST OWN WEBSTER'S LARGE DICTIONARY. It is a great light, and he that will not avail himself of it, must walk in darkness. Every young housekeeper should lay it in, to occupy the place which was formerly filled with de-canters and wine glasses.

Every farmer should give his sons two or three square rods of ground, well prepared, with the avails of which they may buy it. Every mechanic should put a receiving box in some conspicuous place in the house, to catch the stray pennies, for the like purpose.

Lay it upon your table by the side of the Bible—it is a better expounder than many which claim to be expounders.

It is a great labor-saver—it has saved us time enough in one year's use to pay for itself; and that must be deemed good property, which will clear itself once a year. If you have any doubt about the precise meaning of the word clear, in the last sentence, look at Webster's thirteen definitions of the v. t.²—Massachusetts Life Boat, April 28, 1852.

### From an American Missionary in South Africa.

"Umsunduzi, Port Natal, March 11, 1852.

TO MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM:

Dear Sirs,—The four copies of Webster's Quarto Dictionary which you had the great liberality to forward to the South African Mission, by the Secretaries of the American Board, were duly received some months since, and by appointment of the Mission, I have the honor and pleasure to acknowledge them, and to say to you that we are under many obligations for so many copies of a most invaluable work.

So great is the estimate in which this work is held in this distant English colony, that many of my fellows in labor, Americans and others, and some of the principal officers of the British government, have already procured it, while others, in both public and private life, have sent for it or are about to do so.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

23

His Honor, the Lieutenant Governor, a reputed scholar, calling upon us more than a year since, saw the work, admired, and at once ordered a copy for his own use. About a month since one of the civil magistrates inquired of me where and how he could obtain a copy for himself. And only last week the Honorable the Secretary to Government, a man of much maturity in both years and knowledge, passing a day or two with us, referred several times to Webster's Quarto Dictionary as the highest standard and indisputably the best work of the kind in the English language. Its general merits and marked excellencies are too well known and acknowledged to require of me any enumeration, had I the time to make it.

I will only add a word of my own experience. In 1841, while a student at Yale, having at command only eighteen dollars, and not knowing when or where I could obtain more, I paid five-sixths of what I had for Webster's Dictionary, in two volumes octavo; and clear as it was with some defects, I can say, after ten years' study and labor, that, save my Bible, I never bought a book to me cheaper, better, or more useful.

But now the same work carefully revised and enlarged, and containing, in addition, the valuable Pronouncing Vocabularies of Scripture, Classical and Geographical names, may be had for half, or less than half the former price.

May every American youth and son of Britain, and every man of letters of every nation, soon have access to it, and become, for the most part, possessors of it. Such is my wish and expectation. Every missionary, every statesman, every man of science and literature, of extensive commerce and true religion, of whatever nation, who knows its value, consults his own interest, and studies to be useful, will endeavor to obtain it, and will find it an invaluable companion in all his pursuits. It has already found its way into the darkest parts of the world, and is exerting a silent, but steady, elevating and powerful influence, directly or indirectly, upon the mind, character and language of every nation under the sun.

In behalf of the American Zulu Mission in Southern Africa, I have the honor to be,

Respected sirs, most truly yours,

LEWIS GROUT.

The article (from which an extract is given below) is from the pen of one of our most accurate scholars, acute observers, and devoted friends to schools. [Professor E. D. Sanborn, of Dartmouth College.] Granite Farmer, (Manchester, N. H.) Nov. 19, 1851.

"About a year ago, Mr. Merriam, one of the publishers of Webster's Quarto Dictionary, gave to the writer an order for a copy of that work, to be used in some school under my eye, by way of experiment. I took the dictionary and placed it in a tuition school, in the village, composed of pupils varying in age, from four to eighteen years. I visited the school and informed the pupils that the book should be at their service if they would make good use of it. I also expressed a wish that all the scholars who could write, should keep small common-place books, and write down in them every word, which occurred in their lessons, of whose meaning they were in doubt, and hold themselves in readiness to report to their teacher, at any time, the number of words they had thus had occasion to look out in the dictionary. This plan was adopted, and most of the pupils found a use for the new book. The older scholars consulted it quite often, so that there were, sometimes, a number of petitioners at the same time. The dictionary has now been used three terms, and the interest in it is unabated. The pupils have become more interested in finding every word they do not understand. They read with a more intelligent appreciation of their author, and understand better the subjects studied in their text-books. I am satisfied, from this trial, that Webster's Dictionary might be very profitably introduced into all our district schools.

### IF THE TEACHER IS INTERESTED IN THE USE OF THE DICTIONARY, THE SCHOLARS WILL BE.

It is very easy to call forth the ambition of a whole school by encouraging the use of common-place books for recording both the words which are not understood, and their definitions. Let it be understood, that these little books are to be exhibited at the examination of the school, and that pupils will be questioned as to the meaning of words which they have recorded in their own books, and there will be no want of interest in using the book. Let it be understood to be highly commendable in every pupil not to pass one word in his lesson which he could not define; and when one member of a class fails to explain a word he has used, let that word be put to all the class, or in case of failure there, to the whole school, and the interest in the book will become so great that instead of one copy, a dozen will be wanted for the use of the school. No one who has examined Webster's Quarto Dictionary can doubt the utility of frequent reference to it. It is almost an ENCYCLOPEDIA, as well as a book of definitions."

24

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

From the Central New Yorker, April 8, 1852.

"There have been two Noahs in this world, who have, we trust entered a blessed world to come—the Noah of Diluvian days, who conducted the Representatives of the Living creation over the world of Waters—and the Noah of Modern days, who has navigated the Ark of the English language over the deluge of a world of words.

All other Dictionaries are swamped in the deluge, like the inhabitants of the old world, and no high mountain of distinction, ambition, or pretension has had sufficient altitude to overtop the flood of oblivion that washes them under, and overwhelms them in the silence of death and forgetfulness.

But 'Noah entered the ark with all his house,' and outlived the flood. So Noah Webster and all his faithful followers preserved the Progeny of the English Language, and are rapidly extending it over the *Pagan*, as well as Christian world.

Again, Language has been a gnarled and tangled web, that none could unravel and straighten well, until a Webster arose to accomplish the task. Others only made the tangled web the worse, or broke and tore it into shreds and patches, but our Webster has analyzed and synthetized it, has unraveled and woven the web into warp and woof, into a beautiful pattern. Noah Webster's Dictionaries are the standard spellers and definers of the English language the world over—soon to be the Court Language of the world."

The *National Intelligencer* of April 19, 1852, says of Webster: "It is the Dictionary of all Dictionaries of the English language, full and precise, and is the book of all others essential to all professional men, all men of science, all printers, and, indeed, every man who understands the force of words, and the importance of an accurate and perfect knowledge of the vehicle of his own ideas and of the thoughts of others."

## WEBSTER'S SCHOOL DICTIONARIES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

The Board of Education of New Hampshire, at a recent session, [April, 1853,] voted to recommend Webster's School Dictionaries for the use of the common schools of New Hampshire.

From the Annual Message of His Ex'y Gov. Wood, to the Legislature of Ohio, Jan., 1851.

"In Massachusetts, every school is furnished by the State with WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY. The same is recommended by a committee of the New York Legislature for the Empire State.

"It is admitted to be the most valuable work of the kind extant, by the learned men both here and in Europe; and its general use in our schools would break down all provincialisms, so to speak, and produce uniformity and elegance in the use of our language. Words would then be used by every one, in the same sense in which they are defined by that able lexicographer."

From Professor STOWE, late of Cincinnati.

"My judgment and feelings are most heartily and permanently engaged in doing all that I can to make Webster the STANDARD wherever the English is spoken, as it deserves to be, must be, is, and will be."

## FRANKLIN GLOBES.

The Franklin Globe, 6 inch, Terrestrial.

The Franklin Globe, 6 in. & 10 in. Terrestrial & Celestial.

WE invite the attention of Teachers, Town Superintendents, Parents, Committee, &c., to the above new Series of Globes, manufactured by us. They are strongly made, highly finished, and each Globe is put up in a handsome case.

By an improved and entirely new process of manufacturing, (the ball being made of a material different from that heretofore used, and much better for the purpose,) the result of a long course of study and experiment, they are very much stronger than other Globes, and less liable to crack or be broken by a fall or other accident. In this respect they are far superior to any other Globes.

We especially invite attention to the improvement we have made in the frames, in substituting a neat and tasty bronzed frame for the old pattern of wood frames.

Each Globe, (excepting the parlor pattern, which is put up only in packing cases,) is put up in a neat case, with a lid secured by a catch; or, at a higher price, in an ornamental black walnut case, secured with a lock. The case opens readily, so as to display the Globe, and so that it may be conveniently used without taking it therefrom, and effectually protects it from liability to accident and from dust: a great desideratum in the school-room. The Celestial Globe is put up in the same variety of styles. They are printed on new plates, which are engraved in a superior manner, giving the late changes and divisions, including the latest Arctic and Australian discoveries.

### PRICES OF THE FRANKLIN GLOBES.

<table><tr><td>10 in. Globe, Elevated Stand,</td><td>per pair,</td><td>$32.00</td></tr><tr><td>10 in. do. do. Terrestrial,</td><td>per pair,</td><td>16.00</td></tr><tr><td>Packing Cases for above, each,</td><td>per pair,</td><td>1.00</td></tr><tr><td>10 in. Globe, bronze f'm, b'k walnut case, lock, pr. 26.00</td><td>do.</td><td>do.</td></tr><tr><td>10 in. do. do. Terrestrial</td><td>13.00</td><td>do.</td></tr><tr><td>10 in. do. do. neat plain case,</td><td>per pair,</td><td>24.00</td></tr><tr><td>10 in. do. do. do. Terrestrial,</td><td>per pair,</td><td>12.00</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>10 in. Globe, wood f'm, walnut case, lock, pair,</td><td>per pair,</td><td>$24.00</td></tr><tr><td>10 in. do. do. do.</td><td>per pair,</td><td>Terrestrial,</td></tr><tr><td>10 in. do. do. neat plain case,</td><td>per pair,</td><td>22.00</td></tr><tr><td>10 in. do. do. do.</td><td>per pair,</td><td>Terrestrial,</td></tr><tr><td>6 in. do. bronze f'm,</td><td>per pair,</td><td>11.00</td></tr><tr><td>6 in. do. do. do.</td><td>per pair,</td><td>9.00</td></tr><tr><td>6 in. do. do. do.</td><td>per pair,</td><td>Terrestrial,</td></tr></table>

MERRIAM, MOORE & Co., Troy, N. Y.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

The Legislature of New York have recently passed an Act to furnish this work to the common schools of the State, and over 8,000 copies have already been purchased, under the provisions of that Act.

"Your Committee regard it as a superfluous labor to enlarge upon the superiority of this Dictionary; this is attested by the general circulation which this work has gained in this country, which is believed to be unprecedented for a work so expensive.

"That this work is peculiarly valuable for common schools, is, in the op'n of your committee, very evident. There is no branch of knowledge in which it is so important that the 750,000 children of this State who are taught in them should be perfected, as in the knowledge of their own language. There is no end so important to the education of the common mind as to use this our common language with correctness, ease and elegance, and to attain which we should make every possible facility readily accessible to all. And, in the opinion of your committee, there is no one book which furnishes so many facilities for this purpose as Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. The habit of referring to it will lead every scholar to a knowledge of this rich mine of wealth intellectual; and as he uncovers its treasures, his mind will be enlarged by the variety of knowledge which is condensed in the definitions of the familiar words he uses. The habit of reflection, too, will be matured, by being employed on objects so entirely within his reach as the words he spells, and reads, and uses in speech. If he be once taught the habit of reflecting on words, he will soon learn to reflect on the thoughts which these words represent.

"It was proposed in the Legislature of Massachusetts at its session of last year, to provide that a copy of the Dictionary be furnished at the public expense, to every school district in the State who should desire to possess it. It was referred to a committee of that body, who in reporting in favor of it, use the following language. 'Webster's Dictionary is widely and favorably known to the public, not only in this country, but in all others where the English language is used; as a defining dictionary, its superiority over all others is universally admitted. It is, indeed, a most learned and valuable work, reflecting high honor upon the literary character of our country, and cost the author the labor and research, more or less continuous, of some sixty years of his life. It has received the highest commendations from persons of the greatest consideration in this country and in England.' This Report was sustained, and a bill passed in pursuance of its recommendations; and as the result, nearly three thousand copies of this dictionary have been distributed in the common schools of that State.* The usefulness of this enactment has been attested by the resolution of thanks to the Committee, which was passed at a meeting of the Association of Teachers of that State, held at Worcester last November.

"In proof of the entire success and useful operation of this measure we present also the testimony of the Rev. Dr. JACKSON, Deputy Superintendent of the common schools of Massachusetts, in a letter dated Feb. 21, 1851, and addressed to one of your Committee. 'I perceive,' he writes, 'that the Superintendent of your Common Schools has recommended that they be presented with WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY from the proceeds of your public fund. You are aware that Massachusetts has just carried out such a measure. It has been highly acceptable to the people generally. Hon. N. P. BANKS, who visited different parts of the State last summer and autumn, and who is now Speaker of the House of Representatives, informed me that no measure of our legislature was more popular or useful. In many towns the dictionary was the only authoritative judge and umpire in literary matters. Where it was enthroned in a district or village school-house, not only the pupils and teacher, but the parents and citizens, appealed to it to settle questions in orthoepy and definition, and thus it contributed to educate the entire community."

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY. We learn from the Farmer's Cabinet, of Amherst, N. H., that Hon. CHARLES G. ATHERTON, has given a considerable sum to the cause of that town, and has also presented all the schools districts with a copy of Webster's royal Quarto Dictionary.

If other gentlemen of abundant means in other States would emulate the laudable example of Hon. Mr. Atherton, by presenting to every school district in New England, a copy of WEBSTER'S UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY, which has become the STANDARD in Europe and America, the rising generation would have abundant cause to prefix the title of "Honorable" to the name of each such donor, and each could wear it through life with a consciousness that such title was not misapplied.—Boston Real Estate Advertiser, April 2, 1853.

* 3,054 copies have been thus distributed.

SPRINGFIELD, MASS., 1853.

G. & C. MERRIAM, Publishers.

THE ENGLISH DICTIONARIES

OF

WEBSTER AND WORCESTER.

[The following letter recently received by us, is from a prominent teacher of a High School in Middlesex County, a gentleman with whom we have not the pleasure of a personal acquaintance, and was wholly unsolicited. G. & C. M.]

“WALTHAM, MARCH 30, 1853.

Messrs. Merriam:

I have this morning received from Jenks, Hickling & Swan, a pamphlet of some 35 pages, in praise of Worcester's Dictionaries. Now then, I have read such notices on the pages of the Mass. Teacher and elsewhere, till I am tired, disgusted, with them. I know what Boston teachers and others have written, and I also know that it does not represent the opinion of teachers generally, in this part of Massachusetts. Most of us, "out of the shade of old Harvard," are Websterian, and are willing to say so. Now then would a collection of teachers' names in favor of Webster's Dictionary, be of any use to you? If so, you shall have them.

Yours truly,

L. P. FROST, Principal Waltham High School."

SPRINGFIELD, MAY, 1853.

Mr. Frost,

DEAR SIR:—Your favor of the 30th March was duly received. We have also before us a copy of the pamphlet to which you refer, and beg leave to say a few things in regard to its statements. To begin with the end; its authors speak of their "regret that gratuitous and unfounded assaults upon Worcester's Dictionaries," render it necessary for them to employ instrumentalities, for which they seem conscious an apology is necessary. We will state the facts. In 1828, Dr. Webster, after twenty or thirty years' assiduous labor, published his AMERICAN DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE in 2 vols. 4to. In the previous year, 1827, an edition of Todd's Johnson's Dictionary, 1 vol. 8vo., was published in Boston, of which Mr. Worcester was the American Editor. Having the entire control of the matter, he retained the *k* in words terminating in *c*, as *musick*, *physick*, *almanack*, &c., and the *u* in *honour*, *favour*, *authour*, and that large class of words:—Dr. Webster omitted both these, as *music*, *favor*, &c., and they constitute a very large and important class of the words in regard to which he departed from the then prevalent orthography. Shortly subsequent to this, Mr. Worcester was employed by Dr. Webster or his family, to prepare an Abridgment of the American Dictionary—the present 8vo. published by Messrs. Harpers, for which he was paid $2,000. It may be supposed he acquired some skill in Dictionary making by this labor. Some fifteen or eighteen years subsequent to this, and very soon after Dr. Webster's death, and not till then, we believe, and after Webster's 8vo. had acquired deserved celebrity and a wide sale, Mr. Worcester announced his intention to issue a Dictionary himself, of the same size and price, which he shortly did, adopting several of Dr. Webster's peculiarities, omitting the *k* and *u*, as above alluded to; but adding that he was "not aware of having taken a single word, or the definition of a word," from Webster in the preparation of his own work. Yet it is a fact of significance in this connection, that errors in definitions, and in other respects, into which Dr. Webster was inadvertently led in his first, but corrected in subsequent editions, are faithfully found embodied in Worcester.

4

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

In the Session of the Massachusetts Legislature of 1849-50, the Committee on Education, to our surprise, and wholly unsolicited by us, wrote to us, through a member, inquiring on what terms we would supply a copy of WEBSTER'S UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY to every School District of the State. Aware of the overshadowing influence of Boston authors, Boston publishers, &c., for Boston books, we had not sought, and did not desire, to engage in an enterprise likely to awaken active opposition from the "interested sources," to which Messrs. Jenks, Hickling & Swan refer. But before we were well aware that the Committee seriously had the subject before them, the publishers of Worcester had a learned gentleman employed as counsel before the Committee, exhausting epithets, apparently, in vilifying Webster's Dictionary. This, so far as we know, was the first "gratuitous and unprovoked assault" of "interested parties." On the spur of the moment, apprised by telegraph, while yet the opposing counsel was engaged in his argument, Prof. Porter of New Haven, appeared before the Committee in our behalf, and his argument on the occasion you will find appended to this letter. We think the true merits of Webster were more fully understood in Boston, after this effort, than before. The attempt was made in the Legislature to substitute Worcester for Webster, but failed. Then by the friends of Worcester to give both, but this also failed. Then it was left with each District to take either at its option, with no cost to itself whichever it selected, but guided only by what it regarded, on the whole, as the BEST DICTIONARY. What plainer test? Suppose the State paid more for one than the other? The District did not take the book to sell, but to use. And what if the larger work contained more paper and words? If it was full of errors, unreliable, fitted to mislead, &c., the more there was of it the worse the gift. But it is said many of them took it as a "book of reference," but preferred the other work as their standard. But what is any Dictionary but a "book of reference?" It is "referred" to for authority in Definitions, Orthography, Pronunciation, and all matters treated of. Well, thus acting for themselves, strong influences brought to bear, through the Common School Journal, &c., to induce them to take Worcester, in the first four or five months after the law took effect, THREE THOUSAND and THIRTY-FIVE of the Districts ordered WEBSTER, and but one hundred and five took Worcester—a proportion of THIRTY TO ONE, selecting Webster as their STANDARD WORK.

Gov. Wood of Ohio, in his Annual Message to the Legislature of the State, in January, 1852, in considering the educational interests of that State, adverted to what Massachusetts and New York had done, in placing WEBSTER'S UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY in their schools as their STANDARD WORK, and spoke of its being thus regarded almost universally, where the English language is spoken. The Publishers of Worcester convert this, affirming that "Worcester's School Dictionaries are used in most of the principal cities and towns throughout the State," and quote from a Report made by one of the City School Committees, disparaging Webster. In examining the testimony of the case, let us look at the position of the witnesses. The writer of the School Report is understood to be a gentleman who is author of a work published by the house who also publish Worcester's Dictionary.

The Report stated that a copy of Webster furnished by the State, was found in the attic, or other repository for lumber, unused. Compare this with the statement of Mr. PHILBRICK, one of the most excellent of the then Boston teachers, as given in his letter, (see next page,) that Webster's Unabridged Dictionary "was used more than all the other books of reference in the Library," with the statement of Mr. PARKER, of the Johnson School, that "Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is seldom out of my sight, and is the only one to which I refer, for the meaning and etymology of a word;" and of Mr. SHEPARD, of the Lyman School, that, "In my labors as a teacher in the Boston Schools for ten years, I have not been without the work [Webster's Dictionary] for reference at all times, by both Assistants and pupils."

It should be noticed, also, that the very general recommendation of Worcester's Dictionary signed by several prominent gentlemen, was so signed before the present edition of Webster was issued, and that some of the same gentlemen at least, have since expressed in stronger terms, their approval of Webster.

We are authorized by a gentleman then a member of the Boston School Committee, to say, that had Worcester's Dictionary not been in the Boston schools at the time of the Legislative provision, and the choice been between Webster and Worcester, WEBSTER WOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN FOR THE BOSTON SCHOOLS.

Mr. ELBRIDGE SMITH, Principal of the Cambridge High School, who signed the Cambridge certificate that Worcester is used in their schools, (the place of Mr. Worcester's residence,) expressed his concurrence in the following—

5

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

"I find it invaluable FOR THE FULLNESS AND ACCURACY OF ITS DEFINITIONS, and for the very extensive vocabulary of Greek and Latin proper names. Pupils should be accustomed from the very first to acquire well defined and distinct ideas of the meaning of words. This gives an exactness to their knowledge which will be of invaluable service to them through life. But a large portion of our teachers are not able to impart this critical and exact information without access to JUST SUCH A WORK AS DR. WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, and but few have the means to provide it for themselves."

Indeed, all those gentlemen, intelligent and highly respectable as we know them to be, of the Boston and Cambridge Schools, we doubt not would fully indorse Mr. Smith's opinion. They only say Worcester's School Dictionaries were taken by the School Committees of those places. They were so taken we believe, before the new editions of Webster appeared, the Publishers of Worcester being residents of the city, if not connected with the city government, of Boston. Have you ever met the individual, an intelligent man, not an "interested party," who would not say, that if there were but two English Dictionaries, Webster's and Worcester's, he would unhesitatingly take WEBSTER?

In regard to the statement that "Worcester's School Dictionaries are used in most of the principal cities and towns throughout the State," we replied that "Published in Boston, having been actively pushed by agents, &c., in the State, some higher schools having been furnished with them gratuitously, we are assured, and, adopting many of Webster's improvements, we believe they are considerably used in some sections of the State. Webster's School Dictionaries are not published in New England, and we are not aware of any agent having labored for their introduction in Massachusetts, for many years. Yet in regard to Western Massachusetts, the section of the State with which we are particularly familiar, having recently addressed an inquiry to the leading booksellers as to the proportion sold by them of each, we received the following replies: 'Amherst, June 17, 1852. The sale of Webster's School Dictionary is as a hundred to one of Worcester's, with us. It is very rare that we sell a copy of Worcester.—J. S. & C. Adams.' Northampton, June 16, 1852. We sell about twenty Webster to one Worcester. Indeed, the proportion of Webster is much larger, undoubtedly. In fact, we seldom sell a copy of Worcester.—Hopkins, Bridgman & Co.' Pittsfield, June 17. We do not sell Webster's Dictionary at all.—E. Werden.' North Adams, June 17. Ten to one of Webster.' Springfield, June 17. More than seven-eighths are Webster's—in the county, one hundred to one,—Merriam, Chapin & Co.' Great Barrington, June 17, 1852. The proportion is one hundred of Webster to none of Worcester.—Dewey & Eddy.' Greenfield, June 19. Webster more than five to one. L. Merriam.' and others of similar import. This does not confirm the Worcester statement. We know that Webster's are used in many towns in Central and Eastern Massachusetts also.

Your own statement with regard to the intelligent teachers of Middlesex County in the heart of the State, that "most of us, out of the shade of old Harvard are WEBSTERIAN"—added to the foregoing, we think suitably responds to the above wholesale statement.

The certificate, likewise of the highly respectable Principals of the Public Schools of Boston and Cambridge that the committees of those places have adopted Worcester's School Dictionaries, (and that before Webster's revised editions were issued, is by no means an expression of the opinion, by those teachers, that they regard Worcester as superior to Webster. Let us take a fairer test. We subjoin letters of recent date from three of the Boston teachers, whose names are thus appended; Mr. PHILBRICK now of the Connecticut State Normal School: Mr. PARKER, author of a treatise on Natural Philosophy, and many other valuable Text Books; and Mr. SHEPARD, of the Lyman School. Mr. JOHN D. PHILBRICK, until recently Principal of one of the Boston Public Schools, (the Quincy,) long known and highly esteemed as a teacher when in Boston, selected by the MASSACHUSETTS STATE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION as one of the editors of their Journal, the MASSACHUSETTS TEACHER, and recently transferred to the State Normal School of Connecticut, writes us as follows—

"State Normal School, New Britain, Ct., April 18, 1853.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM:

GENTLEMEN:—I have the pleasure to assure you that the teachers and pupils of the Model Department of this Institution, are truly grateful to you for the fine copy of WEBSTER'S UNABRIDGED QUARTO DICTIONARY, which you sent for their use. The pupils have free access to it, and it is in constant requisition. Its beneficial influence on the scholarship of the school is already visible. The scholars are beginning to appreciate the difference between guessing at the import of the terms used in their text-books, and knowing their meaning with precision and exactness.

6

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

A copy of the work, furnished by the State, had been in use in my school-room in Boston, during the two years preceding my removal to this place, and it was used more than all the other books of reference in the Library, which contained a good selection of that class of books. My observation of its utility in a public school has fully convinced me that it is just the thing needed in every District School in the land.

This great work is the product of the State of Connecticut, and she ought to have taken the lead in furnishing it to all her schools, for the use of all her children. I know of no means whereby the common schools of the State could be benefited more at the same expense than by placing a copy in every school-house. I hope the year is not distant when the State will confer this blessing on her children.

Very respectfully yours,

JOHN D. PHILBRICK."

ISAAC F. SHEPARD, Esq. Principal of the Lyman School, writes:-

"Boston, April 27, 1853.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM:

GENTLEMEN:-I take pleasure in adding my testimony to the great value of WEBSTER'S UNABRIDGED AMERICAN DICTIONARY. In my labors as a teacher in the Boston Schools for ten years, I have not been without the work, for reference at all times, by both Assistants and pupil. I consider it an invaluable companion; and in the Etymology and Definitions of the language, strict, faithful, copious and understandable; in short, just what is needed by every man, woman and child in the Union, who would know the language we use. Massachusetts is deserving of the deepest gratitude of her children for the gift of the book to all her public schools; and I trust that not only Connecticut, who is especially bound to the duty, but every State in the Confederacy, will speedily follow her example.

Yours very truly,

ISAAC F. SHEPARD, Principal Lyman School for Girls."

And Mr. PARKER, of the Johnson School:-

"Boston, April 26, 1853.

"I beg leave to assure you, that Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is seldom out of my sight, and is the only one to which I ever refer for the meaning and etymology of a word. Notwithstanding I have some objections to the orthography* of Mr. Webster, I prefer his Unabridged Dictionary to any and all others, and could I have but one, his would be the one I should select. The clearness of his definitions, the elaborateness with which he has traced the etymology of his words, and the transparency, so to speak, which he has thereby given to their proper signification, are features in his work, which have made it the Dictionary of the English Language, and him a benefactor to all of Anglo-Saxon origin. It is destined in my opinion to supplant all its predecessors, and to become the great fountain to which all will resort for draughts of pure English.

Respectfully Yours,

RICH. G. PARKER."

We do not doubt that the other gentlemen, connected with the Boston and Cambridge Schools, and who with Messrs. PHILBRICK, SHEPARD and PARKER, signed the certificate that committees had placed Worcester's School Dictionaries in their schools, entertain similar opinions as to the pre-eminent merit of Webster.

In the State of New York, the same measure, of supplying each of its 11,000 District Schools, was taken up by the Legislature. Hon. CHRISTOPHER MORGAN, Secretary of State, and Superintendent of Common Schools, in his Annual Report to the Legislature, said,

"In connection with the subject of District Libraries, the Superintendent deems it his duty particularly to direct the attention of the trustees and inhabitants of the several school districts to a work of undoubtful utility and pre-eminently of a national character, which should place a library in every library, viz., Webster's Unabridged Quarto Dictionary, published by Messrs. G. & C. Merriam, Massachusetts. As a STANDARD OF ORTHOGRAPHY AND OROTHOEPY, its claims to general adoption have been recognized by the most eminent scholars and statesmen of our land; and as a purely American work, prepared at great expense, and emanating from a source entitled to the highest credit and respect, it commends itself strongly to the adoption of our School Districts generally."

*In a subsequent note, Mr. Parker says "That Webster's Orthography will be the standard, I have no doubt."

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

7

The State Normal School adopted it as

THE STANDARD IN THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

"Resolved, unanimously, That Webster's Quarto Dictionary be the STANDARD in the New York State Normal School.

"ALBANY, March 12, 1850."

It was likewise adopted by the Regents for the Academies of the State:-

RECOMMENDED BY THE REGENTS.

At a meeting of the Regents, held at the Capitol, Albany, February 14, 1850,-

"Resolved, unanimously, That the new edition of Webster's Dictionary in Quarto, edited by Prof. Chauncey A. Goodrich, and published by G. & C. Merriam, Springfield, Mass., be recommended to be purchased for the libraries of academies under the visitation of the Regents. [About 150 in number.] "A true copy, T. ROMEYN BECK."

HON. JOHN C. SPENCER, formerly Secretary of State, and State Superintendent of Common Schools, says-

"It is unquestionably the very best Dictionary of our language extant. It is a model of copiousness and precision; and its great accuracy in the definition and derivation of words gives it an authority that no other work on the subject possesses. It is constantly cited and relied on in our Courts of Justice, in our Legislative bodies, and in public discussions, as entirely conclusive."

The measure met with great favor in the Legislature, and few Bills passed that body with such a degree of unanimity. "Worcester was not once proposed or thought of," except we believe that its Publishers presented a petition that it might be taken, and had leave to withdraw. It was not surprising, however, that they, or other "interested parties," should have sought to defeat Webster, nor that a member was found willing, the materials gathered by the appropriate scavengers, to embody whatever authors or publishers interested against Dr. Webster's works as interfering with their own, could collect into a "Minority Report" of 1, that being the whole number, of the Educational Committee in either body, who could be induced so to assail the measure, and of four or five votes against the measure, in the entire Senate, only one, we believe, the author of the Report, opposed it on literary grounds.

About NINE THOUSAND of the Districts of that State, under the provisions of that law, have voted, each for itself, to appropriate a portion of their library money for the purchase of WEBSTER UNABRIDGED, and that number of copies are now lying upon as many teachers' tables in that State, for the mutual benefit of teacher and scholar.

Is Gov. Wood in error in saying that New York has taken WEBSTER AS HER STANDARD WORK?

To revert to the Minority Report. The author indorses the following objection to Webster:-"He strikes the *u* from honour, *favour*, &c., because it is superfluous, but he does *not* strike the *u* from serious, courage, &c., where it is as superfluous," and Messrs. Jenks, Hickling & Swan publish this as a legitimate argument against Webster.

Yet Worcester's Dictionaries, which they publish, do the very same thing!

Mr. Irving, having been heard to express his dissent from some of Dr. Webster's views upon Orthography, was induced to reply to a letter from the author of the Minority Report. The publishers of Worcester circulate this, withholding what they are aware is our explanation, which is given as follows:-

[From the Boston Evening Transcript, August 8, 1851.]

In the Minority Report, presented to the New York Senate, relative to placing a copy of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary in each of the District Schools of that State, occurs a letter from Washington Irving to the person making the report. Mr. Irving complains that we published, from a letter addressed to us by himself, a portion favorable to the Dictionary, without adding his expression of dissent from its orthography.

In February, 1849, in reply to a complimentary copy of the Dictionary sent him, by us, Mr. I. wrote us, "I consider this Dictionary in many respects the BEST IN OUR LANGUAGE, and find it an invaluable vade-mecum." He added, "I must frankly tell you, however, that I do not make it my standard for orthography, in the publication of my works. My reason simply is, that it differs occasionally from the orthography in use among the best London publishers. Now, however much we of the United States may refine and improve the language of our own country, yet the world will look to us to be the standard of pure English, as they will to Paris for pure French, and to Madrid for pure Castilian. Any deviation on our part from the best London usage, will be liable to be considered as a provincialism," &c. He adds, "I do not pretend to take any part in the controversy which is going on in the periodical press on the subject, [the Macaulay controversy,] and indeed I am apt to be somewhat negligent in matters of the kind," &c.

To the complaint of Mr. Irving, we reply,

1. We published a single line of his letter-"I find it an invaluable vade-mecum,"-as an independent sentence of itself, not dependent on anything which preceded or followed, for its full and true import, and withholding, necessarily, much, and that perhaps the strongest, of what he had said in commendation, as we were giving the briefest possible extracts from a number of writers,

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

9

2. We did not thereby commit Mr. Irving to unqualified approval of everything the work might contain, his language quoted not implying this, and we having publicly and on all occasions stated that there were differences of opinion as to some points of Webster's orthography. But

3. We found on examination that Mr. Irving: "in the publication of his works" in Putnam's authorized edition, issued under the author's own supervision, does make Webster his standard of orthography, in opposition to "that in use among the best London publishers," so far that we think we are entirely safe in saying, that we will point out nine cases in any given chapter of the "Alham bra," for instance, in which the orthography conforms to Webster, as opposed to London usage, to one, that shall be cited where the latter differs from the former. Mr. L., for instance, follows Webster in giving the termination or in flavor, favor, interior, demeanor, &c., (see Alhambra, pp. 14-20)—a constantly recurring class of words.

The English usage, although not entirely uniform, yet almost invariably gives flavour, &c., inserting the a. So Mr. I. donates the l' in recall, p. 13, &c.—the London publishers do not. Had we, therefore, given Mr. Irving's *theory*, and then stated his *practice*, of orthography, we should have made him a party "to the controversy going on," to our advantage, perhaps, but in opposition to his intended wishes.

We may add, that, notwithstanding the opposition, from notoriously interested sources, the majority of the committee of the New York Senate (but a single dissentient) warmly recommended the Dictionary measure. The Bill met the approval of seven-eighths of the entire Legislature, and 8,000 to 10,000 of the school districts have been supplied with it as their STANDARD WORK.

We may add, also, that Irving expressly repudiates Worcester's Dictionary, since that departs widely from London usage. Mr. Irving's authority. Have we any National Literature? Or are the Pronunciation and Orthography of the London cockney and pedant, our infallible guide?

The truth is, that interested parties, in assailing the orthography of Webster's Dictionary, studiously conceal the fact that Prof. Goodrich, in the present revised edition, where general usage, the ultimate arbiter in all such matters—seemed not likely finally to adopt Dr. Webster's peculiarities, restored the old orthography, and where the two modes are in accordance with good usage gives both—thus he has center an, centre, defense and defence, and so the use of both is with the authority of Webster's Dictionary. The London Lexicons give a similar latitude in matters of pronunciation and orthography. In the language of the New York International—

"Dr. Webster attempted, and with eminent success, to reduce the English Language to order, and to subject it to the operation of principles." The soundness of his views is evidenced by the steady advance of his system in public favor, and the very general adoption already of its essential features.
Springfield, Mass., August, 1852.
G. & C. MERRIAM.

We may add, that at that very time, during the Macaulay controversy, it came out in the strongest proof, that the "best London Publishers" have no standard of their own, but employ sometimes one orthography and sometimes another. Their general usage, in some respects differs from Webster and Worcester both, as in the use of *u* in *honour*, and can we take English usage as a standard, when the English themselves have no uniformity? Besides, it is a well known fact, that the language is spoken with far greater purity in this country than in Great Britain as a whole. There the inhabitants of even adjacent countries—those of the poorer classes, at least, can hardly understand each other—much less be understood by a stranger. Not one in four of the adult population of the island, it has been stated, can read, and the purity as well as progress of the language, seem quite as safe in our keeping as in theirs.

Mr. Irving's practice was essentially Websterian, and we submit, it was honorable, just, fair-minded, and entirely consistent with what we might suppose in accordance with his wishes, to state precisely what he had said—that he regarded Webster "as an invaluable vade-mecum," only, when we could not state his theory of orthography, without, in justice to ourselves, stating his *practice*, and perhaps involving him in a public controversy, which he expressly deprecated.

But do the Publishers of Worcester adopt Mr. Irving's views, that it is not admissible to depart from London usage, in Orthography? But Worcester's Dictionaries recognize no such standard, and depart widely from London usage; and Mr. Worcester himself, in his preface to Todd's Johnson, in regard to Pronunciation very sensibly says, "Although the usage of the best society of London is entitled to more weight than that of any, other city with regard to the many millions who speak the English language; yet it is not the only circumstance to be considered. The usage of the best society of the particular country or district in which one resides, is not to be disregarded. We should have little respect for the taste of him who, if all with whom he was conversant, in the pronunciation of certain words, conformed to the analogy of the language, should deviate from it because he had learned that such was the practice in London."

But let us try these gentlemen by their own rule:—

The National Intelligence of April 19, 1852, says of Webster: "It is the Dictionary of all Dictionaries of the English language, full and precise, and is the book of all others essential to all professional men, all men of science, all printers, all Lexicons give a similar latitude in matters of pronunciation and orthography. The London Lexicons give a similar latitude in matters of pronunciation and orthography. In the language of the New York International—

lishers of Worcester's Dictionaries give an isolated *extract* from the above mentioned article not approving of *one mode* [where good usage sanctions two, Webster *now gives both* of] orthography employed by a New York publishing house, which mode, it is believed, is yet adopted by the great majority of our countrymen, and is daily gaining favor.—" *Suppressio veri,*" (c.)

This is about equal to preparing, or furnishing materials for, an assault upon Webster, in a Boston paper, and then quoting it gravely as the expression of the press!

"Hon. DANIEL WEBSTER does not 'follow Worcester.'—Some of his recently published works follow Dr. Webster, and others vary from him, as his different publishers incline. He has expressly declared his opinion, over his own signature, that Webster's is 'THE MOST COMPLETE, ACCURATE, AND RELIABLE DICTIONARY OF THE LANGUAGE.'"

"The works of Sparks, Bancroft, Bryant, &c., were mostly published before Worcester's large Dictionary was issued, and of course did not 'follow' it. Bryant says of Webster: 'It is a mine of philological research and erudition—a *Thesaurus* of the English Language.'"

But we do not deem it necessary to follow the thirty-five page pamphlet farther. If its publishers think it exactly in accordance with good taste, to circulate such statements as that "Webster was a weak, vain, plodding Yankee, ambitious to be an American Johnson, without one substantial qualification for the undertaking," when such men as Lord Brougham say of the AMERICAN DICTIONARY that "IT IS A NECESSITY TO EVERY EDUCATED MAN;" and Dr. Dick of Scotland, that "it is undoubtedly, the most complete Dictionary of the English language that has ever been published, and ages will elapse before any other dictionary of that language will be required. It is, in every respect, far superior to the folio editions of Johnson's Dictionary;" and Chancellor Kent, that "The American Dictionary of the English Language is a work of profound investigation, and does infinite honor to the philological learning and general literature of this country;" and numerous other equally ripe and distinguished scholars in both hemispheres, speak of it in terms not less commendatory:—when one million children in the United States open a new copy of Webster's Spelling Book every year, (that being its annual sale,) and the earliest literary associations of almost the entire generation now on the stage, native born, in this country, revert to this same little manual, and feelings of gratitude and regard for its venerated author spontaneously spring up with them; while in their maturer years, and with regard to his great work, they are proud to know that his fame extends over the globe, and is the common inheritance of their country,—we can only say, *chacum a son gout*,—no accounting for tastes.

We feel quite sure, however, such a course is not in accordance with the views and feelings of Mr. Worcester himself, courteous, dignified, and refined as we believe him to be; nor yet quite consonant with the course heretofore pursued by the publishing house in question.

What the public have to do with the matter, however, and what yourself and other intelligent teachers and friends of education desire, is to know which is the best English Dictionary to which to refer, and which to employ in the school-room. Permit us to state briefly, but we trust truly, the points of difference between Webster and Worcester. The three leading features of a good English Dictionary, it will be conceded, are, its *Defixions*, its *Orthography*, and its *Pronunciation*; and their importance is perhaps in the order named. Let us contrast the works in those features. What we say of Worcester, will be mainly from a discriminating Review of that work which appeared in one of our leading monthly periodicals soon after its publication.

## 1. WEBSTER IN ITS DEFINITIONS.

"So far as I know, there is an unanimity of opinion that Dr. Webster's is the BEST DEFINING Dictionary in the English language."—Hon. Horace Mann, late Secretary Board of Education for Massachusetts.

"Every scholar knows the value of a work, which has done so much to enlarge our acquaintance with the English vocabulary, both by the number of its words, and the ACCURACY AND EXTENT OF ITS DEFINITIONS."

"It far excels all other Dictionaries, so far as I know, in giving and DEFINING scientific terms."—Pres. Hitchcock, of Amherst College.

Hon. JOHN C. SPENCER, one of the most eminent jurists of the State of New York, under date of June 18, 1851, says of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary—

"IT IS UNQUESTIONABLY THE VERY BEST DICTIONARY OF OUR LANGUAGE EXTANT. It is a model of copiousness and precision; and its GREAT ACCURACY IN THE DEFINITION AND DERIVATION OF WORDS gives it an authority that no other work on the subject possesses. IT IS CONSTANTLY CITED AND RELIED ON IN OUR COURTS OF JUSTICE, in our legislative bodies, and in public discussions, as entirely conclusive."

"It is scarcely necessary to add that such a work is a treasure which can not be dispensed with by

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any one who would thoroughly understand and correctly use his mother tongue. It should be in
every school in our land, that our youth may not be obliged, as I have been, to unlearn the false pro-
nunciation, the unsound philology, and the erroneous definitions, which were taught me in my child-
hood."

WILLIAM RUSSELL, Esq., a distinguished teacher of Elocution, says—

"The extreme exactness, as well as the NUMBER, EXTENT, and FULLNESS of the DEFINITIONS which it furnishes to every important word, render it a mine of philological wealth to instructors."

Hon. Wm. B. CALHOUN says, [1847]—

"What distinguishes this Dictionary above all others is the THOROUGHNESS and ACCURACY of ITS DEFINITIONS; and this is the leading feature of a work. This is a department of learning which is singularly difficult; and very few excel in it. It requires uncommon clearness and comprehensive-ness of intellect. Definitions often lose their point by being overburdened with words. Dr. Webster was wonderfully happy in the use of language. And his DEFINITIONS ARE MODES OF CONDENSATION AND PURITY; and the careful study of them, as an intellectual exercise, may safely be recom-mended to the young, especially, as an important means of advancement in knowledge. There is great fullness, and great variety, in work, in the defining of words; and in this respect it might be called an Encyclopedia, presenting substantially the circle of the sciences."

"Webster's DEFINITIONS are unrivaled; the merit of the work in this respect is enough to settle its claims. He was the best etymologist that ever attempted to define our language."—National Magazine.

We might quote expressions like the above, and from the highest authority, almost without number.

Webster's superiority, in its DEFINITIONS, to all other English Dictionaries, we believe has never been contoverted, even by the warmest friends of Worcester.

Please refer to Prof. Porter's Argument, page 1, 2, on this head. Take now,

WORCESTER IN ITS DEFINITIONS.

Under this head, Mr. Worcester is very unequal. The definitions are usually correct, and under most words he gives most of the senses of which the word is capable, and in which it is used. But the words are defined more usually by a synonym than by descriptions, and synonyms and de-scriptions are strangely huddled together, with less regard to order than is desirable, and with little attention to the development of the meaning. All words have a primary and original sense, which is capable of being expressed by a definition that is logical. From this original meaning, the desired signification may be traced; and often, in the order of the origin and growth of each, to the perfe-cion of a definition, it is necessary that the meaning be clearly conceived, then that it be precisely expressed, and in such a way that the description will be true of this, and of no other words; and not that while it is true of this word, it is also true of many others; and last of all, the words of its variety and not that which is expressed according to the chronological and philosophical order of their develop-ment. It is owing to the care of the author that Dr. Webster has imposed on himself the ideal of a definition, that his dictionary so far surpasses every other; and it is this that has enabled it to fight its own way against some well-founded and more prejudiced opposition. We were impressed with the defini-ties of Mr. Worcester, when tested by this ideal, on a first and hasty glance at the work. We have had it confirmed by the testimony of an intelligent foreigner, very familiar with languages, and who has been in the habit of consulting dictionaries to gain clear and discriminating knowledge of words; and we were more deeply impressed with the deficiency when we compared a few words selected at hazard from Worcester and that Dr. Webster, and saw the contrast between the definitions. Accuracy of definition is essential to accuracy of thought. It exerts an important influence, also, on truth and hon-esty of character. Honest men are proverbially clear in their definitions. Demagogues and sophists rejoice in confusion of terms, and in vagueness of thoughts, words, definitions, propositions and reasonings. It ought to be stated that Mr. Worcester expressly affirms that, "with respect to Web-ster's Dictionary, which the compiler several years since abridged, he is not aware of having taken a single word, or the definition of a word, from that work, in the preparation of this." We think his work would have been improved had he allowed himself a little greater liberty.

We specify the following words as erroneously defined:

**Coupon**—"a dividend in a public fund or joint stock." The Dictionary of the Academy gives no such sense, but defines the word as it is used in England and this country, for small printed certificates of interest upon stocks, bonds, &c., which are cut off from time to time, to be pre-sented for payment.

**Hospice**—"A sort of hospital for monks." It is a religious establishment in the passes of the Alps, for the entertainment of travelers without expense.

**Perechloride**—"A compound of chlorine with phosphorus." A perchloride of gold would therefore be a compound of chlorine, phosphorus and gold. We need not say that a perchloride is a compound of chlorine with any substance, in which chlorine is combined in its highest possible proportion.

**Post note**—After giving the true sense of the word, Mr. W. adds another word, which we will be sent by post”—giving Bouvier authority. We doubt whether the word is ever used in this sense, or whether Bouvier has justified it.

We give also several instances of mere transcription, with manifest neglect to verify the thing transferred—sometimes doing injustice to the authority from whom the definition purports to have been derived, and in some instances contradicting himself under different heads.

**Heptandrian**—"Seven-fold masculine, or having seven stamens; heptandrous," giving Lindley for his authority. The termination in *ian*, in botany, was proposed by Dr. Webster, but never adopted by botanists. We find no such word in Lindley as heptandrian, and certainly he never gave it

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

11

definition, "seven-fold masculine." In like manner he gives Hexagynian—"six-fold feminine, or hav-ing six pistils;" ascribed also to Lindley.

Hexandrian is ascribed to Pen. Cyclopedia. Hexandrous, and not Hexandrian, is given under the article Botany.

Dodecandrian, Dodecagynias, are given as "twelve-fold masculine" and "twelve-fold feminine," on the authority of Smart, and he is probably entitled to the honor of this very original definition.

Seasonless, he derives from Byron—"having no seasons; unseasonably." The last definition is wholly aside from Byron's meaning, and defines an adjective by an adverb.

Euphism, Euphuist—Euphism is defined by Euphemism?! and Euphemism by Euphuism; and the Edinburgh Review and Scott are given as authorities. The editor certainly mistook the mean-ing of one of these words, if he had a clear view of either. Did he verify his mistake by a reference to his authorities? is given, on the authority of Quincy, as "an exudation from a bruise which indurates into a hard tumor." Quincy has no such word, nor is there any such in the language, and it is ob-vious, that somebody, from whom Mr. Worcester took the word, wrote garglion for gangleton.

Fortalice is defined a fortress, a citadel; and yet fortillage is defined "a little fort, a block-house," with the remark, "same as fortalice." If he had looked into Old Mortality, he would have found the fortalice of Scott was not the citadel, but an outwork. The fortalice is given, on the authority of Quincy, as "an exudation from a bruise which indurates into a hard tumor." Quincy has no such word, nor is there any such in the language, and it is ob-vious, that somebody, from whom Mr. Worcester took the word, wrote garglion for gangleton.

Fortalice seems to have been copied blindly from Smart, for goniometrical, as the definition plainly shows the word to be.

Flutelistic is defined, "one who treats of rivers." This word, in Geology, properly denotes one who accounts for the origin of certain strata, in a peculiar way.

Ephah is defined to be 15 cubic inches, which would be less than half a pint, and yet a *Hin*, which is the tenth of an Ephah, is defined as five quarts. The fact is that the Ephah contains, according to the lowest computation, nearly a bushel, and according to Gesenius a bushel and a half, or 2,600 Paris inches.

Homer is defined, "a Hebrew measure, of about 3 pints." It was almost the largest Hebrew measure, containing 10 baths, as stated in the Scriptures, or more than 70 gallons.

Kraal is "a rude hut or cabin of Hottentots, with conical or round tops." It is a village of such huts, never a single one.

Saddle-Cloth is defined, "A cover for a saddle;" if it ever means this, which we question, this is not the more common signification.

Reformed is vaguely and imperfectly defined. The Reformed Churches of the continent were a large body of churches, embracing the Swis, the Dutch, the French, and other communions which separated from Luther on the subject of the sacramental presence.

The words Ecbot and Telie are defined in a most vague and imperfect way. As applied to transitional particles, especially in sacred interpretation, they have a forcible and peculiar use which is only hinted at, and seems not to have been distinctly conceived.

Sophister is defined, "An undergraduate." But a freshman in the English university is also an undergraduate, but not a saphister.

Sophist is defined, as one of its meanings, "An undergraduate at the University of Cambridge, England; a saphister." Is sophist ever used in this sense? Soph. is the usual abbreviation.

Shingle is defined, a thin board to cover houses; a sort of tiling. This was designed for English readers, probably.

Neology—"A term applied to a new system of Interpretation of the Scriptures in Germany." How much information does this convey? Why not tell what system of interpretation?

Literacy-Men, in London, is defined, "A number of men belonging to the freemen of the ninety-one companies." &c. Why so vague? Instances like these might be given to an unlimited extent.—American Review.

2. WEBSTER IN ITS ORTHOGRAPHY.

Much misaprehension, and more misrepresentation, have been current with regard to Dr. Webster's system of Orthography:

"The English language has been singularly confused in its orthography. Dr. Johnson says that it is 'highly *irregular* and *fortuitous*.' Take any work printed two hundred years ago, as 'The Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth,' and we shall see numerous words, the spelling of which is far different from that now adopted. It is even uncoath and offensive to the eye. The same is true of the spelling of some words a half-century since. One reason is to be found in the genius of the Eng-lish people.

In the continent, academies of the learned take the matter in hand, fix the mode of spelling each word, and their dictation is obeyed by the educated, who are followed by the people. But in England and America, every man spells as he pleases. Authors take a fancy or caprice to spell, each a few words, after a peculiar fashion. Their example finds imitators, and the new spelling is adopted. Lexicographers, too, think they know more about such a matter than other men, and they propose such changes as seem to them advisable. By these two agencies, that of authors and lexicographers, great changes have been effected in the past and are still going on.

"Dr. Johnson proposed numerous changes, involving as great innovations as those charged on Dr. Webster. But the lexicographer can only propose, he can not enforce. Dr. Johnson found this true. Many of the changes proposed by him were not adopted by the public, and were abandoned in the later editions of his Dictionary. Since his time, other changes have crept in, by one by one. The leaven has been working, silently but surely."—Prof. Porter's Argument, p. 4.

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

Dr. Webster's main principle on this subject was, "that the tendencies of our language to greater simplicity and broader analogies, ought to be watched and cherished with the utmost care."—(Preface to 4to. Dictionary, p. viii.)—This tendency and progress have been recognized and acted upon for a long period. What would be thought of a man who should now attempt to make his orthography conform to that of Chaucer, for example? Dr. Webster omits the *k* from *maniac*, *logick*, &,c., and the *u* from *honour*, *favour*, &,c., and the British public are gradually conforming to the same method. The termination *re*, of French origin, which, in many words, conforming to the English pronunciation, has been changed to *er*, as *chamber*, *ciler*, &,c., Dr. W. carries through, as *center*, *meter*, &,c. There are two valid reasons for this; first, to carry out the change already begun, and secure regularity and some method, so as to facilitate the acquisition of the language by a foreigner and its ready mastery by our own children. And secondly, to indicate the pronunciation. As we say *ci-der*, not *sdr*, like the French, and *cham-ber*, not *shamr*, so we say *center*, not *sentr*. What propriety in spelling, as does Worcester, *metre*, *tre*, but *diameter*, a derivative, *ter*? Or, why, as he also does, *expense* and *expensive*, but *defence* (with *c*) and *defensive*, (with *s*?) And so of the other changes which Dr. W. suggested. He did not, as has been affirmed, assume to dictate what changes of this sort should be made, but only suggested, as certainly his long and earnest study and investigation of the subject entitled him to suggest, certain modifications, important in his opinion, to carry out existing analogies, and secure greater regularity.

The American public have, to a very great degree, sanctioned his principles. Worcester himself, not guided by any system or principles of his own, but seeking to fall in with the constantly changing practice of the hour, adopted some of them, and then, through his publishers, decifies the rest.

"It has been taken for granted that a fixed standard of spelling exists in England, to which we are bound to conform, and passionate appeals have been heard about corrupting the purity of English spelling. This is not the fact. No fixed way of spelling numerous words is known in England. The leading Reviews, the Quarterly and the Edinboro', spell many words in different ways in different numbers, and even in different articles of the same number. The same is the case with distinguished writers. Mr. Macaulay has his way of spelling certain words, which writes does not conform to that of the majority of the English writers. Walter Savage Landor, who writes pure and vigorous English, has methods still more diverse from this usage. Archdeacon Hare goes far beyond Webster in certain libaries which he takes. Worcester does not follow, nor does he represent, as to many words, the spelling most commonly received in England, but in these classes mentioned above, and also as to individual words, he adopts the peculiarities of Webster."—See Prof. Porter's Argument.

"It is also to be remembered that the spelling of the words to which any objection has been antiented, is given not in a single, but in a *double form*; so that a choice is left between the two. The person who opens to one of those words, finds it spelled after two methods, each of which is given in the same type, as they stand side by side. He is informed, indeed, that the lexicographer prefers and recommends one above the other; but he is also told, that there are those who spell the word after another method, and he can take his choice."

It is not surprising that gentlemen who received their educational training many years since, and became accustomed to the then prevalent modes of spelling, should not readily change their habits in that respect, however valid the reasons for a change. Yet, as with Mr. Irving, most persons, unless having bestowed particular attention to the subject, are not very systematic in their own practice, and if authors, their printer more frequently decides this point in their works.

The ridiculous parade of names of distinguished authors, who, it is affirmed, follow Worcester's orthography, will be appreciated, when it is remembered, that by far the largest proportion of the writings of nearly every one of those gentlemen appeared before Worcester's larger Dictionary was issued! So that instead of their "following Worcester invariably," Worcester, with no system or principles of his own, seeks to "follow" them. Its publishers say, "Take for instance, the works of Hon. DANIEL WEBSTER." Very well, Mr. Webster says, over his own signature, that Webster is

"THE MOST COMPLETE, ACCURATE AND RELIABLE DICTIONARY OF THE LANGUAGE."

In another letter to the publishers—

"Dr. Webster's Dictionary is a work of extraordinary merit and value."

And in another still—

"IT IS AN INVALUABLE WORK. I possess many dictionaries, and of most of the learned and cultivated languages, ancient and modern. But I never feel that I am armed and equipped in this respect, without Dr. Webster at command."

If he "follows" Worcester, therefore, it must be afar off.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

13

The leading Series of School Books issued in this country, conform to Webster's Orthography, and the periodical press and Book Publishers are more and more conforming to the same standard. We append a few testimonials on this point.

"The Orthography of several classes of words, instead of following cumbrous and obsolete modes of spelling, is conformod to the present usage of the best writers; and the definitions have a character of discrimination, copiousness, perspicuity, and accuracy, not found, we believe, in any other dictionary of the English language."

Leonard Emerson, Prof. Theological Sem., Andover. Moses Stuart, Prof. of Sac. Lit., Andover. Ralph Emerson, Prof. Eccl. Hist., Andover. L. Ives Hoadley, Teacher Sac. Rhet., Andover. Joshua Bates, D. D., President of Middlebury College. John Hough, Prof. Languages. William C. Fowler, Prof. Chem. and Nat. Hist., Middlebury College. Edward Turner, Prof. Math. and Nat. Philos., Middlebury College. Jeremiah Day, S. T. D., LL. D., Pres. Yale College. Simeon Baldwin, late Judge of the Superior Court. David Daggett, LL. D., Prof. Law, Yale College, and Judge Win, late Judge of the Superior Court. Benjamin Stillman, M. D., LL. D., Prof. Chem., &c., Yale College. Rev. Nathan-Superior Court. Benjamin Stillman, M. D., LL. D., Prof. Didactie Theology, Yale College. James L. Kingsley, A. M., Prof. Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, Yale College. Rev. Leonard Bacon, D. D. Denison Olmsted, Prof. Math. and Nat. Philos., Yale College."

"The principles of orthography adopted are such, on the whole, as are either allowed by good use, or are fast working their way into favor. The objections which have been felt and expressed against Webster's Dictionary we think have been fairly removed by the corrections of Professor Goodrich. In all other respects, it has never had a rival. In the completeness of the vocabulary, the fullness and precision of its definitions, its learned solution of the true source of words, and its apt and copious authorities, it is a work of amazing labor and scholarship, which has made English lexicography an entirely new thing. * * * * By far the cheapest, most beautiful, and most useful lexicon of our language that can be obtained."—Biblical Repository, January, 1848.

"There is no Dictionary but this of Webster's that can be adopted as a standard. We can not refrain from expressing a hope that our brethren of the type—by the printers and editors of newspapers especially—will adopt the ORTHOGRAPHY of Dr. Webster. In this respect, the printers have no standard. It is time they had."—Boston Courier, December 20, 1847.

"In ORTHOGRAPHY, the changes proposed by Dr. Webster, which have not been sanctioned by general adoption, and which seem to be too violent departures from the general spelling, have been judicially omitted, in the present revised edition, while real and important improvements have been wisely retained."

"Theodore Frelinghuysen, Chan. Univ. N. York. William H. Campbell, Editor N. Y. Dis. School Jour. George N. Briggs, Governor Mass. William B. Calhoun, Sec. State Mass. Richard S. Rust, Com. Com. Schools N. Hampshire. Theodore F. King, Sup. Schools N. Jersey. Robert C. Winthrop, Speaker U. S. House Rep. Edmund Burke, Com. Patents, John Young, Gov. New York. Christopher Morgan, Sec. State, and Sup. Com. Schools, N. York. Rev. Samuel H. Cox, D. D. Lyman Beecher, D. D., Pres. Lane Seminary. Calvin E. Stowe, D. D., Prof. Lane Seminary. D. D. H. Allen, Lane Seminary. Rev. Heman Humphrey, D. D., late Pres. Am. College. Rev. Ezra Kelley, D. D., Pres. Wittenburg Coll., Ohio. M. A. Diehl, Prof. Wittenburg Coll., Ohio. N. A. Gieger, Wittenburg Coll., Ohio. Benjamin Labaree, D. D., Pres. Middlebury College; and other distinguished gentlemen.

"Our readers are aware of our partiality for this work, for they must have perceived that we use our ORTHOGRAPHY without scruple. We are pledged to that, both because we approve it and, we confess, because of a little national prejudice for the work."—National Magazine for April, 1853.

## WORCESTER'S ORTHOGRAPHY

We have sufficiently adverted to. Following neither the English usage, nor the American Standard, it may properly be called the *hybrid* system, (see Webster on Hybrid)— neither fish nor flesh; not conformod to ancient custom, of good old Chaucer's day, nor yet the Elizabethan age; nor yet believing, with Webster, that "the tendency of our language to greater simplicity and broader analogies, ought to be watched and cherished with the utmost care."

## 3. WEBSTER—PRONUNCIATION.

"Two methods of pronunciation prevail in England, as in this country—the one, extreme, artificial, and affected, which is adopted by actors, and inculcated by some orthoepists and professed teachers, of elocution; the other, that which is in actual use among men of rank and cultivation, which is heard in Parliament, at the Bar, from the Pulpit, and in the circles of polite society. Of these methods, Walker represents the first, Webster the second. In proof of this assertion, I allege first of all, the testimony of Dr. Webster himself, who risked the whole of his little property, made a voyage to England, and resided there for the express purpose, among other objects, of learning by actual experiment and inquiry, what was the true pronunciation of the language by those who ought to be the standard. He had certainly no interest in being mistaken, or in insisting upon no-tions of his own on such a subject. I adduce also the testimony of Prof. Goodrich himself, who is known by all not to be deficient in nicety of taste, in accuracy of ear, or in the importance which he attaches to an elegant and finished elocution. Prof. Goodrich says in the MS. before me, *After a diligent study of the subject for the last thirty years, after visiting England with a view to satisfy my own mind by inquiries on the spot, after a correspondence with distinguished English scholars continued down to the present time, I feel authorized to say, that the Revised Edition of Dr. Webster's Dictionary does exhibit the actual pronunciation of our language in England, as accurately

14

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

and completely as any single Dictionary which has ever been published.' 'In the same edition im-
portant modifications have been likewise made, as the result of an extensive correspondence with
distinguished scholars in England and this country, bringing down the work to the year 1847.' 'It
may therefore be safely assumed, that Walker, in respect to his leading peculiarities, as enumerated
above, is NOT THE STANDARD OF PRONUNCIATION IN ENGLAND. As to the main body of words in
our language, there is no dispute. All orthoepists agree in respect to them, and Walker has drawn
out the rules and exceptions on this subject with prodigious labor. This has given him a deserved
early life; for Smart, a distinguished living orthoplist, says, 'Walker, I am informed, was a York-
shire man, and the information must be correct,' &c. They resulted also in part from his taking the
pronunciation of the stage and of fashionable life in London as his guide, and not the pronunciation
of the great body of well-educated men. [So that Walker's pronunciation is a cross from the cock-
ney dialect and the dialect of a Yorkshire man.] Peculiar circumstances have given him a reputa-
tion in this country far greater than he ever possessed in England. Two distinguished English gen-
tlemen (one of whom belonged to the nobility) were asked (by a gentleman of the highest literary
authority in Eastern Massachusetts) while traveling in this country, whether Walker was considered
in England as the standard of pronunciation. After hesitating for a moment and requesting that the
name might be repeated, they both frankly declared that 'THEY HAD NEVER SEEN HIS DICTIONARY,
OR HEARD IT SPOKEN OF AS AUTHORITY.' And yet school books of all sorts, from the spelling
and grammar of the school, have been brought into use in opposition to Webster's, on the sole ground that they
are based on Walker as a standard, and Worcester's chief peculiarity is, that he retains so much of
Walker.

"But on this subject we have the decision and incontestable testimony of facts. 'The Imperial
Dictionary,' to which I have before referred, is a large and expensive work, designed for extensive
circulation in England, and is professedly 'based upon Webster.' Upon its preparation much labor
has been bestowed, and it is designed, as its title implies, for circulation as the Dictionary of the Brit-
ish empire. A STRICT EXAMINATION OF THIS DICTIONARY SHOWS THAT THE PRONUNCIATION OF
WEBSTER IS RETAINED IN EVERY PARTICULAR, even in those in which Webster differs from the
prevailing English usage. Not only is this the case, but even Webster's NOTATION is adopted, and
figured type have been cast expressly for the work, like those used by him. This is not all. In a
long and elaborate Introduction, the editors present an extended argument, almost in Dr. Webster's
words, to show that Walker is not and never was authority in England. What argument is stronger
than that furnished by these facts? Is it credible that if Webster's pronunciation is defective or
vicious, if it fails to represent that in actual use in England, it is credible that it would be adopted,
notation and all, in a work that is to find its sale in England? This one fact must silence forever
these objections.

"The main differences between the pronunciation of Webster and that of Worcester, besides those
in which Worcester follows Walker, are, that Worcester attempts to indicate nice and interme-
diate shading of the vowel sounds, and also the sounds of the unaccented syllables. A foreign
resident who has given attention to all the languages of continental Europe, and is qualified to
judge, has told me repeatedly, that there are twenty different sounds of a, distinguishable by his
car, as uttered in different English words. These changes of sound can not be indicated by any nota-
tion. Worcester attempts to much. His system is complex. It can not easily be understood, re-
membered, and spoken, and will require perpetual confusion, and ask now exists in actual practice.
In the schools in which it is applied. Webster has the good sense to attempt no more than can be easily
applied, and which, if used, will guide the scholar aright. In confirmation of all these remarks, I ad-
duce the unexpected testimony, in the words of Dr. Webster, of the edition of the Imperial Diction-
ary," (Introduction, p. xlv.)

"We are persuaded that there are ten differences among the orthoepists, where there is one in the
actual pronunciation of respectable people in England; and in most of them the notation, if strictly
followed, will lead to ten differences of pronunciation where one only now exists in actual practice.

"This effect of multiplying doubts and diversities has resulted from very obvious violets.

"1. The limited acquaintance of orthoepists with the general usage, and their taking the pronun-
ciation of London or some dialect or local practice in that city, for the best usage.

"2. The difficulty or rather impracticability, of representing sounds, and nice distinctions of
sound, on paper; especially in unaccented syllables.

"3. The partiality of authors for the practice of particular speakers, either stage-players or others,
which would lead them to denominate that the best practice which had been adopted by their favor-
ites.

"4. A spirit of fastidious hypercriticism, which has led writers to make minute distinctions, that
are liable to be disputed, and which tend only to perplex the inquirer, and generate uncertainty or
diversity, when no essential difference had previously existed in practice."—Prof. Porter's Argument.

WORCESTER—PRONUNCIATION.

"This subject the compiler has painfully elaborated, and the results are placed at the command of
the reader. He has not merely given the results of his own investigations and inquiries, by indica-
ting what he supposes to be the usage of those esteemed as authorities; nor has he, where authori-
ties are divided, and as it were, equally balanced, given the two or three methods, with the authority
on which each depends; but he has collected and attached to every important word, every method
well-informed, judicious or affected. In this way he has gathered more curious information on this
subject than can be found in any other work; which will be highly esteemed by all literary antiqua-
tes, students of the 'curiosities' of English pronunciation, and hunters after odd ways of affected
utterance. We doubt the propriety or the good taste, however, of attaching this variety to a diction
ary designed for common use; a dictionary which, from its size and pretensions, is intended to an

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

15

swer questions directly and briefly to the popular mind, rather than to be a thesaurus of the materi-
als from which opposite uses may be defended, and nice questions may be laboriously adjusted.
What is wanted in such a dictionary is the good usage of educated and sensible people in England
and America—not the ultra and impracticable affectations of the *salon*, nor the stiff and studied over-
doing of the actor, or the professed doctor of pronunciation; not the refined nor the coarse cockneyisms
of the cit, nor again the negligent and vulgar provincialisms of Old or New England; but the act-
ual use of the intelligent and refined who speak the English language. Greater deference is to be
yielded to English usage, under certain circumstances, than to the American, but not to such an ex-
tent as is sometimes claimed; least of all is that which is not the English usage of the truly intelli-
gent and judicious to be insisted on, because it is observed by the affected Englishman. To do this,
as was done by Walker, and as is done to a limited extent by Worcester, is to commit the mistake of
the importer of the latest fashion, who gives the coat, the cravat, the hat or the boots, of the London
dandy, rather than those of the English gentleman. If we are to err in either direction, we had
better err from provincial ignorance than from mistakes of affected imitators. Let our errors be
those of well-meaning but simple rustics, rather than those of the *traveled fool*.”—*American Review*.

Prof. Goodrich remarks, in his Preface to the revised edition of Webster Unabridged,
that "in the progress of these labors, the Editor has been frequently struck with the wis-
dom of Dr. Webster in not attempting too much as to marking the pronunciation." You
will be struck with this in noticing Worcester's method. He marks, usually, every vowel,
But nearly or quite one-half of the vowels so marked, have the character under them,
to signify that its sound is *obscure*, i. e., the author could not describe it. Open to any
page: —*Nar-row-ly*—the short—o and y *obscure*; *na-tiv-ity*, i short, a, second i and y
obscure. And so through the book. Now why attempt to mark at all, letters, the exact
sound of which you are confessedly unable to give? Does not this perplex, and not en-
lighten the learner?

Worcester often gives, as his first pronunciation, one *not* in accordance with the best
usage. Thus for *ink*, *thank*, *frank*, &c., he gives *ing*, *thangk*, *frangk*—introducing a
vitiated pronunciation; for *shone*, *shon*, for *clerk*, *klark*, &c.

"From land to land it glanced, from zone to zone,
Gladdened each heart, in full effulgence shon."

"Toiling, toiling at his work,
Decent, delving, dapper klark."

The sun *shon* brightly upon the vast *kongkors*, and the cheers of the assemblage went
up like *frankinsens* to the excited orator, as he *thangkt* them for their attention, and ex-
horted them faithfully to *qy-ard* their liberties; that our beloved country might be a *qy-ide*
to the oppressed, and a light to *manky-iad*, and the *klark* below, dipping his pen in his *ingk*,
*frankly* declared his inability to follow the speaker in his pronunciation *a la* Worcester.

4. THE VOCABULARY.

It is claimed for Worcester that its vocabulary has great copiousness. Here, certainly,
originality, if no other merit, may be claimed.

"It may be proper to notice for a moment the kind of words which are included in this
vocabulary. Take the following as specimens of hundreds if not of thousands. Notelet,
Epistolet, Impossibilification, Deathify, to Facsimile, Rumguttious, Circumbendibus,
Cantankerous, Dandify, Dritpie, Defectionist, Dyssilabification, Sraukey, Scriggle, Scrimp-
tion, Scruff, Shopocracy, Squirearchy, Transmogrification, Fiddlefaddler, Grammation,
Sapientize, Squeezeable, Thundery, Unstrangulable, Unleisuredness, Wegotism, Weism,
Pish-Pash, Perfectionation, Jiggumbob, Intersomnious, Potentiate, Perfectibilian, Senten-
tiosity, Melliloquent, Unsufficingness, Widowerhood, Scrimption, Polysyllabicism, Scrib-
lement, Unindifferency, Inopportunity, Solivagous. Many more might be added."

"That the public may become acquainted with the vocabulary of Worcester in all its
richness, "the following illustration is taken from that judicious paper, the Boston Mer-
cantile Journal":—

"I read with interest the *seriblement* of 'Amen' in the Daily Journal of the 11th, in
which he justly exposes Dr. Webster as a *rumguttious* and *pretenious* Innovationist in
spelling. His arguments are somewhat incoherent, but their *strengthfulness* must show
the unsufficingness of Dr. W.'s pretensions to be a *perfectibilian*, and must render them
*uninfluencle* upon the shopocracy of the North, and the *plantocracy* and *squirearchy* of
the South. The writer has done well to *guardianize* the public against the *transmogrifi-
cation of plough into plow*, as spelled by the *imperiwiged* Dr. Johnson. The *modifica-
bility* of English spelling into any *perfectionation*, could only be thought of by a *sonni-
atice professionalist*, and an *intersonnious* inspirationist. To regularize and *sapientize* our
*grammatication*, must *territorialize* and *sectionize* the universal Yankee nation, and render

16

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

their dialect *solieagous*, and end in the *impossibilification* of a *voyageable* politicalism. I
hope your correspondent will take another *circumbendibus* to *deathify* Dr. Webster, as it
will enable me to *marvellize* and *soberize* the public by another selection of *melliguent*
words, such as those in Italics, all which are drawn from that incorrupted fountain of pure
English, Worcester's Dictionary.
FIDDLE-FADDLER.

P. S. Transcribbers, who appropriate such solemn appellations as *Amen*, should not forget to inform the public, that in the new edition of Webster's Dictionary, the spelling is, in most instances, given in the usual as well as the new form, to avoid the objections of *researchful illiberalism*.

If the views we have presented to you on the different points in which the two systems of Webster and Worcester are in contrast, are in the main correct (and we are sure they are essentially so)—if Worcester abounds in unauthorized words in his Vocabulary, if his Definitions fail in completeness, precision, and accuracy, if his Orthography is without system, and his Pronunciation sometimes affected—need we ask, which series of Dictionaries will an intelligent teacher or parent, desire to place before the pupils or children of his charge? We know your own views. We have reason to feel assured, also, that they are the unbiased and unrejudiced views of the great mass of teachers through the country.

We only solicit a full and candid investigation as to the merits of Webster's Dictionaries, and that impressions be not too readily taken from the distorted caricatures and untruthful misrepresentations of researchful illiberalism, and "interested parties." A Dictionary, of all other human literary productions, is, necessarily but an approximation to accuracy and completeness, and of course is a fair subject of candid criticism. Then, too, on some points the opinions of educated men are diametrically opposed—some ultra conservative, utterly rejecting all progress; others in the opposite extreme of radicalism. When, however, the opponents of Webster shall be able to point to an English Dictionary, better, as a whole, than his, it will be time enough for them to decry the American lexicographer. It is at present the general judgment of the English and American public that this can not be done.

We would say, in conclusion, that we should think it a very poor mercantile principle, to
decry the wares of others, to secure a market for our own; certainly, Dr. Webster's works
do not require the practice of any literary quackery of this sort. Nor can it be deemed a
very high order of criticism, to throw into one paragraph, in strange juxtaposition, a con-
fused mass of words from a Dictionary, peculiar for their orthography or pronunciation.
It may "make the unthinking laugh, but the judicious grieve." Yet you will notice from such
arts the kind of criticism to which Dr. W's works are subjected.

We will only add that the *DEFINITIONS* in Webster's *SCHOOL DICTIONARIES* are taken from his large work, and combine the same excellences, in this and other features, as does the latter.

Truly yours,

G. & C. MERRIAM.

We briefly recapitulate the points which go to substantiate the fact that we have,

A NATIONAL STANDARD!

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY.

THE ENTIRE WORK UNABRIDGED.

WHY IT IS THE STANDARD WORK OF THE LANGUAGE.

1. It contains *THREE TIMES* the matter found in any other English Dictionary compiled in this country; and yet, in the language of an eminent critic, "its definitions are models of CONDENSATION and PURITY." Its vocabulary of authorized words is more complete than any other.

Of Worcester's Dictionary (hardly more than one-fourth the size of Webster's) a ripe scholar re-
marks: "Much has been said of the copiousness of his vocabulary. It may be proper to notice the
kind of words which are included in this. Take the following as specimens of hundreds, if not of
thousands. Notelet, Epistolet, Impossibilitation, Deathify, To Facsimile, Rumgumitions, Circum-
hendibus, Cantankorous, Dandify, Dirtpie, .. Defectionist, Dyssyllabification, Seranky, Scriggle,
Scrimption, Scruff, Shopoency, Squirearchy.

2. In its *Definitions* (the object for which, nine cases in ten, reference is made to a Dictionary) it is universally conceded to be superior to every other. In this respect, Dr. Webster stands unrivaled and alone; while in Worcester, "the meaning is more commonly conveyed by a loose and general

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

17

description, and then a number of words, nearly equivalent follow." Erroneous or false definitions, also, into which Dr. Webster was led, in his first editions, but subsequently corrected in the present *REVISED EDITION*, are found in Worcester; as "*Post-Note*" Webster defined, originally "a bank-note transmitted by mail," or *post*; so Worcester, "a cash note to be sent by *post*"—a sense in which the word is never used; a *post-*note being a note payable *posterior* to, or after, its date.

3. Its *Pronunciation* more truly represents established good usage, in this country and Great Britain, than any other. In the *Imperial Dictionary*, a work of the highest authority, recently published in London, *THE PRONUNCIATION OF WEBSTER* IS RETAINED *IN EVERY PARTICULAR*; even Webster's *notation* is adopted, and figured type have been cast expressly for the work, like those used by him.

Worcester often gives, as his first pronunciation, one *not* in accordance with the best usage. Thus, for ink, thank, frank, he gives *ingk*, *thangk*, *frangk*—introducing a vitiated pronunciation; for shone, shon, for clerk, *klark*, &c.

4. In *Orthography*, Dr. Webster's system, as contained in our Revised Edition, is followed by a very great proportion of the Spelling Books, Reading Books, and Elementary Works, used in the schools throughout the United States. Where good usage sanctions more than one form—as *center*, *centre*, *defense*, *defense*—both are given. Worcester himself has followed Dr. Webster in spelling *manie*, *logic*, &c., without a *;* favor, *flavor*, &c., without a *;* and now his publishers vify the name of Webster, and seek to detract from the reputation of his Great National Work. Hon. DANIEL WEBSTER does *not* follow Worcester." Some of his recently published works follow Dr. Webster, and others vary from him, as his different publishers incline. He has expressly declared his opinion, over his own signature, that Webster's is "THE MOST COMPLETE, ACCURATE, AND RELIABLE DICTIONARY OF THE LANGUAGE."

Washington Irving repudiates Worcester, since he declares London usage is his standard, which varies greatly from Worcester. A full and satisfactory reply was made to a letter of Mr. Irving, recently published, and no right-minded man would refuse to accompany the one with the other. The works of Sparks, Bancroft, Bryant, &c., were mostly published before Worcester's large Dictionary was issued, and of course did not "follow" it. Bryant says of Webster: "It is a mine of philosophical research and erudition—a *thecaurus* of the English Language."

5. In its *Etymologies*, Webster is conceded to be superior to every other work.

6. Its pre-eminence over every other English Dictionary is admitted in GREAT BRITAIN, and all other countries than our own, where the English Language is spoken. The proof of this is ample. There have recently appeared in England three new Dictionaries, all of which have borrowed very largely from Webster. The "Imperial," the most elaborate and costly, issued in two volumes of one thousand pages each, is not only based upon it, but boldly avows the success in its prospectus. It is in truth a mere *reprint* of the second edition of Webster; and the editor, in his Introduction, remarks, that the propriety of doing this "will be obvious, when we reflect that it is ACKNOWLEDGED, BOTH IN THIS COUNTRY AND IN AMERICA, TO BE THE MOST COPIOUS AND MOST EXCELLENT AT PRESENT IN CIRCULATION." Worcester's is of no authority there, never cited, and almost wholly unknown.

7. The same is hardly less elliptically true in this country. In *MASSACHUSETTS*, where Worcester was compiled and published, the Legislature having offered to each School District, with no cost to the District in either case, and nothing to control its choice but the merits of the works, a copy of Webster or Worcester, at its option, *THREE THOUSAND AND FIFTY-FIVE* of the Districts, within the first few months, ordered *WEBSTER*, and but one hundred and five took Worcester—THIRTY to one selecting Webster as their *STANDARD WORK*.

In *NEW YORK*, legislative provision having been made for a similar measure, nearly *NINE THOUSAND* copies of Webster have been ordered. Worcester was not only proposed or thought of.

8. The State Superintendent in the Union has recommended Webster in the strongest terms.

> We regret that gratuitous and unprovoked assaults by interested parties, upon Dr. Webster's labors, which have conferred national honor upon us abroad, render necessary statements of facts of a controversial character.

9. New and Revised Editions of Webster's School Dictionaries have recently been issued, in handsome style, with tables of Geographical, Scripture, and Greek and Latin Proper Names, forming the best PRONUNCIING and DEFINING School Dictionaries of the Language.

10. Dr. Webster's Educational Works, it is believed, have done more to secure the uniformity of Pronunciation and use of language, and freedom from Provincialisms, so remarkable in this country, especially when the great influx of foreigners from all nations is considered, than any other cause.

11. The attention of the friends of popular education, superintendents, teachers, and parents, is solicited to the importance of perpetuating this purity by the use of such a NATIONAL STANDARD.

G. & C. MERRIAM,

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.,

Publishers of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.

We take the following from a letter recently received from a distinguished teacher in Eastern Massachusetts:—

" April 13, 1853.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM,

GENTLEMEN: — * * * * ** I have no doubt of its being the *Dictionary* of the English Language, when Worcester shall be remembered only as an *unworthy* and *unjust* speculation of the past.

Webster's Spelling Book was the class book of my earlier days, and the memory of it is still pleasant, from the Frontispiece, with its Temple of Knowledge, to "Finis."

In later years I came in possession of Webster's smaller School Dictionary, and the feeling of exultation with which I looked over its pages is with me yet. In the language of a justly celebrated teacher of New Hampshire, there was no "*tshuing*" then, but simple

3

18

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

common sense, founded on the use and derivation of the words, in spelling and pronunciation.

Some fourteen or fifteen years since I looked over Webster's Octavo Dictionary with MARSHALL S. RICH, Esq., (for more than twenty-five years an eminently successful teacher in Newton Center, Mass.,) and he selected something more than one hundred words, I should think, the spelling of which was simplified, as compared with Walker, and sent them to the Editor of the 'Boston Cultivator,' and they appeared in the columns of that paper, with a note commending Webster's Dictionary. (I think I am right in the name of the paper. I know I am in the fact.)

About that time or soon after, I heard of Worcester's Dictionary. The story came to me thus, viz.—that Worcester was at once the pupil and assistant of Webster, and seeing that he, Webster, had taken a step in advance of the age, though not in advance of truth, and also that Walker was "behind the time," treacherously went to work, catering to the Walkerian taste of the day, and produced this "bastard dictionary."

Since then, year after year I have watched the unscrupulous measures with which the Publishers of Worcester have pressed their claims to public attention and patronage. Striving to defame the fair renown of Webster in their flagitious attempts to 'fill their pockets' by foisting a comparatively worthless book upon the public. Editions of all sizes, all prices, and no prices have been scattered through the community, placed in the hands of teachers, committees, &c., in order to get them introduced into schools.

* * * I am not of age in the school-keeping business, yet, as this is but my eighth year of teaching (not 21st,) six of which I have passed in connection with the Public High School in this place.

* * * * The 'whining' of Worcester's advocates is with regard to the spelling and pronunciation of a few words, which use is every year rendering nearer and nearer, and will soon completely render, Websterian, for the road to reach it is nothing in comparison to that already passed. And in defining, Webster is infinitely pre-eminent. When you touch on this point, they are either mum, or yield the point at once.

Respectfully and truly yours,

"Webster's Dictionary," the entire work unabridged, in 1 vol, crown quarto, of one thousand four hundred and fifty-two pages, containing the last improvements of Dr. Webster, and the additions of Professor Goodrich. Our readers are aware of our partiality for this work, for they must have perceived that we use its Orthography without scruple. We are pledged to that, both because we approve it, and, we confess, because of a little national prejudice for the work. Webster's definitions are unrivalled; the merit of the work in this respect is enough to settle its claims; he was the best etymologist that ever attempted to define our language. Such provincial words as are necessary to Dictionary readers, have been admitted into the present edition with proper discriminations. Some of Webster's more violent orthographical peculiarities have been omitted.

"This is now the acknowledged standard of the English language, wherever spoken. England has laid aside her great Johnson for the American Webster. The English press generally, has admitted the 'American Dictionary' to be the best extant. Dr. Thomas Diek, than whom no living or modern transatlantic writer, is better known, or more generally read, in this country, says, 'This Dictionary is undoubtedly the most complete Dictionary of the English language that has been published, and *ages will elapse* before any other Dictionary of that language will be required.' He declares it in every respect far superior to Johnson's large Dictionary. It is indorsed and strongly recommended by the most eminent names which adorn American literature. It ought to obtain a universal circulation. Every school-house, academy and college, every professional office, every reading room, every library in the land, should contain a copy of Webster's large Dictionary. All who aspire to speak or write the English language with accuracy and force, will find this work an indispensable auxiliary. To the young who are aiming at self-culture and self-im-

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

19

provement, it will be of the greatest value. A constant and careful reference to it will tend to form intellectual habits of much importance, as to accuracy, discrimination, and condensation of thought; for the work is remarkable for these properties, as well as for purity of language. Nor is it merely a book of words, as young people sometimes imagine a Dictionary to be. It is, in fact, an encyclopedia of knowledge, 'All young persons,' says the Phrenological Journal, "should have a standard Dictionary at their elbow; and while you are about it, get the best; that Dictionary is Noah Webster's—the great work unabridged. If you are too poor, save the amount from off your back, to put it into your head.' This is true doctrine. If you do not mean to spell wrong, read wrong, speak wrong, write wrong—go halting and blundering intellectually, as long as you live—buy WEBSTER'S LARGE DICTIONARY; and when you have it, use it."

"NOAH WEBSTER, the best orthoepist and linguist of his age in this country, and perhaps without a superior in these departments in Europe, spent the greater part of a long and industrious life, in arranging and perfecting this master-work. Since the author's death, in 1843, it has been carefully examined, revised and stereotyped; and as now presented to the American people, is confessedly without an equal as a definer, in amplitude and correctness. In its way as a book, it stands out bold and prominent to the American mind, and to the learned world, without a comparable rival—aptly symbolizing in many respects the greatness and superiority of the country from which it emanates; for as this country in coming time promises to exert a controlling influence in shaping and molding the political destinies of the world—so this book will, we think, over the same minds exert its power in reducing to a harmonious unity of language and speech the 'confusion of tongues' which now exists."

* * * "But, of Dictionaries, what one? We have been educated in the contempt and horror of Noah Webster's on the ground that it is an innovation; that it makes havoc of the fine old language of Shakspeare and Milton, of Bacon and Hooker, and all the rest of those old worthies. * * * But we have noticed more and more, during the last twelve or fifteen years, that not only in this country, but wherever the English language is spoken, most of the changes that were advocated by Webster, have been gaining in authority and becoming THE STANDARD METHOD OF SPELLING. This has given us occasion to reconsider the notions of our early training. * * * Our good opinion of the work has so grown on acquaintance that it is only inadvertence, at moments when we have had opportunity, that has prevented us from purchasing a copy of it. * * * We have spent some few hours in examining it, and have found some of our remaining objections to it as a standard, very satisfactorily answered."

From the Ladies' Repository, (Meth. Book Room.) Cincinnati, May, 1852.

## 'Get the Best.'

## DICTIONARY,

**NOAH WEBSTER'S,**

20

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

"We believe we shall be certain of doing a service to the people of the State, if we say a word or two upon the Unabridged Quarto Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster. The word UNABRIDGED *has been purposely employed, because if such a work is wanted for any but the very lowest uses—those of mere orthography, or orthoepit—it can not be too copious and comprehensive.* When one is ignorant of the proper and precise powers of a word, he can not endure to be turned over to an abridgment that gives him a SYNONYM, instead of a definition; but he demands to know as much as *anybody knows* of its history or etymology, and its different shades of meaning. Then only can he employ it with confidence and effect, as a mighty weapon for the expression of intellect or passion."—Newark Daily Advertiser, March 25, 1851.

"A Dictionary is the last book which a scholar ever wants to have *abridged*, the process being sure to cut off THE VERY MATTER WHICH HE MOST VALUES."—*Chro-notype*.

### ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE.
—"We must pay this compliment to Webster's QUARTO DICTIONARY,—it contains scientific terms not to be found in any other work, and we have often been surprised to find that it contained full and clear definitions of many technical phrases, which we thought had never been outside of the workshop. It is a real Encyclopedia of Science, for it not only gives the definitions of scientific terms, but describes the nature of many chemical actions, and the operation of many machines. In its unabridged present form, it is complete, and no man pretending to scientific knowledge can be without it. In Chemistry, Architecture, Geology, Engineering, Mechanics, &c., &c., it is full and accurate, and is not only essential to the student in science, but to the most erudite philosopher. We are proud of this work as an American production; it is certainly gratifying to know and feel that England looks to America as having now produced the standard work of the English language."—*Scientific American*, Oct. 4, 1851.

"WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY.—Everybody knows about Webster's Dictionary, and every man, woman, and child, ought to have access to it.

It will tell you everything in regard to your mother tongue, which you want to know. It shows you the words in all their aspects—giving you a sort of history of each individual, that is in any way worthy of attention—developing their powers and delineating their features and general appearance so precisely, that the unlearned will remember them, after the first sight, and know who they are and what they are, whenever he meets them. A MAN WHO WOULD KNOW EVERYTHING, OR ANYTHING, AS HE OUGHT TO KNOW, MUST OWN WEBSTER'S LARGE DICTIONARY. It is a great light, and he that will not avail himself of it, must walk in darkness. Every young housekeeper should lay it in, to occupy the place which was formerly filled with decanters and wine glasses.

Lay it upon your table by the side of the Bible—it is a better expander than many which claim to be expounders.

It is a great labor-saver—it has saved us time enough in one year's use to pay for itself; and that must be deemed good property, which will clear itself once a year. If you have any doubt about the precise meaning of the word clear, in the last sentence, look at Webster's thirteen definitions of the v. t."—*Massachusetts Life Boat*, April 28, 1852.

"Umsunduzi, Pori Natal, March 11, 1852."

To MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM:

Dear Sirs,—The four copies of Webster's Quarto Dictionary which you had the great liberality to forward to the South African Mission, by the Secretaries of the American Board, were duly received some months since, and by appointment of the Mission, I have the honor and pleasure to acknowledge them, and to say to you that we are under many obligations for so many copies of a *most invaluable work*.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

21

His Honor, the Lieutenant Governor, a reputed scholar, calling upon us more than a year since, saw the work, admired, and at once ordered a copy for his own use. About a month since one of the civil magistrates inquired of me where and how he could obtain a copy for himself. And only last week the Honorable the Secretary to Government, a man of much maturity in both years and knowledge, passing a day or two with us, referred several times to Webster's Quarto Dictionary as the highest standard and indisputably the best work of the kind in the English language. Its general merits and marked excellences are too well known and acknowledged to require of me any enumeration, had I the time to make it.

I will only add a word of my own experience. In 1841, while a student at Yale, having at command only eighteen dollars, and not knowing when or where I could obtain more, I paid five-sixths of what I had for Webster's Dictionary, in two volumes octavo; and dear as it was and with some defects, I can say, after ten years' study and labor, that, save my Bible, I never bought a book to me cheaper, better, or more useful.

May every American youth and son of Britain, and every man of letters of every nation, soon have access to it, and become, for the most part, possessors of it. Such is my wish and expectation. Every missionary, every statesman, every man of science and literature, of extensive commerce and true religion, of whatever nation, who knows its value, conducts his own interest, and studies to be useful, will endeavor to obtain it, and will find it an invaluable companion in all his pursuits. It has already found its way into the darkest parts of the world, and is exerting a silent, but steady, elevating and powerful influence, directly or indirectly, upon the mind, character and language of every nation under the sun.

LEWIS GROUT."

The article (from which an extract is given below) is from the pen of one of our most accurate scholars, acute observers, and devoted friends to schools. [Professor E. D. Sanborn, of Dartmouth College.] *Granite Farmer*, (Manchester, N. H.) Nov. 19, 1851.

"About a year ago, Mr. Merriam, one of the publishers of Webster's Quarto Dictionary, gave to the writer an order for a copy of that work, to be used in some school under my eye, by way of experiment. I took the dictionary and placed it in a tuition school, in the village, composed of pupils varying in age, from four to eighteen years. I visited the school and informed the pupils that the book should be at their service if they would make good use of it. I also expressed a wish that all the scholars who could write, should keep lessons, of whose meaning they were in doubt, and hold themselves in readiness to report to their teacher, at any time, the number of words they had thus had occasion to look out to their teacher, at the same time. This plan was adopted, and most of the pupils found a use for the new in the dictionary. This plan was adopted, and most of the pupils found a use for the new book. The older scholars consulted it quite often, so that there were, sometimes, a number of petitioners at the same time. The dictionary has now been used three terms, and the interest in it is unabated. The pupils have become more interested in finding every word they do not understand. They read with a more intelligent appreciation of their author, and understand better the subjects studied in their text-books. I am satisfied, from this trial, that Webster's Dictionary might be very profitably introduced into all our district schools.

It is very easy to call forth the ambition of a whole school by encouraging the use of common-place books for recording both the words which are not understood, and their definitions. Let it be understood, that these little books are to be exhibited at the examination of the school, and that pupils will be questioned as to the meaning of words which they have recorded in their own books, and there will be no want of interest in using the book. Let it be understood to be highly commendable in every pupil not to pass one word in his lesson which he could not define; and when one member of a class fails to explain a word he has used, let that word be put to all the class, or in case of failure there, to the whole school, and the interest in the book will become so great that instead of one copy, a dozen will be wanted for the use of the school. No one who has examined Webster's Quarto Dictionary can doubt the utility of frequent reference to it. It is almost an Encyclopedia, as well as a book of definitions."

22

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

"WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY. We learn from the *Farmer's Cabinet*, of Amherst, N. H., that Hon. CHARLES G. ATHERTON has given a considerable sum to the poor of that town, and has also presented all the school districts with a copy of Webster's royal quarto Dictionary.

If other gentlemen of abundant means in other States would emulate the laudable example of Hon. Mr. Atherton, by presenting to every school district in New England, a copy of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, which has become the standard in Europe and America, the rising generation would have abundant cause to prefix the title of 'Honorable' to the name of each such donor, and each could wear it through life with a consciousness that such title was not misapplied."—*Boston Real Estate Advertiser*, April 2, 1853.

Again, Language has been a gnarled and tangled web, that none could unravel and straighten well, until a *Webster* arose to accomplish the task. Others only made the tangled web the worse, or broke and tore it into shreds and patches, but our *Webster* has analyzed and synthetized it, has unraveled and woven the web into warp and woof, into a beautiful pattern. Noah Webster's Dictionaries are the standard spellers and definers of the English language the world over—soon to be the Court Language of the world."

The *National Intelligencer* of April 19, 1852, says of Webster: "It is the *Dictionary of all Dictionaries of the English language, full and precise*, and is the book of all others essential to all professional men, all men of science, all printers, and, indeed, every man who understands the force of words, and the importance of an accurate and perfect knowledge of the vehicle of his own ideas and of the thoughts of others."

The Board of Education of New Hampshire, at a recent session, [April, 1853.] voted to recommend *Webster's School Dictionaries* for the use of the common schools of New Hampshire.

### ADDITIONAL TESTIMONY FROM THE BOSTON TEACHERS.

In addition to the letters already given from Messrs. PHILBRICK, PARKER and SHEPARD, we are now permitted to subjoin the following:—

From THOMAS SHERWIN, Esq., Principal of the English High School, Boston, and author of a popular treatise on Algebra.

"Boston, April 26, 1853."

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM,

GENTLEMEN:—I regard WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY as a highly valuable work, and an essential one to every critical scholar; and I think that a copy of it should be accessible to the pupils of all our District, Grammar, and High Schools.

Respectfully Yours, THOMAS SHERWIN."

From WILLIAM H. SEAVEY, Esq., Principal of the Eliot School, Boston.

"Boston, May 10, 1853."

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM:—I am happy to express my full concurrence in Mr. PHILBRICK'S favorable opinion of *Webster's Unabridged Quarto Dictionary*. I subscribe to this opinion after more than four years' experience and observation of the effects of its use, in and out of the school-room.

Yours,

WILLIAM H. SEAVEY."

WEBSTER'S
QUARTO DICTIONARY.

THE ENTIRE WORK, UNABRIDGED,
IN ONE VOLUME, CROWN QUARTO OF 1452 PAGES;

Containing THREE TIMES the matter found in any other ENGLISH DICTIONARY compiled
in this country, or in any Abridgment of this work, and yet "Its Definitions
are models of Condensation and Purity."—Hon. Wm. B. Calhoun.

REVISED BY PROF. C. A. GOODRICH, OF YALE COLLEGE.

PUBLISHED BY
G. & C. MERRIAM, SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

TESTIMONIALS.
FROM PRESIDENTS OF COLLEGES,
And Professors in those and other Literary Institutions.

1. From President WAYLAND of Brown University, Providence, R. I.

"It gives me great pleasure to state, that I have made use either of your Quarto or Octavo Dictionary, ever since the time of their publication; and that for copiousness, for exactitude of definition, and adaptedness to the present state of science and literature, they seem to me to be the most valuable works of the kind that I have ever seen in our language. In the general principles of Orthography and Pronunciation, which you have adopted, I also concur, and shall endeavor hereafter to conform to them in practice.
FRANCIS WAYLAND."

2. From President DAY, of Yale College, President BATES, of Middlebury College, and eleven Professors in those Institutions.

"The etymological department throws new and striking light on the history of language; the vocabulary is enlarged by the addition of many thousand words, comprising the technical words of science and the arts; words not found in any other dictionaries, and many of them the words for the precise meaning of which the general reader is most frequently at a loss. The orthography of several classes of words, instead of following cumbrous and obsolete modes of spelling, is conformed to the present usage of the best writers; and the definitions have a character of discrimination, copiousness, perspicuity and accuracy, not found, we believe, in any other dictionary of the English language."

3. From President OLIN, of Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.

"Webster's American Dictionary may now be recommended, without reserve or qualification, as the best extant."

4. From President FISK, at Wesleyan University previous to President Olin.

"I think the American Dictionary unrivaled by any work of the kind in the English language."

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16

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

5. From President HITCHCOCK, of Amherst College.

"I have been in the habit of using Dr. Webster's Dictionary for several years past, in preference to all others, because it far excels them all, so far as I know, in giving and defining scientific terms."

6. From President CHAPIN, of Columbian College, D. C.

"I am prepared, after protracted and careful examination and comparison, to say, that in my judgment, the Dictionary of Noah Webster possesses unrivaled merit. From its first publication, I have used it as my standard in orthography and definition. The objects of the author were important to the patriot and the scholar; and the manner in which he has accomplished them will procure for him a fame as universal and imperishable as the English language. The devotion of his long life to improve that tongue, which bids fairest to be the chief vehicle to convey over the world the blessings of science and Christianity, should be gratefully ascribed to that superintending Providence which rules the affairs of men."

7. From President HOSACK and Professors FRANCIS, SMITH, MOTT, and STEVENS, of Rutgers Medical College.

"The undersigned most cheerfully express their approbation of Dr. Webster's Dictionary, and their wish that it may be generally adopted by literary men as a book of reference, and become the standard Lexicon of the Colleges, Academies and schools of our country."

8. From President HUMPHREY, formerly of Amherst College.

"Dr. Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language is an honor to the country which gave him birth, to the age, and to the language which it so admirably traces up to its etymological sources, so skilfully analyzes, and so happily explains," Heman Humphrey, D. D., late President of Amherst College.

9. From President SPARKS, of Harvard University.

10. From President WOODS, of Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky.

"For the English Dictionary of Noah Webster, L.L.D., I entertain a very high opinion. It displays learning and research. I think it worthy of general patronage. "
"We most cordially concur in the above opinion of President Woods."

Signed by Professors DUNHAM, HINCKLEY and PEERS.

11. From Professor MATTHEWS, of Transylvania University.

"I have formed the opinion that it is the best effort hitherto made to establish the Orthography and Pronunciation of the language on their true principles. I do not consider it a perfect work—such an one is not to be expected from any human effort."

12. From Professor SHORT, of Transylvania University.

"I approve eminently of his proposal for establishing a uniform system of Orthography and Pronunciation of the English Language."

13. From Professor CALDWELL, of Transylvania University.

"Of that great production [Webster's American Dictionary] I say, confidently, that I consider it by far the best Dictionary of the English Language that has yet been published. When doubtful as to the meaning, origin, Orthography, Pronunciation, or correct use of any word, I refer to it as the highest authority. That the establishment of a uniform mode of spelling the English Language, is a very important desideratum, no scholar will deny. I trust, therefore, that in this great effort to promote education, and improve the literature of the country, Dr. Webster will be always patronised."

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FROM PRESIDENTS OF COLLEGES.

17

14. From President WOOLSEY, of Yale College, Chancellor FRELINGHUYSEN, New York University, President LARRABEE, of Middlebury College, President KELLER, of Wittenberg College, Ohio, Dr. BEECHER, President Lane Seminary, Professors STOWE, ALLEN, DIEHL, GIEGER, and others.

"In the exhibition of the Etymology of the language, it is superior to any other Dictionary."

"The Definitions are given by a precise and full description, and not by a loose collection of terms more or less synonymous. They exhibit, also, the history of the word, as it has passed from its primary and original to its secondary and derived signification. The signification is illustrated, and the use justified, by ample quotations from the best English and American authors. In respect to words of technical and peculiar use, the definitions have not been hastily assumed from professed authorities, but have been carefully scrutinized, and, in very many instances, have been furnished directly by gentlemen of the highest authority in particular departments of knowledge."

"The vocabulary has been judiciously enlarged by the addition of all the words in actual use, that are properly English. A sufficient number of provincial and obsolete terms has been added, while yet it is not encumbered nor deformed by those which ought not to be admitted into a Dictionary that professes to be a standard of good English."

"In Orthography, the changes proposed by Dr. Webster, which have not been sanctioned by general adoption, and which seem to be too violent departures from the general spelling, have been judiciously omitted, while real and important improvements have been wisely retained."

"In Pronunciation, the scheme of notation is simple, and in cases which demand it, the words are respelled. The aim has been to give the actual pronunciation, as practised by the truly educated among the English and American people, ascertained by actual observation, inquiries and correspondence. The artificial and affected pronunciation is avoided. The whole subject has been elaborated by Professor Goodrich, whose professional duty it has been to train public speakers for thirty years."

"It is with pleasure that we greet this new and valuable contribution to American literature. We recommend it to all who desire to possess THE MOST COMPLETE, ACCURATE, AND RELIABLE DICTIONARY OF THE LANGUAGE."

15. From President MANN, of Antioch College, Ohio.

"So far as I know, there is an unanimity of opinion that Dr. Webster's is the BEST defining Dictionary in the English language. It will give me pleasure, to recommend to Students, and ESPECIALLY ALL THOSE WHO ARE MAINLY DEPENDENT ON SELF-CULTURE, OR SELF-EDUCATION, TO KEEP A COPY OF THIS WORK BY THEIR SIDE, AS A HAND-BOOK."—HORACE MANN.

16. From Professor TYLER, of Amherst College.

"As full and faithful a representation of the English language, both written and spoken, as can be brought within the compass of a single volume in our day."

"No family can afford to do without it. Every scholar will have it and use it. It will circulate as widely as the English Language is spoken."

17. From NATHAN W. FISKE, Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy in Amherst College.

"A work really indispensable to the scholar, and the professional or literary gentleman; who must each very frequently wish to consult an English Dictionary, and most certainly can find none that equals this of Webster, in respect either of lexical completeness, of philosophic accuracy, or of just authority. The American scholar, especially, should never think of living without it. No Magistrate or Town-Officer, no Editor, Printer, or common Teacher, should fail to have constantly at hand a copy of the American Dictionary of the English Language. Indeed it ought to be in every American family possessing the means of a respectable education."

2

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TESTIMONIALS.

25

FROM MISSIONARIES
IN FOREIGN LANDS.

[Whose pursuits, in translating, &c., lead them to an intimate study of Language, and who are, often, scholars of a high order.]

"UMSUNDUZI, PORT NATAL, March 11, 1852.

TO MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM:

Dear Sirs,—The four copies of Webster's Quarto Dictionary which you had the great liberality to forward to the South African Mission, by the Secretary of the American Board, were duly received some months since, and by appointment of the Mission, I have the honor and pleasure to acknowledge them, and to say to you that we are under many obligations for so many copies of a *most invaluable work*.

I will only add a word of my own experience. In 1841, while a student at Yale, having at command only eighteen dollars, and not knowing when or where I could obtain more, I paid five-sixths of what I had for Webster's Dictionary, in two volumes octavo; and dear as it was and with some defects, I can say, after ten years' study and labor, that, save my Bible, I never bought a book, to me cheaper, better, or more useful.

LEWIS GROUT."

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY IN INDIA.—WORKING TWO MONTHS FOR A DICTIONARY.—Mr. C. P. Shelton, a Missionary of the American Board at Madura, Southern India, under date of August 18th, 1852, writes as follows:—

"Promotion to Government service is regarded by the intelligent Hindoos as the greatest honor to which they can attain, and in order to that, a knowledge of English is quite indispensable. The many heathen schools in which it is taught, as well as the many seminaries and schools under the care of the different missions, are opening the way for this Dictionary to exert an elevating and civilizing influence throughout the length and breadth of British India.

"It is regarded by the intelligent natives as a work of unequaled merit. This is in a good degree evinced by their readiness to pay the American retail price, which, in some instances, is twice the amount of their monthly wages."

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY IN WESTERN AFRICA.—BARAKA, July 17, 1852.
—"When in College, fighting my way with poverty inch by inch, I felt that I could not do without Webster, and now, alone, near one hundred miles interior in the wilds of intertropical Africa, I find Webster an indispensable *vade mecum*, in reducing to writing a barbarous dialect, and translating into it civilized and Christian ideas.

I. M. PRESTON,
*Missionary of Am. Board.*

From a Missionary in Persia.

"OOROOMIAH, PERSIA, Jan. 7, 1852."

Messrs. G. & C. MERRIAM:—SIRS: Some time since we received two copies of Webster's Quarto Dictionary, kindly presented by you to our Mission. *** We prize the books very highly, and who does not, who is acquainted with the work? One of the books is assigned to our new station in the mountains of Koordistan, and the other stands in our Library here. It is a work of unequaled excellence in its kind, and is a real *treasure* to missionaries in foreign countries, who, in the use and study of other languages, are in some danger of forgetting their own.

Most truly yours,
A. H. WRIGHT."

From Western India.

"AHMEDNUGGUR, WESTERN INDIA, March 29, 1852."

* * The copy of Webster's Quarto Dictionary has been duly received. To express our very high appreciation of its value, would be only to repeat the very numerous testimonials of the best American and European scholars. We find therietest oriental scholars in India, prize it not less than our own countrymen. We have found it necessary to order several copies for young men who have been educated in our schools, and the demand is constantly increasing.

Yours very sincerely,
R. G. WILDER,
Secretary of Ahmednuggur Mission."

"OODOOVILLE, Aug. 22, 1851."

* * * More than a year ago, I received through the Rev. D. Poor, the very valuable present of Dr. Webster's Dictionary, edited by Professor Goodrich—a work in every respect more complete than any one work, and even than all other works, of the kind in the English language.

L. SPAULDING."

EXPRESSIONS OF THE PRESS,
AMERICAN AND FOREIGN.
ENGLISH.

From the London Literary Gazette.

"The original edition of the American Dictionary is too well known and appreciated in England to require us to dwell at length on its plan and execution. In the present edition Professor Goodrich has been ably assisted by several eminent men, each distinguished in his own sphere of inquiry; and the result is in the highest degree satisfactory. The work is a noble monument of erudition and indefatigable research; and the style and accuracy of its typography would do honor to the press of any country in Europe. This volume must find its way into all our public and good private libraries, for it provides the English student with a mass of the most valuable information, which he would in vain seek for elsewhere."

"THE BEST AND MOST USEFUL DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE EVER PUBLISHED."—*London Times*.

"It is acknowledged, both in this country and in America, to be the most copious and most excellent at present in circulation. Dr. Webster spent thirty years on his Dictionary, ten of which were devoted to the etymological department alone; and he has accordingly thrown much additional light on the origin and primary sense of words, and on the affinities between the English and many other languages."—*Editor of the London Imperial Dictionary*.

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TESTIMONIALS.

27

"Dr. Webster's great work is the best Dictionary of the English language."—*London Morning Chronicle*.

*From the Cambridge [England] Independent Press.*

"When this work is as well known in Britain as it is in America, it will supersede every other book of the kind in the same department of letters. Its excellence is obvious and indisputable."

*From the Dublin Literary Gazette.*

"Dr. Webster's knowledge of languages appears to be extensive, and his researches for authorities to establish the meaning of words, not to be met with in other dictionaries, numerous. The introduction of technical and scientific terms is a very valuable addition to a general dictionary. The notation adopted by him for expressing the true sound of the vowels, is much simpler than that introduced by Sheridan, and followed by Walker."

*From the London Examiner.*

"The veteran Webster's work is new to this country; but as far as we can judge, it seems to justify the highly favorable character it has long maintained in America; and our view is corroborated by that of a learned friend and critic, who does not hesitate to say, that it is the best and most useful dictionary of the English language, that he has ever seen."

*From the London Sun.*

"It is impossible to refer to any one page, without discovering that Dr. Webster is a capital etymologist. His derivations are exceedingly just, and his explanations of terms, are *full* without being redundant."

*From the Aberdeen Chronicle.*

"We beg to call the attention of our readers to the republication of this work, the supreme excellence of which is so obvious, that it is unnecessary for us to enlarge on its merits."

Extended *critiques* on the work, confirming these views, have appeared in the Westminster Review, and the Scientific Journal of Professor Jameson of Edinburgh.

## AMERICAN.

"Dr. Webster has entered more deeply into etymological researches, and with greater success, than any of his predecessors in the same vocation. * * Indeed, on this ground, he stands not only unrivaled, but alone."—*North American Review*.

"Our purpose is simply to recommend the present edition of it, (Webster's Quarto Dictionary,) with its copious additions to the text, as a highly valuable publication. Great labor has been bestowed upon it, and all the alterations and articles that have been added, so far as we have noticed them, are great improvements. We hope that it will obtain a wide and profitable circulation."—*North American Review, January, 1848*.

"The issue of an edition like this is a truly gigantic enterprise, for the successful and highly satisfactory completion of which the admiration of the literary public will not be withheld. A better specimen of the art of book-making it is seldom indeed that our country has afforded. The paper is clear and fine, and the typography beautiful, exact and well-arranged, so as at once to gratify the eye and please the taste. There are three columns on a page of convenient-sized quarto, and yet such is the typographical skill that nothing could be more distinct and clear than the vocabulary. It is a credit to the publishers and an ornament to the noble art, and by far exceeds any previous editions of the work."

The principles of orthography adopted are such, on the whole, as are either allowed by good use, or are fast working their way into favor. The objections which have been felt and expressed against Webster's Dictionary, we think have been fairly removed by the corrections of Prof. Goodrich.

In all other respects, it has never had a rival. In the completeness of the vocabulary, the fullness and precision of its definitions, its learned solution of the true source of words, and its apt and copious authorities, it is a work of amazing labor and scholarship, which has made English lexicography an entirely new thing. Prof

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28

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

Goodrich has added such new words as are respectably known, and has especially enhanced the value of the work by incorporating a complete list of scientific, technical, and peculiar words, relating to all the various departments of science, art, manufactures, philosophy, philology, &c. In this he has been aided by his very able corps of fellow-professors in Yale College; and the result is that all the benefits of a technological dictionary, so far as the popular wants are concerned, have been secured to this edition. * * By far the cheapest, most beautiful, and most useful lexicon of our language that can be obtained."—*Biblical Repository, Jan. 1848.*

"His pronunciation, as a whole, has been sanctioned, to a great extent, by the best speakers both in England and America. That only can be the best pronunciation, which obtains the consent of the largest number of the well-educated and well-bred of a nation—the more prevailing practice in the circles of taste, refinement, and intelligence. Dr. Webster's method of pronunciation conforms more nearly to such a practice, there is reason to think, than that of most of our orthopists. * * * The value of the volume is greatly enhanced by the addition of a VOCABULARY GIVING THE PRONUNCIATION OF MODERN GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES. It is hardly necessary to say how much a guide of this kind is needed, on the part of a large class in the community. * * * The satisfaction derived from a clear, full, and consistent definition, is worth any effort which it may cost, and to all who search for truth such definition is indispensable. We believe that there is not, within the compass of English literature, a work which, in this respect, will meet the expectations of all who consult a Dictionary, so entirely as the one which has drawn forth these comments. In this feature of the work, as we have seen, it will bear the test of the severest scrutiny. In respect to the other uses of a dictionary, as a guide to etymology, orthography, pronunciation, &c. we believe it may be relied on with equal confidence."—*New Englander, January, 1848.*

"We venture to say that there is no Dictionary in the English language which combines so many advantages, with such economy of price, beauty of execution, compactness and clearness, as this Quarto edition of Webster."—*New York Observer, December 4, 1847.*

"We rejoice that the public award is strongly ratifying our long-cherished conviction, that Noah Webster was decidedly the best lexicographer who has treated of the English language. * * Emphatically the Dictionary of our language.—*New York Tribune, December 7, 1847.*

"In its admirable definitions, its accurate philology, its copiousness, good sense, and completeness, it is fast receiving the judgment of the learned world, that it has no equal."—*New York Evangelist, December 9, 1847.*

"If any student or scholar, or any one who has aught to do with the language more than to grunt or gabble in it, can manage, after having once seen this Dictionary, to live without it, his power of abstaining from the necessities of life will exceed our capabilities of comprehension."—*Pittsburg Christian Advocate, December 22, 1847.*

"All that good taste, patient research, and a happy faculty of discrimination between the good and the bad, could effect, has been done, and his work recognized as standard authority throughout the world, where the English language is spoken."—*Pittsburg Gazette, December 14, 1847.*

"We adopted Webster's Dictionary of the English language as a standard, in preference to every other, from its very first appearance in octavo, and have owned every succeeding edition of the work. The present quarto edition, with quite the ease of manipulation of the octavo, and but little advance of price, combines all the advantages of the original quarto in two volumes, and adds yet more. * * What there was of idiosyncracy in the former editions, is modified and corrected in the present. * * What gives great value to Dr. Webster's Dictionary, is, first, its definitions, which are remarkably concise, yet accurate and complete. The next distinguishing feature is, that it is, in itself, a History of Language. His researches in this department, continued for a period of so many years, with such iron industry, yet freshness of pursuit—the inquisitiveness, and ardor, and buoyancy of youth extending into his fourscore years and more—are beyond those of any other man. To ourselves this is a deeply interesting study, and for the gratification of one's love of

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TESTIMONIALS,

29

it in respect to the English language, there is no work to be named with the present edition of Webster. The present edition is a most beautiful specimen of the art of printing—white satin paper, type the best shaped and most distinct, and the fairest impressions.”—*Boston Christian Register*, Jan. 13, 1848.

"As regards etymology and pronunciation, the present volume is all that can be desired. In the former respect, Dr. Webster did nearly all that could be done, and his labor of thirty years throws all former attempts in this department into the shade. In pronunciation, the revised Dictionary is clear and exact, its system is simple, and easily understood and remembered. * * We may now hope that the best and the same Dictionary may be used by both writers and readers, in the family, the school, and the study, to the great profit and instruction of all concerned."—*Boston Post*, January 12, 1848.

"Will be regarded as a standard work, and is a monument to commemorate for ages the name and indefatigable labors of the great American lexicographer. * * A Dictionary, copious, and as near perfection as can be attained. One which is worthy of the country and the age, and which ought to be in the possession of every head of a family."—*Boston Journal*, January 4, 1848.

"The mechanical execution is superb, and faultless; in the matters of type, paper, accuracy, skill, and taste, it leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. * * We are happy to express our belief that the present edition of Webster's Dictionary leaves nothing material in English lexicography to be desired. The price of the volume (six dollars) brings it within the reach of the far greater part of intelligent persons."—*New York (Baptist) Recorder*, December 22, 1847.

"The highest standard of authority, with the learned of Great Britain and the United States."—*New York Journal of Commerce*, December, 1847.

"The publishers have made a beautiful work of it. A neat and finished and fair book, is a reprint of one of the Graces. And then, as the crowning charm, it is a cheap work—the cheapest work published in America. It ought to be in every family, in every school, in every professional library. And could we whisper in the ear of the young men and the young ladies of our parishes, we would say to them, 'Raise six dollars among yourselves, buy this Dictionary, and some Monday morning, within a week or two, call on your pastor and make him such a present as will cause him to remember you, and bless you every time he writes a sermon.'"—*New England Religious Herald*, Hartford, January 22, 1848.

"It has come back to us from the other side of the Atlantic, endorsed by the warm approval of the rarest scholars of Europe, as 'the best lexicon extant!'"

This edition of Webster, it should be observed, is *UNABRIDGED*. The volume before us, singularly beautiful in typographical execution, as it is rich in the results of Dr. Webster's labors and last revisions, amplified by Prof. Goodrich, of Yale, will be a valuable, we had almost said an indispensable, addition to the library of every gentleman and scholar."—*Pittsburg Commercial Journal*, January 15, 1848.

"One of the most important contributions ever made to a sound American literature—the most complete work of the kind that any nation can boast of. * * What distinguishes this Dictionary above all others is the thoroughness and accuracy of its definitions; and this is the leading feature of such a work. This is a department of learning which is singularly difficult; and very few excel in it. It requires uncommon clearness and comprehensiveness of intellect. Definitions often lose their point by being overburdened with words. Dr. Webster was wonderfully happy in the use of language. And his definitions are models of condensation and purity; and the careful study of them, as an intellectual exercise, may safely be recommended to the young, especially, as an important means of advancement in knowledge. There is great fullness, too, in this work, in the defining of words; and in this respect it might be called an *Encyclopædia*, presenting substantially the circle of the sciences.

In regard to *Pronunciation*, we feel perfectly satisfied that this revision places that subject on a truer ground than any other work of the kind. The system of pronouncing conforms to a pure and manly taste, adapted to the character of the language, and is far removed from all affectation and mere fashion. * * It is now, as we fully believe, in this revision, brought down to the true circumstances of the community in all respects. And we hope it will find its way rapidly, not only to the

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30

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

schools and the study, but to the parlor, the counting-room, and to the every-day purposes of life."—Hon. William B. Calhoun, December, 1847.

"The American who cherishes the honor of the literature of his country, may with good reason be proud of this Dictionary, and regard with ardent enthusiasm every effort to give it additional value and a more extended circulation. The fact that such a work has been produced in this country, a work which can be sent to the mother country as a Thesaurus in that common language which unites the mother and the daughter land, more valuable than any which England has produced, with all her leisure, her libraries, and her means of research, is fitted to give us a just pride in the past, and an ardent hope for the future. The author of the original now sleeps with the dead; but it was his rare fortune to hear, while living, from the lips of the excellent Chancellor Kent, the following words of eulogy."—*Literary World*, December 11, 1847.

The following beautiful eulogy on Noah Webster, Esq., is from the Anniversary Address delivered before the Connecticut Alpha of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, by the late Chancellor Kent, of New York:—

"For nearly half a century, 'amidst obstacles and toils, disappointments and infirmities,' he has nobly sustained his courage; and by means of his extraordinary skill and industry in the investigation of languages, he will transmit his name to the latest posterity. It will dwell on the tongues of infants, as soon as they have learned to lisp their earliest lessons. It will be stamped on our American literature, and be carried with it over every part of this mighty continent. It will be honored by three hundred millions of people; for that is the number which, it is computed, will, in some future age, occupy the wide space of territory stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, and from the torrid to the arctic regions. *The American Dictionary of the English Language* is a work of profound investigation, and does infinite honor to the philological learning and general literature of this country. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments, seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in the polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and grandeur, are now anointed by the depredations of curiosity, and greatly corroded by the elements, and gradually sinking under the encroaching sands of the desert. This Dictionary, and the language which it embodies, will also perish; but it will not be with *the gorgeous palaces*. It will go with *the solemn temples, and the great globe itself!*"

Once possessed of a work so able, copious, and scientifically constructed as WEBSTER'S *QUARTO DICTIONARY*, one discovers a hundred benefits previously unthought of. Old uses, and new uses, and disuses and abuses,—old terms and new terms, and the history of the rise and progress of terms together with apt citations, pointed and sparkling, with other benefits I need not attempt to enumerate, combine to make him feel the work a desideratum—to lay as a corner stone in his library. Or rather, since corner stones are not often distinguished at his post, ready to converse on whatever topics at hand.—Rev. Ohas. Beecher, July, 1849.

While this Dictionary is the most complete work of the kind that any nation can boast of, it is also one of the cheapest books ever printed in this country.—*New York State District School Journal*.

There is no Dictionary but this of Webster's that can be adopted as a standard. We cannot refrain from expressing a hope that our brethren of the type—the printers and editors of newspapers especially—will adopt the orthography of Dr. Webster. In this respect, the printers of present day have no standard. It is time they had.—*Boston Courier*, Dec. 30, 1847.

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A NATIONAL STANDARD.

23

From the New Jersey Literary Standard and Educational Journal, of Dec. 10, 1853.

### WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY UNABRIDGED.
The accumulated intellectual treasures of a people are wrapped up in their language. The ideas of all past generations, modified from time to time in their descent, have finally been transmitted to us in words. The chief value of a Dictionary, therefore, consists in its definitions, and its etymology; the two particulars in which Webster's is universally acknowledged to be unrivalled. No other lexicographer has ever displayed so happy a talent for combining in his definitions, precision and fullness with condensation; nor given to the study of derivation, so much time, patience, discrimination, and special and well directed study. Indeed, his Dictionary of the English Language, was the work of Dr. Webster's entire life—the great controlling end to which all his mighty energies were directed, and it will be as enduring as the massive conquering speech of which it is the exponent. "Ages," says Dr. Dick, "will elapse before any other Dictionary of the language will be required." Most of the salutary changes proposed by Dr. Webster in orthography, for the purpose of securing a greater degree of uniformity, have now been generally adopted, and are fast coming into good use.

We should be glad to see this great work in every house, lying close beside the family Bible. It should be procured at almost any sacrifice. To the young man, who wishes to store his mind with accurate and reliable information, it is indispensable. It is the teacher's best assistant, and an Encyclopedia imperatively needed in every school. Many States of the Union have made appropriations to place it in every DISTRICT SCHOOL. This ought to be done in New Jersey. The Board of Education of this city, have passed an order to furnish a copy for each of our Public Schools.

"This is now the acknowledged standard of the English language, wherever spoken. England has laid aside her great Johnson for the American Webster. The English press generally has admitted the 'American Dictionary, to be the best extant. Dr. Thomas Dick, than whom no living or modern transatlantic writer is better known, or more generally read, in this country, says, 'This Dictionary is undoubtedly the most complete Dictionary of the English language that has been published and ages will elapse before any other Dictionary of that language will be required.' He declares it in every respect far superior to Johnson's large Dictionary. It is induced and strongly recommended by the most eminent names which adorn American literature. It ought to obtain a universal circulation. Every school-house, academy, and college, every professional office, every reading room, every library in the land, should contain a copy of Webster's large Dictionary. All who aspire to speak and write the English language with accuracy and force, will find this work an indispensable auxiliary. To the young, who are aiming at self-culture and self-improvement, it will be of the greatest value. A constant and careful reference to it will tend to form intellectual habits of much importance, as to accuracy, discrimination, and condensation of thought; for the work is remarkable for these properties, as well as for purity of language. Nor is it merely a book of words, as young people sometimes imagine a Dictionary to be. It is, in fact, an encyclopedia of knowledge. 'All young persons,' says the Phrenological Journal, 'should have a standard Dictionary at their elbow; and while you are about it, get the best; that Dictionary is Noah Webster's—the great work unabridged. If you are too poor, save the amount from off your back, to put it into your head.' This is true doctrine. If you do not mean to spell wrong, read wrong, speak wrong, write wrong—go halting and blundering intellectually, as long as you live—buy WEBSTER'S LARGE DICTIONARY; and when you have it, use it."

From the National Magazine for April, 1853, (published at the Methodist Book Concern, 200 Mulbery Street New York.)

"Webster's Dictionary, the entire work unabridged. Our readers are aware of our partiality for this work, for they must have perceived that we use its Orthography without scruple. We are pledged to that, both because we approve it, and, we confess, because of a little national prejudice for the work. Webster's definitions are unrivaled; the merit of the work in this respect, is enough to settle its claims; he was the best etymologist that ever attempted to define our language. Such provincial words as are necessary to Dictionary readers, have been admitted into the present edition with proper discriminations. Some of Webster's more violent orthographical peculiarities have been omitted.

4

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES A NATIONAL STANDARD.

The pronunciation is marked by a simple and excellent system of notation, and in difficult cases, words are re-spelled. The lists of Scriptural, Classical, and Geographical names are very full—the latter more so than we have seen in any Dictionary; it comprises twelve or thirteen thousand names. Every American student, and, as far as possible, every American family, should possess this great standard of our language."

"Get the Best."

"All young persons should have a standard

DICTIONARY
at their elbows. And while you are about it, get the best; that Dictionary is

NOAH WEBSTER'S,

The great work unabridged. If you are too poor, save the amount from off your back, to put it into your head."—Phrenological Journal.

"We believe we shall be certain of doing a service to the people of the State, if we say a word or two upon the Unabridged Quarto Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster. The word UNABRIDGED has been purposely employed, because if such a work is wanted for any but the very lowest uses—those of mere orthography, or orthoepy—it can not be too copious and comprehensive. When one is ignorant of the proper and precise powers of a word, he can not endure to be turned over to an abridgment that gives him a SYNONYM, instead of a definition; but he demands to know as much as any body knows of its history or etymology, and its different shades of meaning. Then only can he employ it with confidence and effect, as a mighty weapon for the expression of intellect or passion."—Newark Daily Advertiser, March 25, 1851.

Chronotype.

### WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY.
Every body knows about Webster's Dictionary, and every man, woman, and child, ought to have access to it.

It will tell you every thing in regard to your mother tongue, which you want to know. It shows you the words in all their aspects—giving you a sort of history of each individual, that is in any way worthy of attention—developing their powers and delineating their features and general appearance so precisely, that the unlearned will remember them, after the first sight, and know who they are, and what they are, whenever he meets them. A MAN WHO WOULD KNOW EVERY THING, OR ANY THING, AS HE OUGHT TO KNOW, MUST OWN WEBSTER'S LARGE DICTIONARY. It is a great light, and he that will not avail himself of it, must walk in darkness. Every young housekeeper should lay it in, to occupy the place which was formerly filled with decanters and wine-glasses.

It is a great labor-saver—it has saved us time enough in one year's use to pay for itself: and that must be deemed good property, which will clear itself once a year. If you have any doubt about the precise meaning of the word clear, in the last sentence, look at Webster's thirteen definitions of the v. t."—Massachusetts Life Boat, April 28, 1852.

["## APPENDIX.", "### Conclusive Testimony.", "## SALE OF WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES IN\nTHE UNITED STATES,\nAS COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OTHER\nDICTIONARIES.", "In order to determine the question as to what Dictionaries are actually regarded by the public as the Standard, we addressed a letter to a large number of the leading Booksellers in the most important points. We append as many of their answers as room can be found for. ☞ These facts prove that Webster is the actual Standard all over the country, and that the introduction of any works differing from his, must tend to produce that confusion and difficulty, which it is so essential to avoid. The attention of Educators is earnestly invited to this matter, of the highest practical importance.", "1.", "MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM.—Of small Dictionaries, we sell about as many Webster as of all others. Of the large, nine-tenths of all we sell are Webster.", "New York, March 26, 1854.", "A. S. BARNES & CO.", "New York, March 27, 1854.", "Our sale of Webster's Dictionaries is about twenty to one of all others. We sell no other large Dictionary. Only three Worcester's large 8vo. have been sold by us the past year. We sell some Walker 5vo., but only to the Canada market.", "New York, March 28, 1854.", "IVISON & PHINNEY.", "New York, 26th March, 1854.", "Estimate of numbers sold during the year 1853: 600 Walker, 150 Cobb, 250 Worcester (all sizes), 100 Cobb's and Johnson's Pocket, 6,250 Webster, all sizes—showing Webster six to one of all others, nearly", "PRATT, WOODFORD & CO.", "New York, March 25, 1854.", "M. BURGESS & CO.", "New York, April 17, 1854.", "Our sales of Webster's Dictionaries are about three-fourths of all we sell.", "CLARK, AUSTIN & SMITH.", "New York, April 19, 1854.", "6.", "My annual sale is three-fourths of Webster's to one-fourth of Worcester's, and nearly in the same proportion to all others.", "ROBERT B. COLLINS.", "New York, 4mo., 19, 1854.", "We may observe that Webster's Dictionaries are the Dictionaries now, sell more, or are more generally used than others,—but as to proportion, we can not very readily determine.", "S. & W. WOOD.", "New York, April 19, 1854.", "1st. We presume we sell five times as many Webster's as of Worcester's, and perhaps rather more, we can not so positively. 2d. We sell scarcely any others except a few of Reid's.", "LEAVITT & ALLEN.", "New York, April 20, 1854.", "It appears to be the general opinion in our establishment, that our average annual sale of the whole series of Webster's and Worcester's Dictionaries is about fifty copies of Webster to one of Worcester.", "10.", "KIGGINS & KELLOGG.", "New York, April 22, 1854.", "Our sales of Webster's series of Dictionaries, in comparison with sales of Worcester's whole series is at least five of Webster's to one of Worcester's, and probably four of Webster to one of all other Dictionaries of the English language together.", "W. K. CORNWELL.", "Boston, April 22, 1854.", "11.", "As near as we can judge, our sales for Worcester's Comprehensive Dictionary, nearly double our sales for Webster's small Dictionaries (3 sizes); Worcester's 8vo. we sell about the same number as of Webster's 8vo.; of Webster's 4to. we sell about three times as many as we do of the two 8vo. Dictionaries together.", "B. B. MUSSEY & CO.", "Boston, 26th April, 1854.", "Our clerks say that we sell nearly four times as many Webster's largest Dictionaries as Worcester's, and about as many of Webster's small Dictionaries as of Worcester's.", "12.", "TAPPAN & WHITTEMORE.", "Boston, April 20, 1854.", "My annual sale of Webster's Dictionaries (4to and 8vo.) amounts to 1,600 copies to 50 copies of Worcester's large in the same time. To your 2d proposition I will say that I sell of Webster's Dictionaries five to one of all others.", "3", "JOHN PHILBRICK.", "2", "SALE OF WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES", "14.", "Portland, April 6, 1854.", "We sell one hundred Webster's Quarto to one Worcester's 8vo., and ten Webster's Common School Dictionary to one Worcester's Elementary.", "15.", "SANBORN & CARTER.", "Worcester, April 19, 1854.", "We have sold only six copies Worcester's Octavo Dictionary for two years. We sell, each year, one Elementary and Comprehensive per year. About 100 Webster's small, about 50 copies Octavo, 140 Webster Unbridged.", "16.", "JOHN KEITH & CO.", "Worcester, April 19, 1854.", "My sales are nearly as follows:—Webster's Quarto and 8vo., I sell exclusively, and none of Worcester's, not having demand.—I sell Worcester's School—viz. Comprehensive and Elementary ten years of Webster's School. I think I sell Webster's double the quantity of all others.", "17.", "Amherst, Mass., April, 1854.", "The sales of Webster's Dictionaries are more than a hundred to one of Worcester's. We sell no Dictionaries besides Webster's and Worcester's.", "18.", "Norwich, Conn., April 15, 1854.", "Of English Dictionaries we keep for sale only Webster's and Worcester's. Previous to the last year nine-tenths of the Dictionaries sold by us have been Webster's: the proportion is probably more rather than less During the past year we have had no or comparatively no call for Worcester's—and for the five years past I have had no demand for Worcester's larger work.", "19.", "Harford, 28th March, 1854.", "Webster's Dictionaries are almost the only ones I sell: with the exception of a very few Worcester's, entirely so. W. J. HAMERSLEY.", "New Haven, March 28, 1854.", "In reply to your question, \"What is the proportion you sell of Webster's Dictionaries compared with all others?\" we can only say that while our sales of Webster's are by hundreds per annum—that of all others (English) are probably not a half dozen.", "DURRIE & PECK.", "21.", "Brattleboro, April 18, 1854.", "We sell nothing but Webster's in the large form.", "JOSEPH STEEN.", "22.", "Philadelphia, April 14, 1854.", "As near as random calculation can give it, our sale of Webster's Dictionary (whole series) is about forty to one of Webster's, and the sale of Webster's is about equal to all others in our business. CLARENCE & HESSER.", "23.", "Philadelphia, April 7, 1854.", "About twenty Webster to one Worcester, about ten Webster to one of all others (Hurrah for Webster.) SMITH & ENGLISH.", "24.", "Philadelphia, 5th April, 1854.", "As far as the larger Dictionaries are concerned, we sell Webster's almost exclusively 50 Webster's 8vo. and Quarto, to one Worcester's 8vo.—smaller, we sell as many Webster as all others, at least, such is our impression.", "H. C. PECK & THEO. BLISS.", "25.", "Philadelphia, 4mo., 5. 1854.", "Respected Friends.—Your favor is at hand. In reply we can only presume an estimate of the sales we make of Webster and Worcester, which is about one-fourth of Worcester to Webster; more of Webster than all others.", "URIAH HUNT & BON.", "26.", "Pittsburgh, March 30, 1854.", "Our sales of Webster's series of Dictionaries are in the proportion of about two to one of any others. We sell more of Walker's primary than Webster, but the sale of the latter is steadily increasing. KAY & CO.", "27.", "Baltimore, April 6, 1854.", "We have always sold Webster's Dictionary to the exclusion of all others.", "28.", "Richmond, Va., April 7, 1854.", "I dispose of 50 Webster's Unbridged to one of any other kind. I have not sold any of Webster's for two years, except School Editions. In the statement above, I make no reference to School Editions of Walker and Webster, of which I sell a large quantity.", "Richmond, April 18, 1854.", "29.", {"bbox": [1276, 677, 1413, 689],

SPRINGFIELD, MASS., 1856.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

A NATIONAL STANDARD.

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY.

PUBLISHED BY

Webster's Pocket Dictionary.

BY NOAH WEBSTER, LL. D.

OF THE SPELLING BOOK,

**\*\* There is no other acknowledged Standard in this country or Great Britain.

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

corresponding officer, where such an one exists, has recommended Webster's Dictionary in the strongest terms. Among these are those of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, and including Canada, TWENTY-ONE in all. These gentlemen, occupying this high educational position, can of course exert a very commanding influence in securing that uniformity in the use of language, and in the orthography and pronunciation of words, so greatly to be desired, and to such a great degree already secured by Dr. Webster's Dictionaries. His conceded preeminence as a definer, the convenience, simplicity, and symmetry of his system of orthography, and his scheme of pronunciation, alike free from the extremes of affectation and vulgarity, present the strongest claims for the adoption and general use of his Dictionaries, as well by the scholar and the man of business as the pupils in our common schools and higher seminaries of learning.

The feature of SYNONYMS, found in one of Webster's larger Dictionaries, where it was introduced, several years since, by PROF. GOODRICH, being the first instance in this country (or, as far as we are aware, in England) in which it was so incorporated in a popular dictionary: other compilers of minor works have since taken up this idea, apparently thus originated; yet it will be obvious to any intelligent mind, that it needs great caution, lest we put into the hands of the young, without carefully teaching them to discriminate, lists of words which they may suppose can be used interchangeably, and which yet may have, with general similarity of meaning, radical differences.

## LATE TESTIMONY.

WILLIAM A. STEARNS.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

3

BOSTON, February 2, 1856.

EPES SARGENT.

From Hon. Daniel Webster, hardly less favorably known as a writer than as a statesman, lawyer, and forensic debater.

WASHINGTON, March 26, 1848.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM. Gentlemen: * * * Dr. Webster's Dictionary is a work of extraordinary merit and value. On the great head of Etymology I know nothing to supply its place. I put my name to your proposals with very great pleasure.

I am, with regard, your ob't servant,

DANIEL WEBSTER.

WASHINGTON, January, 1850.

DANIEL WEBSTER.

From Hon. Rufus Choate, U. S. Senator.

BOSTON, March 15, 1856.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM. Gentlemen: I have just had the honor of receiving the noble volume in which you and the great Lexicographer, and the accomplished reviser, unite your labors to "bid the language live." I accept it with the highest pride and pleasure, and beg to adopt, in its utmost strength and extent, the testimonial of Daniel Webster.

RUFUS CHOATE.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM. Dear Sirs: I take the earliest opportunity to acknowledge the receipt of the package, which you did me the honor to send, containing Webster's Una bridged, and the School, High School, and Academic Dictionaries, prepared from the same author.

The Unabridged Dictionary of Dr. Webster I adopted as my standard many years since. Its Orthopæsy is that which is authorized by the most elegant use in England and America. The few changes in Orthography, which Webster is charged with introducing without due authority, were already authorized by good use, and plainly in the direction towards which improvements in the language were tending. Sufficient evidence of this is found in the fact that these innovations have since for the most part become established beyond the power of reversal. In richness of Etymology, accuracy of Definition, and completeness of Vocabulary, I consider that Webster's approximates more nearly to a perfect dictionary of the English language than any one now before the public, or that has been published. It is indeed such a thesaurus of word-knowledge, that the library of the scholar is incomplete without it.

C. COLLINS.

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

A. W. CUMMINGS.

Yours truly,

LEONARD WOODS.

DANIEL CURRY, President.

BANGOR, January 25, 1856.

DANIEL TALCOTT SMITH.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

5

E. O. HAVEN.

CHARLES DAVIES.

HORACE WEBSTER.

M. C. BAKER.

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary needs no praise. Its use should be universal, and then its merits would not fail to be seen and appreciated. A lawyer without a Blackstone would not be more anomalous than a teacher unfurnished with this standard of his mother tongue.

CALEB MILLS, State Superintendent.

I have for many years, in the pursuit of my studies as a scholar and a teacher, made the lexicography of Noah Webster a matter of constant consultation and examination, with increasing admiration and satisfaction. His large work seems to me an inexhaustible mine of philological wealth. Without an acquaintance with it, formed by long and careful study, no one can make great pretensions to a knowledge of our wonderful English language. Unequaled in the department of etymology; unsurpassed in that of definition; progressive, analytical, and consistent in orthography; and quite as rational and conformed to good usage as any other work in pronunciation, it is evidently becoming the standard, in all those things, of all considerate students of our language. Its universal adoption will have a great tendency to purify and harmonize the style of our literature and the vocal expression of our sentiments — a consummation devoutly to be wished. Hence it ought to be the vade mecum of every student and teacher, — the reference book in every school room.

JONATHAN TENNEY, Secretary of Board of Education for N. H.

ROBERT ALLYN, Com. Public Schools, R. I.

GEO. S. BOUTWELL.

A. G. CURTIN, *Sec. of Commonwealth, and Sup. of Com. Schools.*

JOHN M. SULLIVAN, *Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth.*

H. C. HICKOK, *Deputy Superintendent of Common Schools.*

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

7

PAUL K. HUBBS, *Superintendent of Public Instruction.*

HARRISBURG, January 9, 1856.

I have examined the Unabridged edition of Webster's Dictionary, and take great pleasure in bearing testimony to the fine style of its mechanical structure, but above all to its admirable adaptation to the great purpose designed. In the general principles of orthography and pronunciation, as also in the construction of language, it is the highest authority, and is, certainly, specially suited to the common schools of this State, and to literary institutions generally.

Yours truly,

WILLIAM BIGLER.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE, W. T., St. Paul, May 21, 1855.

W. A. GORMAN.

STAMFORD, April 21, 1855.

WILLIAM T. MINOR.

GORHAM, February 26, 1856.

E. P. WESTON.

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

(Signed) A. J. SAWYER, A. M., Principal of Chicago Female Seminary; and Principals of ten other leading institutions of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

It stands forth as a monument of unabridged industry and ability in its full and compre-
hensive presentations of the various meanings of words, as well as in the thorough search-
ing and profound exhibition of their derivations.

A. HOLBROOK.

*** An invaluable standard of orthography and orthoppy. Its place in the school room and at the teacher's desk cannot be made good by any similar work, and I trust it may long continue to enjoy the decided preeminence which it now holds as the great standard of "English, pure and undefiled."
S. S. RANDALL.

S. S. RANDALL.

I have just procured Webster's Academic Dictionary, with a view to its introduction into
my school ; not because I like it so well as the larger work, but because of its cheapness, its
convenience, and the love I bear its mother.

Hoping that your efforts to flood the land with copies of these Dictionaries, from the "Common School" to the "Unabridged," will meet with the encouragement they so richly deserve, and which will do much to enrich and embellish our mother tongue,

9

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

TESTIMONY FROM MAINE.

We, the undersigned, regard Webster as "the great American Philologist, the most
learned and devoted scholar in this special department that the English language knows,"
and recognize his UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY as the standard authority in all ques-
tions of English Lexicography. His system of Pronunciation is simple and correct, his
principles of Orthography we cordially approve as analogical, and most in accordance with
the laws and tendencies of the language, and for Definition he has no rival.

G. C. WILSON, Principal of China Academy.

A. BURBANK, M. D., Superintendent of Public Schools, Lewiston.

GEO. KNOX, Late Chairman of High and Grammar Schools, Brunswick.

ELIOT VALENTINE, Superintendent of Public Schools, Bangor.

GEO. B. GOODALE, Principal of Girls' Select Public School, Bangor.

J. H. SHERMAN, Principal of Boys' Grammar School, Bangor.
JOSEPH BARTLETT, Bangor, Editor of the Jeffersonian, and late Prin. Hampden Academy,

B. R. HANSON, Principal of Grammar School, Farmington.

N. A. WOOD, Mayor of the City of Gardiner, and Chairman of School Committee.

GEO. B. GOODALE, Principal of School, Upper Stillwater.

ROBERT ELLIS, Principal of School, Upper Stillwater.

"GET THE BEST."

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

WEBSTER'S SCHOOL DICTIONARIES, Viz.:

WEBSTER'S POCKET DICTIONARY.

STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS.

MESSRS. MERRIAM: Like every one else who has taken the pains to examine the merits of the various English Dictionaries, I am fully impressed with the superiority of Webster's over all others. It is thorough and systematic; and though in some instances not agreeing with the orthography and pronunciation which certain individuals, cliques, and small communities may at present follow, I nevertheless regard it as the *Standard* Dictionary for all deep and correct knowledge of the English language. We use it as much as in this institution.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM: Webster's Unabridged Quarto Dictionary is our chief resource in this institution, in the study of the English language, to which a large portion of our time is devoted. We have copies of other elaborate Dictionaries, such as Johnson, etc., but so much more useful than any do we find Webster, that we have furnished our reference library with six times as many copies of it as of any other reference library. In deed, for our use, I should not know to seek a substitute for it. We consider that it furnishes for our pupils a better preparation for studying and appreciating English literature than any other single book. For my own part I should greatly rejoice to see Dr. Webster's improvements in Orthography universally adopted, as I have no doubt they will be in time.
RICHARD EDWARDS.

I have always regarded the definitions of Webster's Dictionaries as greatly superior to those of any other work. In Orthography I have watched with much interest the tendency of general usage; and though I still feel a strong reluctance to giving up certain modes of spelling to which I have been accustomed, I hold myself responsible to conform to the usage of the best writers, as the highest law of language. This usage, I am satisfied, is inclining more and more to the standard of Webster, as modified by Goodrich. W. H. WELLS,

The edition of Dr. Webster's Dictionary, revised by Professor Goodrich, I would earnestly recommend to the attention of teachers who are desirous of becoming fully qualified to give instruction in the English language. The copious information which that work embodies on all topics connected with Etymology — the extreme exactness, and the accuracy of the definitions which it furnishes to every important word — render it a mine of philological wealth to instructors. The volume is, in fact, the teacher's encyclopaedia, as well as lexicon, for daily reference. Could a copy of it be provided as the permanent property of every district school, the effect, as regards the improvement of instruction, would be deeply and extensively felt in the increased skill of the teacher and the higher attainments of his pupils, in the most important part of education — the acquisition of an adequate knowledge and proper use of our language. In reference to the modifications of orthographical notations presented in Professor Goodrich's editions of Webster's Dictionary, I cannot, perhaps, express my opinion more definitely than I have had occasion to do in my manual (now in preparation) entitled "Exercises on Words." The following is the note to which I refer: "The critical judgment and refined taste of Professor Goodrich have left in his editions of Webster's Dictionary little ground of objection in regard to the peculiarities which proved the only drawback from the value of the original work."

WILLIAM RUSSELL.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

13

VERDICT OF RHODE ISLAND.

The QUARTO ACADEMIC ABRIDGMENT of this work we regard as a very convenient and suitable handbook for the ready use of the scholar in the school room, and would cheerfully recommend it for the preference to any other work of the kind within our knowledge. It embodies all the excellences of the Unabridged, so far as it is possible for the less to include the greater. We hope to see it in very general use in all our schools.

JANUARY, 1856.

LUCIUS A. WHEELLOCK, Principal of Elm St. Grammar School.

H. C. NASH, Principal of High St. Grammar School, North Providence.

GEO. W. QUEREAN, Principal of Providence Conference Seminary, East Greenwich.

J. J. LELAND, Principal of Grammar School, Wickfird.

DRAPER PARMENTER, Principal of Grammar School, Tiverton.

Chas. C. BEAMAN, Chairman School Committee, Scituate.

WM. E. CHASE, Principal of Grammar School, N. Kingston.

LYSANDER FLAGG, Smithfield.

JOHN L. HAMMETT, N. Scituate.

ISAAC D. MANCHÉSTER, Teacher at Tiverton.

ESSEX L. SWEET, Teacher at Scituate.

WM. S. STEERE, Teacher, Johnston.

J. E. TEFTT, Teacher, Arcadia.

["14", "WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.", "PENNSYLVANIA TESTIMONY.", "From Hon. Thomas H. Burrowes, former Superintendent of Common Schools of Pennsylvania, and now Editor of Pennsylvania Common School Journal.", "Being applied to by several teachers to designate the best large defining and Etymological Dictionary for the use of Teachers, we unhesitatingly named and still name Webster's Unabridged Quarto Work.", "From the Sup't of Clinton Co., and late Deputy State Sup't of Common Schools.", "LOCK HAVEN, CLINTON COUNTY, December 20, 1855.", "The Schools of Lock Haven, the Directors believe, are as efficient as any in the State, and have been supplied with the best standard text books that could be procured. Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, regarded as superior to all others, is used exclusively as authority in Spelling, Pronunciation, and Definition.", "HENRY L. DIEFFENBACH, Pres. Board of Directors.", "From B. M. Kerr, A. M., Superintendent of Alleghany County.", "PITTSBURG, December 20, 1855.", "The Unabridged Dictionary of Dr. Webster is justly regarded a NATIONAL TREASURE. It is a monument of his genius and industry. It is highly esteemed by our leading teachers and prominent School Directors, and is deservedly considered by all classes as the standard of our language.\n\nRespectfully yours, &c.,\nB. M. KERR.", "From the Superintendent of Somerset County.", "WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY is the acknowledged standard among all literary men in this county. I have introduced it into my school, and believe it the best in the language.", "JOSEPH J. STUTZMAN, Prin. Berlin Normal and High School, Somerset Co.", "Letters have also been received from the following County Superintendents of Common Schools, recommending Webster's Unabridged Dictionaries in the strongest terms — similar to the above.", "DAVID WILLS, Esq., Gettysburg, Superintendent of Adams County.", "GEORGE COPE, Esq., Beaver, \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \" \"

Please read this.

WHAT SHALL I ADOPT

FOR

MY SCHOOL DICTIONARY;

OR WHAT SHALL I RECOMMEND TO MY PUPILS AS

THEIR STANDARD

OF

ENGLISH LEXICOGRAPHY?

A TEACHER'S INQUIRY.

To MARSHALL CONANT, Esq., Principal of the Massachusetts STATE NORMAL SCHOOL at Bridgewater, Mass.

DEAR SIR:—

I venture to address you, as placed at the head of an institution which the State of Massachusetts, with her wonted liberality, has founded, and amply endowed, for the express purpose of training up young men and women to go out as teachers of her common schools. These schools—the people's colleges—are her glory. In them I received my own educational training. In one of them,

> "Where the white schoolhouse, with its daily drill
> Of sun-burnt children, smiles upon the hill,"

I, in turn, according to the measure of my ability, have sought to guide a happy group of New England boys and girls along the paths of knowledge.

I know, not so much from your official position as from your hearty devotion to its duties and responsibilities, that you have a warm interest in whatever may facilitate the teacher's task, and render effective his labors. In an humbler sphere I may urge that I have been your fellow-laborer, and so, assured of your sympathy in my difficulties, feel confident that I may

> "Claim kindred here, and have my claim allowed."

In my intercourse with my pupils, I have, first of all, to do with LANGUAGE. My own thoughts, as communicated to them; the thoughts of the authors

2

WHAT SHALL I ADOPT FOR MY

of the various Text Books they employ; their own thoughts, as communicated to me, and which, as I believe, it is an exceedingly important part of their education that they *should* learn to communicate, — must all be clothed in WORDS. These words, therefore, in their FORM, their ENUNCIATION, and their MEANING, I conceive it to be of the greatest importance should, as a primary object, be placed before them in the best possible manner. Hence you will perceive the appositeness of the inquiry with which I begin my letter — *What shall I adopt for my School Dictionary; or what shall I recommend to my pupils as their standard of English Lexicography?*

May I be permitted to state to you concisely the results of my investigations on this subject, with the reasons of my conclusions, and to inquire if they are not in accordance with your own? The paramount importance of the inquiry itself, to an educator, I am sure you will fully appreciate. The leading points of inquiry I think I have, as above, with sufficient clearness indicated, viz., the *forms* of words, or their *orthography*; their *enunciation*, or *pronunciation*; and their *meaning*, or *definitions*.

In looking over the various works upon English lexicography suited to the use of students in our common and higher schools, which now are or have been before the public, I find my field of investigation essentially narrowed down to two authors — WEBSTER and WORCESTER. Those of earlier date, as Johnson, Walker, Perry, Bailey, Entick, or more recent writers, as Smart, Knowles, &c., too much represent the language in its past, not its present, condition; or as employed in another, and not our own, country. Let us consider, then, the claims of the two authors mentioned. I take, for this purpose, Worcester's *Comprehensive Dictionary*, as of convenient school size, and Webster's *Academic*, or *High School*, — one a little larger, and the other a little smaller, than the Comprehensive.

And first, as of primary importance, I will speak of

## DEFINITIONS.

A gentleman in New Hampshire, in whose judgment I have great confidence, and with no prepossessions or interest to bias him, in instituting a comparison between these school dictionaries, makes this remark: "Worcester is vague, and too often defines his words by *synonyms*, or words meaning the same thing." On an examination of the *Comprehensive*, I am struck with this feature. For example, on the first ten pages I find the following adverbs thus defined: —

### CLASS 1.

*Abhorrently*, in an abhorrent manner.

*Abjectly*, in an abject manner; basely.

*Able*, in an able manner; with ability.

*Abstinently*, in an abstinent manner.

*Abstractedly*, in an abstracted manner.

*Abstractively*, in an abstractive manner.

*Abstractly*, in an abstract manner.

*Absurdly*, in an absurd manner.

*Academically*, in an academical manner.

*Acceptably*, in an acceptable manner.

*Accessorily*, in the manner of an accessory.

*Accordantly*, in an accordant manner.

*Accustomedly*, in a customary manner.

*Acrostatically*, in the manner of an acrostic.

*Actively*, in an active manner; busily.

*Adequately*, in an adequate manner.

SCHOOL DICTIONARY? A TEACHER'S INQUIRY.

3

*Adherently*, in an adherent manner.

*Adhesively*, in an adhesive manner.

*Adjectively*, in the manner of an adjective.

*Adjectivively*, in an adjectivental manner.

*Admirably*, in an admirable manner.

*Admiringly*, in an admiring manner.

*Adorably*, in an adorable manner.

*Adroitly*, in an adroit manner; dexterously.

*Adulterately*, in an adulterate manner.

*Adulterously*, in an adulterous manner.

*Adverbially*, in an adverbial manner.

*Affably*, in an affable manner.

*Affectedly*, in an affected manner.

*Affectingly*, in an affecting manner.

*Affirmatively*, in an affirmative manner.

*Afflictingly*, in an afflicting manner.

*Afflictively*, in an afflictive manner.

*Affluently*, in an affluent manner; &c.

Now I contrast this with Webster's definition of some of the same words, from the Academic: —

*Abhorrently*, with abhorrence.

*Abjectly*, meanly; wretchedly; basely.

*Able*, in an able manner.

*Abstinently*, with abstinence.

*Abstractedly*, by itself; in a separate state.

*Absurdly*, unreasonably.

*Acceptably*, pleasingly; agreeably.

*Actively*, nimbly; in a nimble manner.

*Adequately*, in proportion; justly; fitly.

*Admirably*, wonderfully; excellently; very.

*Adorably*, with adoration or worship.

*Adroitly*, nimbly; ingeniously; skillfully.

*Affably*, in an affable manner; civilly.

*Affectedly*, hypocritically; conceitedly.

*Affirmatively*, in a way capable of affirmation.

*Affirmatively*, positively; absolutely.

*Afflictively*, in a manner to give pain.

*Affluently*, in abundance; abundantly.

From a comparison of these two classes of definitions, you will readily judge from which I derive the most information, and the clearest and most perfect conception of the meaning of the word. Both are necessarily concise, and occupying about the same space.

Let me quote again from Worcester's *Comprehensive*, from the same ten pages: —

### CLASS 2.

*Abandoner*, one who abandons.

*Abbreviator*, one who abbreviates.

*Abettor*, one who abets.

*Abider*, one who abides in a place.

*Abolisher*, one who abolishes.

*Abridger*, one who abridges; a shortener.

*Absconder*, one who abscends.

*Abstracter*, one who abstracts.

*Absolver*, one who absolves.

*Accuser*, one who accuses.

*Achiever*, one who achieves, or performs.

*Acquirer*, one who acquires.

*Addresser*, one who addresses.

*Adjurer*, one who adjures.

4

WHAT SHALL I ADOPT FOR MY

Admitter, one who admits.

Admonisher, one who admonishes.

Admonitor, one who admonishes.

Adopter, one who adopts.

Advancer, one who advances.

Adventurer, one who adventures.

Advertiser, he or that which advertises.

Affancer, one who affiances.

Afflicter, one who afflicts.

Affrighter, one who frightens.

Affronter, one who affronts.

Aggrandizer, one who aggrandizes; &c.

I will now give a specimen of the same words, with their definitions, from Webster's Academic, or High School, as far as found in those works. There seems to be no propriety in encumbering the vocabulary of a work of this character with such terms as Abstracter, Addresser, Admitter, Adopter, Affrighter, &c., which appear to belong to that class of words manufactured to swell a list.

Abbreviator, one who abridges, or reduces to a smaller compass.

Abettor, one who aids or encourages.

Abider, one who dwells or continues.

Abolisher, one who abolishes.

Abridger, one who abridges or contracts.

Absolver, one who absolves.

Abstracter, one who makes an abstract.

Accuser, one who brings a charge.

Achiever, one who accomplishes a purpose.

Acquirer, one who acquires or gains.

Adjurer, one that adjures; one that exacts an oath.

Admonisher, a repper.

Advancer, a promoter.

Advertiser, one who gives information.

Affancer, one who makes a contract of marriage between parties.

Afflicter, one who afflicts; &c.

It appears to me that in this class, as in the preceding, we clearly recognize the distinguishing difference between these two lexicographers as definers. Worcester defines a word by itself, or its primitive or synonym; Webster is precise, and defines his words by describing them. I might give other classes of words in which the same feature is illustrated. Thus, Worcester's Comprehensive has —

CLASS 3.

Abandonment, the act of abandoning.

Abasement, act of abasing; humiliation.

Abdication, act of abdicating; resignation.

Abetment, the act of abetting.

Abolishment, act of abolishing; abolition.

Absolution, the act of absolving; acquittal.

Absorption, the act of absorbing.

Accentuation, act of placing the accent.

Adduction, the act of adducing; — and many others.

Webster's Academic gives—

Abandonment, entire desertion.

Abasement, the act of humbling; low state.

Abdication, the deserting of a public trust without a formal surrender.

Abetment, encouragement; support.

Abolishment, the act of annulling.

5

Absolution, forgiveness; a pardoning; in the Canon Law, remission of sins, pronounced by a priest to a penitent.

Absorption, the act of swallowing up; occupation of mind.

Accentuation, the placing of accent on a particular syllable.

Adduction, the act of bringing forward.

The foregoing classes will suffice to convey to you my impressions. I have purposely drawn the examples from the first ten pages of Worcester, and you will readily see that the lists might be almost indefinitely extended. I will now, however, take general words (and I might do this almost at random) from these school dictionaries of Webster and Worcester, and place them, with their definitions, in parallel columns, as perhaps affording a better illustration of my meaning.

From Webster's Academic.

Abalienate, v. t. to transfer the title of property.

From Worcester's Comprehensive.

Abalienate, v. a. to alienate; (Law) to transfer one's property to another.

Worcester here gives two definitions, longer than Webster's, but fails, I think, to give the meaning finally. He first gives, "to alienate;" but the prefix *ab* gives to the word a farther and other signification. Then to abalienate is not simply "to transfer one's property," (which may be done without alienating it,) but to transfer its legal title.

Abarticulation, n. that kind of articulation or structure of joints which admits of manifest motion.

Abarticulation, n. (Anat.) a kind of articulation.

Certainly, as Worcester gives it, abarticulation is "a kind of articulation;" but what kind of articulation is the very thing I wish to know. I refer to his definition of articulation, and find it to be, "act of articulating; a consonant; a joint; a juncture." Which of these is Abarticulation? Or if it is supposed the scholar will understand (Anat.) to refer it to the joints, still, what kind of anatomical articulation is it? Webster gives me a clear idea; Worcester none at all.

Abate, v. t. to decrease; to lessen; to pull down; to fail, as a writ; to remit, as a tax; to deduct; to annul.

Abate, v. a. to lessen; to diminish; to depress; (Law) to put an end to; to defeat.

Worcester here gives no such sense to *abate* as "to remit, as a tax;" a very common use in this country, and one which a schoolboy would be very likely to consult his dictionary about. Then some of the meanings he does give it are not, to say the least, very common; as, "to depress."

Abject, n. a person in the lowest condition.

Abject, n. a man without hope; a wretch.

The first definition given by Worcester here is that found in his large work, and the only one there given. Thus: "Abject, a man without hope. Psalm xxxv." The word occurs only in verse 15 of Psalm xxxv., and thus: "Yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me." No such sense as that of "a man without hope;" but rather, as Dr. Webster has it, "a person in the lowest condition."

Ablactation, n. a weaning of a child from the breast; method of grafting by approach, or inarching.

Ablactation, n. a method of grafting.

G

WHAT SHALL I ADOPT FOR MY

Here Worcester is, in the first place, vague, not saying what method of grafting; and in the second place, gives but one meaning of the word, and that a different one from that he gives the verb immediately preceding. Thus, "Ablactate," to wean from the breast; "Ablactation," a method of grafting.

### Webster's Academic.

Abruptness, n. great haste; suddenness.

Absorption, n. the act of swallowing up; occupation of mind.

Webster's second sense — a very common one — not given by Worcester.

Abstinent, a. refraining from; temperate.

Abutment, n. that which joins to another; the solid part of a bridge next the land.

Abruptness, n. state of being abrupt.

Absorption, n. the act of absorbing.

Abstinent, a. using abstinence; abstemious.

Abutment, n. that which borders upon another; a mass of masonry in a bridge.

But what part of the masonry, or where in the bridge? Who would understand from this what an abutment to a bridge is? Who would fail to understand it from Webster?

Accidentally, ad. by chance; unexpectedly.

Accidentally, ad. casually; fortuitously.

Now let us see if we can get Worcester's idea of the meaning of accidentally. Turn to casually, and the only definition he gives is, "accidentally." Turn to fortuitously, and it is defined, "accidentally; casually." So, accidentally is "casually; fortuitously;" casually is "accidentally;" and fortuitously is "accidentally; casually." This seems to me defining in a circle; or rather, not defining at all. Webster's definition is simple, but intelligible and clear.

But not to seem to make my selection, unfairly, from one part of the book alone, I turn, at random, to another page: —

Expectorant, n. a medicine that promotes discharges from the lungs.

Expectorant, n. an expectorative medicine.

"An expectorative medicine," says Worcester. But what is that? Expectorative he defines, "promoting expectoration;" still I am as wise as before. What is expectoration? He gives it as "discharging by coughing." Here, at last, I get his definition: — An expectorant is an expectorative medicine; expectorative is that which promotes expectoration; and expectoration is discharging by coughing. Not exactly, either. A morsel lodged in the windpipe may be "discharged by coughing," but this is not expectoration. How much clearer and more direct is Webster!

Explicatory, a. serving to unfold.

Explicatory, a. explicative; explaining.

Contrast these: —

Explicitness, n. plainness of language.

Explicitness, n. state of being explicit.

These also: —

Exponent, n. a figure in algebra that shows how often a root is repeated.

Exponent, n. (Algebra) an index of a power.

What idea will a pupil in a common school get from Worcester here?

Exportation, n. the carrying of goods out of the country.

Exportation, n. act of exporting.

7

### Webster's Academic.

Exposure, n. act of exposing; the state of being laid open to view, to danger, or any inconvenience; the situation of a place in regard to a free access of air.

### Worcester's Comprehensive.

Exposure, n. act of exposing; manifestation; situation; danger.

Suppose the phrase is, "The building had a western exposure?" Can you apply either of Worcester's definitions to it?

Turn a little farther: —

Harpy, n. a fabulous winged animal; extorctioner; a plunderer.

Harpy, n. a fabulous winged monster; a wretch.

No; a man may be a wretch, but not a harpy. Webster gives the true idea.

Harvest, n. the season for gathering ripe grain; the crop gathered; effects; consequences.

Harvest, v. the season of reaping, &c.; corn ripened and gathered; produce; product of labor.

Let us analyze this. Harvest is not only the time of "reaping," but the scythe, the cradle, the knife, or other implement or machine may be used. It is not only "corn" gathered, but hay, potatoes, or any "crop," as Webster has it. Then Worcester fails in this, as in very many other cases, to give any other than the literal sense. Thus, if the phrase is, "He reaps a harvest of woe," he has no definition for it; Webster has.

Harvest, v. t. to gather a ripe crop.

Harvest, v. a. to reap and gather in.

But a man may harvest his hay crop, or his potatoes, and yet not "reap" them.

Harvest-moon, n. the moon near its opposition to the sun, when it rises nearly at the same time for several days.

Harvest-moon, n. the lunation at harvest time.

Webster gives me a clear idea; Worcester none. I turn to lunation. He says, "the revolution of the moon." Still I am in the dark, notwithstanding it is full moon. Besides, this appearance of the moon takes place in September, which is not "harvest time" in this country.

But, finally, let me turn to another page, again at random: —

Mall, n. a large wooden beetle.

Mall, n. a kind of beetle or hammer; a mallet.

I turn to mallet in Worcester, and he says, "a wooden hammer;" I turn to hammer, and he says, "an instrument for driving nails, &c. Now, a mallet is not used for driving nails. Here, again, Webster is satisfactory; Worcester not.

Malleability, n. susceptibility of extension by beating.

Malleability, n. quality of being malleable.

Compare the two.

Malt, n. barley steeped in water and dried.

Malt, n. grain steeped in water and dried.

But corn, or wheat, or oats, are "grain," and may be "steeped in water and dried;" yet the product is not malt.

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WHAT SHALL I ADOPT FOR MY

### Webster's Academic.

Man, n. mankind; the human race; the whole species of human beings; a male individual of the human race, of adult growth or years; a servant; a word of familiar address; one who is master of mental power; a husband; a movable piece at chess or draughts.

Man, n. a human being; mankind; a male of the human race; a husband; a servant; a piece at chess, draughts, &c.

Let us analyze Worcester's definition again. Man is "a human being." A woman is "a human being;" ergo, a woman is a man. Man is "a male of the human race;" a boy of three years is "a male of the human race;" ergo, a boy three years old is a man. This defect of Worcester — failing properly to limit and guard his definition — pervades all his works, large and small, that I have seen.

Management, n. conduct; treatment; dealing; cunning practice.

Management, n. conduct; administration.

"He gained his object by management;" how shall I define management here, according to Worcester?

Mandamus, n. in law, a writ from a superior court to an inferior court [or any party] commanding to do some act.

Mandamus, n. law, a writ from a superior court to an inferior court, &c.

That which is vital to the meaning of the word Worcester omits, viz., "commanding to do some act."

### Webster's High School.

Mango, n. a fruit of the East pickled; a pickled muskmelon.

Mango, n. a fruit; a pickle.

An apple is "a fruit;" an orange is "a fruit;" yet neither is a mango. A cucumber preserved in brine is "a pickle;" yet it is not a mango. A "pickled muskmelon" is a mango.

It were easy to cite numerous other instances from almost any page of Worcester illustrative of the same feature. Thus he gives—

Barratry, n. foul practice in law.

Webster adds to this, "any fraud of a shipmaster;" a sense in which it is employed quite as frequently as the other.

Batter, n. a mixture of several ingredients.

But what ingredients? Sand, copper, and fish-hooks, thrown together, are "a mixture of several ingredients," but do not make a batter. Webster gives, "a mixture of flour, water, eggs, &c."

Afterclap, n. a subsequent event.

The harvest is a subsequent event to the seedtime; yet it is not an after-clap. Webster says, "an unexpected and disagreeable event afterward."

Carotid, n. a term applied to two arteries.

What two arteries? Webster gives, "a term applied to two arteries which carry the blood from the heart to the head."

9

Fulcrum, n. a prop; a support.

But a fulcrum is not merely "a prop, a support," but a prop or support for a particular purpose. A pillar to sustain a roof may be "a prop, a support," but is not a fulcrum. Webster adds, "that which supports a lever."

Gibberish, n. cant; words without meaning.

More properly, with Webster, "rapid, inarticulate speech; nonsense," &c.

But I have transcribed perhaps more than enough instances to explain to you the reasons of my impressions of the comparative merits of Webster and Worcester as *definers*. I have purposely selected very common words, and the four or five pages from which they are taken at random are fair specimens, I believe, of the whole book. Let any one take any page from the two works named, and institute a careful comparison, and make the proper analysis, and he will, I am confident, arrive at a like conclusion. The analysis I have given you, I am sure, is not in a spirit of captiousness or hypercriticism.

A friend has put into my hands a number of the *Granite Farmer and Visitor*, published at Manchester, New Hampshire. I have no acquaintance with the editor, but am assured he is a very intelligent man, with no interest whatever in the matter, other than as a friend of our common schools. From an article on this subject I extract the following, as confirmatory of my views:—

Worcester's Dictionary is greatly deficient in definitions. The main and legitimate object of a dictionary is the defining of words. Now, although Worcester's Dictionary may be an improvement upon some English dictionaries, yet when compared with Webster's in this great particular, it is decidedly inferior. Worcester is vague, and too often defines his words by synonyms, or words meaning the same thing. On the contrary, Webster is precise, and defines his words by describing them. For example: a boy is looking over his reading lesson, and meets with the word *hermetically*—"The box should be hermetically sealed." He is at fault as to its definition. He consults Worcester, and finds the word given, thus—"HERMETIC, HERMETICAL, chemical: HERMETICALLY, chemically." Now, he is as much in the dark as before; he does not know how the box is to be sealed. Should he take Webster, he will learn the meaning of the word; thus—"HERMETICAL, designating chemistry; perfectly close: HERMETICALLY, closely, accurately." Then take the word *hermit*. Worcester says, "HERMIT, an anchoret, a devout recluse." Now, with the first definition, he is as much at fault as before, and perhaps more so. It is possible, from some nursery tale, the lad has formed some idea of a hermit; but of anchoret he never has heard before. He looks in Worcester, and finds ANCHORET defined as "a recluse, a hermit." He is just as wise as before, and standing upon the same ground. He looks at RECLUSE, and finds it defined as "one shut up; a retired person." He has got the meaning at last! "Mr. Jones is in jail, shut up, and Mr. Jones is a hermit!" "Mr. Doe is a person who lives in a retired neighborhood; Mr. Doe is a hermit!" "Mr. Smith has retired from business; he is called a retired merchant — a merchant is a person; Mr. Smith, then, is a retired person; a hermit is a retired person, and Mr. Smith is a hermit; a hermit, then, is a retired merchant." Full of this extraordinary knowledge, derived legiti- mately from Worcester's Dictionary, he takes his place in his class. The teacher asks him to define hermit. He answers promptly, "Hermit means a man that is in jail," or, "a retired merchant!" and is met with an emphatic "No, the next," from his teacher, with such smiles from the older scholars as abash and discourage him. Now, with Webster before him, he would have turned to hermit, and found it thus: "HERMIT, one who lives in solitude; a recluse." And if he doubts upon solitude, he looks for it, and finds "SOLI- TUBE, loneliness; seclusion; a desert;" and he can have no doubt as to the meaning of hermit.

And so it is with hundreds and thousands of words. A child can form no idea of their meaning from Worcester's Dictionary. On the contrary, from Webster's it can get a clear idea of their meaning. As we have begun with H, let us look a little farther. Worcester says "HEW, to cut with an axe; to hack; to chop; to form." Now, one can form no idea as to the correct and common definition of *hew* from such a description. Take Web- ster, and he says, "Hsw, to cut off chips and pieces for making a smooth surface; to chop; to cut with a chisel." Now, here the child gets the true meaning of the verb to *hew*.

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WHAT SHALL I ADOPT FOR MY

Then, again, Worcester says, "HICCOUGH, a convulsion of the stomach producing sobs;" Webster says, truly, "HICCOUGH, a spasmodic affection of the stomach." Worcester has "HIEROGLYPH, a symbolic character; the art of writing in picture." Webster more truly and particularly says, "HIEROGLYPH, a sacred character or mystical symbol in ancient writings; pictures intended to represent historical facts." HERSELF, Worcester is a single being. And a female individual may be a female goat, or a female orang-outang. Now, Webster defines "HERSELF" to mean "the female in person;" an accurate definition "a female individual;" giving no sort of definite idea of the word. An individual is a single being. And a female individual may be a female goat, or a female orang-outang. Now, Webster defines "HERSELF" to mean "the female in person;" an accurate true definition. Two more examples, and we have done. INSURANCE, Worcester defines, "act of insuring;" and stops; no idea can be formed of its correct meaning. Now defines, "act of insuring," and stops; no idea can be formed of its correct meaning. It is equivalent to sedition, except that sedition expresses a less extensive rising of government. It differs from rebellion, for the latter expresses an attempt to overthrow the government."

Now, these are fair examples, taken from the first places opened in the book, and the same striking comparison may be carried through the works. And can a parent, teacher, or committee, hesitate which of these books to choose to introduce into our schools as helps to our children in gaining a knowledge of the English language?

If my views are correct, this matter of accurate *definitions* is not one merely of theoretical, or slight, importance, but of ever-recurring and paramount consequence. If words are the signs of thought, the representatives of ideas, is it not important that the sign should correctly represent the thing signified? — the *word* convey a definite idea of the thought? To show the necessity of this, and the practical evil of a different method, I will repeat an anecdote of actual occurrence, I am assured, in Boston. A gentleman of that city, having occasion to be in one of the public schools, desired a class of intelligent boys each to bring up a sentence containing the word *punctilious*. One of them presented this sentence: "I had a *punctilious* pudding for dinner." "How is this?" said the gentleman; "where is your authority for this singular use of the word?" Producing his Worcester's Dictionary, he quoted the definition — "nice, exact," — thus sustaining the correctness of his use of the word, since Worcester gives "nice" as a definition of *punctilious*. Turning to Webster's Academic, or High School, we find it thus: "*Punctilious*, exact in ceremony or bargain." Thus guarded, no one could be misled, as was the Boston boy.

So far as I have been able to investigate, this same defect — want of clearness, precision, and accuracy of definitions — pervades all Worcester's lexicographical works, from the largest to the smallest. Is it not a fatal defect? I have been led to inquire, Whence does this difference between Webster and Worcester arise? How is it to be accounted for? I think in the mental constitution, the pursuits, the history of the men. Dr. Webster, gifted by Nature with a vigorous, clear, and discriminating mind, devoted himself for thirty or forty years of his life, with great singleness of purpose, to lexicographical labors. By long and patient investigation, tracing the language to its multifarious original sources, he thus formed a clear conception, in the case of each word, of its primary, and thence its derived and figurative meanings; and having obtained this conception, he possessed, in an eminent degree, the gift so rare and yet so valuable, the power clearly to express it. Hence the lucid, vigorous, full, yet unredundant character of his definitions, found, perhaps, in no other English lexicographer.

In this connection, the following, from his biographer, seems to me so just and appropriate, that I cannot forbear to transcribe it: —

The period at which Dr. Webster came forward in public life was one, to an uncommon extent, in which every important subject was discussed in its *principles*. It was a period when the foundations of our civil polity were laid, and when such men as Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, became the expounders of the Constitution and the advocates of the new government. All things conspired to make the discussions of that day masterly exhibitions of reasoning and profound investigation — the character of the men engaged, the conflict of great principles, and the weighty interests suspended on the issue. Dr. Webster for some years took a large share in these discussions, both in pamphlets and through the journal which he conducted. The habits which he thus formed went with him into all the literary pursuits of his subsequent life. They made him a bold, original thinker — thorough in all his investigations, and fearless in proclaiming the results. He had no deference for authority except as sustained by argument. He was no copyist, no mere compiler. Every thing he wrote, from a chapter in "The Prompter," to his "Introduction to the American Dictionary," bore the same impress of original thought, personal observation, and independent inquiry.

It is unnecessary to say how perfectly these habits were adapted to prepare Dr. Webster for the leading employment of his life, the production of the American Dictionary. Nothing but the eager pursuit of every kind of knowledge, and his exact system in bringing all that he had ever read completely under his command, could have enabled him to give in his first edition more than twelve thousand words and forty thousand definitions which could then be found in no other similar work. Nothing but his passion for original investigation prevented him from building, like Todd, on the foundation of Johnson, or arranging Horne Tooke's etymologies, like Richardson, with some additions and improvements, under their proper heads in a dictionary. But commencing with the "Diversions of Purley," as the starting point of his researches, he was led by the character of his mind to widen the continually field of his inquiries. He passed from the Western languages to the Eastern, in tracing the affinities of his native tongue. He established some of those great principles which made etymology a science, and led the way in the brilliant career of investigation by which the German philologists are throwing so clear a light on the origin and filiation of the principal languages of the globe. But into these studies he would never have entered, nor even thought of attempting such a work as an original dictionary of the English language, except under the impulse of those other traits — that sanguine temperament, that spirit of self-reliance, that fearless determination to carry out every thing that he thought useful and true to its utmost limits, which were spoken of above as forming the master principle of his character.

Mr. Worcester, on the other hand, without these advantages of a preparatory training in this direction, appears to have devoted himself mainly to compilations, transcribing the literary labors of other minds, the preparation of some of the minor text books for schools, &c., and his work to have been rather that of an editor than of an original writer. To take an example from both Webster and Worcester, of the same word, from the large work of each: —

Webster.

ARENA, n. [L. arena, sand.]

1. In *Roman antiquity*, the area in the central part of an amphitheater, in which the gladiators fought, and other shows were exhibited; so called because it was covered with sand.
   *Adam's Roman Antig.*

2. Figuratively, any place of public contest or exertion; as, the arena of debate; the arena of life.

3. Among physicians, sand or gravel in the kidneys.

4. The middle of a temple, or inclosed place.

Worcester.

ARENA, n. [L. sand.] Pl. L. arena; Eng. arenas.

A space covered with sand for the exhibition of combats, as in an amphitheatre; level ground or space, as for combatants.

Here, you notice, Webster gives clearly, —

1. Its origin, its literal, first signification, from the Latin *arena*, sand. Hence,

2. The ground, or *space strewn with sand*, on which the ancient gladiatorial combats took place. Hence,

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3. Any place of contest or intellectual strife, or material struggle. And then a medical use of the word, drawn from the same origin.

Worcester gives *no* use of the word in its figurative sense, nor its third signification in Webster.

Take another instance, from many that might be cited, apparently showing that Mr. Worcester's labors, as a lexicographer, have been very much those of a transcriber, and that even without any just appreciation of his own concerning that which he copied. He first appeared before the public as a lexicographer, I believe, as the editor of Todd's Johnson; and subsequently, unlike Webster in the passage I have quoted from his biographer, *did* "build, like Todd, on the foundation of Johnson;" or rather on the foundation of Johnson and Todd both. For the word *alject*, (used as a noun,) which I have cited in a former page, appears in Todd's Johnson thus: "*Alject*, a man without hope; one of the lowest condition. Psalm xxxv." Now, Worcester, in his own large work, gives only the first definition—"a man without hope;" but cites Psalm xxxv. as an authority for this use of the word, when that Psalm gives *no* such use, but only the latter signification, which Worcester entirely omits.

I have dwelt thus at length on this feature of *definitions*, because I deem it of vital importance. I will now, however, proceed to my *second* point of inquiry, viz., the *form* of words, or their

## ORTHOGRAPHY.

It is sometimes urged that no changes should be made in the orthography of the English language; that it is unwarrantable to vary the compositions of an author, in this respect, from the form in which he left them; at any rate, that there has some time been a sort of Golden Age in English literature, say the eighteenth century, and to the orthography of that period all subsequent usage should conform.

A very limited knowledge of the past must, it seems to me, satisfy us that this is simply impossible. The language itself is an accretion of almost every other; lays nearly every dialect of earth under contribution; and there seems apparent from the beginning a strong tendency to have these discordant materials reduced to some degree of homogeneity and proportion. Not more certainly does the German, the Italian, or the Gaul, who comes an immigrant to our shores, find speedily in himself a tendency to assimilate with us in manners, customs, modes of thought and action, than the words from his vernacular, which occasionally get into vogue among us, incline soon to assume an Anglo-Saxon garb, demand naturalization, and claim, equally with its new associates, the rights of franchise. So, too, in the language itself, is there an irresistible tendency in its orthography to a nearer approach to simplicity, analogy, system. Who would, if he could, resist this tendency? Let me cite a passage, in its antique dress, from Sir Thomas More, written in the early part of the sixteenth century: —

*A ruful lamentacion of the deth of quene Elisabeth, wife to King Henry the Seventh, &c.*

> "O ye that put your trust and confidence
> In worldly ioy and frayle prosperity,
> That so lyue here as ye should neuer hence,
> Remember death, and loke here vppon me;
> Ensaumele I thynke there may no better be;
> Your selfe wotte well that in this realme was I,
> Your quene but late, and lo, now here I lye."

13

Or to go back to a still earlier period, the time of the Norman conquest, in the following version of the first chapter of Luke: —

1. "In the dayes of Eroude kyng of Judee ther was a prest Zacarye by name; of the sort of Abia, and his wyf was of the daughters of Aaron; and hir name was Elisabeth.

2. And bothe weren juste before God; goyng in alle the maundementis and justifyingis of the Lord withouten playnt.

3. And thei hadden no child, for Elisabeth was bareyn, and bothe weren of great age in her dayes."

Do any of our lovers of antiquity desire to return to this mode of spelling? Would they even like to go back to the following, prevalent during the present century, and only modified since Dr. Webster introduced the change? *Arc-tick, almanack, arithmetick, physick, musick, rubrick, &c.; superiour, inferiour, interiour, honour, neighbour, &c. ?*

I regard, therefore, as a fixed fact, the tendency of which I have spoken. Shall the intelligent lexicographer, who has devoted a long life of intense study to his favorite pursuit, seek to give a wise direction to this tendency, himself favor a progressive movement, and turn it to good account; or shall he tie his packthread to the wheels of the locomotive, while traversing a descending grade, and seek thus to stay its progress?

I give my preference to Webster's orthography, —

1. Because he favors the movement of which I have spoken, and adopts as "a main principle, that the tendencies of the language to greater simplicity and broader analogies ought to be watched and cherished with the utmost care."

2. Because he has a *system*, and carries out certain changes, already begun, the consummation of which so greatly facilitates the acquisition of the language by a foreigner, and its study by our own people.

Let me instance examples of this, and the want of it: —

(a.) *Authour, behaviour, errour, favour, honour, interiour, neighbour, supe-riour, and several hundreds of this class, Webster changes to author, beha-vior, favor, &c., omitting the u.* Before he adopted this modification, the usage was entirely the old mode, Worcester himself practicing it; but the omission of the *u* is now almost universal in this country, and is fast obtaining in Great Britain, I am assured.

(b.) *Arctick, almanack, antick, bishoprick, critick, cathartick, catholick, physick, rubrick, and some hundreds more, Webster changes to arctic, almanac, antic, &c.* The change thus effected by him has become scarcely less univer-sal than the preceding.

(c.) Changing the termination *re* in certain cases to *er*. There appear to be two reasons for this: *first*, the change has already taken place, in regard to many words of this class, and consistency and convenience alike demand it should be carried through. They are mostly from the French. Thus: —

<table><thead><tr><td>French.</td><td>English.</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Chambre,</td><td>Chamber.</td></tr><tr><td>Cidre,</td><td>Cider.</td></tr><tr><td>Chapitre,</td><td>Chapter.</td></tr><tr><td>Barometre,</td><td>Barometer.</td></tr><tr><td>Chronometre,</td><td>Chronometer, &c.</td></tr></tbody></table>

Webster carries out this, and instead of

<table><tr><td>Accoutrement, says,</td><td>Accouterment.</td></tr><tr><td>Centre,</td><td>Center.</td></tr><tr><td>Theatre,</td><td>Theater.</td></tr><tr><td>Metre,</td><td>Meter.</td></tr></table>

["14", "WHAT SHALL I ADOPT FOR MY", "But, secondly, the pronunciation requires this change. The French say, *sidr*, not si-der; *shambr*, not cham-ber; *ta-atr*, not the-a-ter. We, on the other hand, sound the *e*, and before the *r*. This change, therefore, removes an anomaly, and makes the orthography conform to the pronunciation. Besides, is it not grossly inconsistent to spell *metre*, a measure, *tre*, but *thermo-meter*, a measure of heat, *baro-meter*, a measure of weight, *dia-meter*, a measure across, *gaso-meter*, a measurer of gas, &c., with *ter*? I anticipate the time when it will seem as strange to see *meager* spelled *meagre*, as it would now to see *eager* put *eagre*, or *cider*, *cidre*.", "(d.) Dr. Webster carries out another reform, in like manner required by convenience and consistency — *ense*, in place of *ence*. Thus we already say, —", "Expense,", "Expensive,", "Expensively.", "Why the anomalies of", "Defence,", "Defensive,", "Defenceless,", "Offence,", "Offensive,", "Offenceless,", "Pretence,", "Pretension, &c.?", "(e.) Webster lays down a principle like this: \"In adding to a word the formatives *ing*, *ed*, *er*, &c., a single consonant (if one precedes) is doubled when the accent falls on the last syllable, as in *forgetting*, *beginning*, &c.; but *is not doubled when the accent falls on any of the preceding syllables*, as in *benefiting*, *gardening*, &c.\" Is not the rule convenient? Under it, we know *rebelling* is accented on the second syllable, and *reveling* on the first; and the rule indicates the orthography of a large class of words — a principle and guide far more easily remembered than an arbitrary orthography of which usage, and more that unsettled, is the only standard.", "The foregoing, I believe, constitute all the essential classes of words in which Dr. Webster's dictionaries now present a departure from the old orthography. He spells *blamable*, *abridgment*, &c., without the *e*; *befall*, *fulfill*, &c., with double *l*; and a few minor instances of this sort, for which he seems to assign valid reasons; but nineteen twentieths — I might perhaps say ninety-nine hundredths — of the words whose orthography he has changed, as his works now stand, I believe, are found under the classes I have specified. They commend themselves to my judgment as rational and wise. If so, shall a wedded attachment to a fossilized conservatism deter us from adopting them? I answer, No.", "3. Because I regard Dr. Webster's modifications, so far from rendering unsettled and fluctuating the usage on this subject, as has been claimed, as, more than any thing else, tending to give uniformity, stability, and permanence of usage.", "I know that would-be witlings, and minds incompetent, apparently, to frame or appreciate a process of reasoning or generalization, have made merry over this subject. My own conclusions are not affected thereby. To place this matter impressively before you, and satisfy you which course is most likely to give a stable and permanent character to the orthography of the language, let me present you a specimen of the two plans — that of Webster, which aims to perfect a system by carrying out analogies where it can be wisely done; and that of Worcester, which aims to make present usage (if possible to learn it) the only guide. I therefore give to you, in parallel columns, a brief selection, faithfully transcribed from the works from which they purport to be drawn:—", "SCHOOL DICTIONARY? A TEACHER'S INQUIRY.", "15", "Worcester's Todd's\nJohnson, 1828.", "Worcester's Comprehensive, 1835.", "Worcester's Comprehensive, 1847.", "Webster.", "Admittable", "Admittable", "Admittible", "Admittable", "Adz", "Adz", "Adze", "Adz", "Aide-de-camp", "Aide-de-camp", "Aide-de-camp", "Aide-de-camp", "Affere", "Affere", "Affere", "Affere", "Almanack", "Almanac", "Almanac", "Almanac", "Amortize", "Amortize", "Amortize", "Amortize", "Antarectick", "Antarectic", "Antarctic", "Antarctic", "Apprize (to inform)", "Apprize", "Apprize", "Apprize", "Autocracy", "Autocracy", "Autocracy", "Autocracy", "Aristocraticick", "Aristocratic", "Aristocratic", "Aristocratic", "Ascendancy", "Ascendancy", "Ascendancy", "Ascendancy", "Balister (a bow)", "Balister", "Ballister", "Balister", "Bazar", "Bazar", "Bazar", "Bazar, or Bazaar", "Bans", "Bans", "Banns", "Bans", "Belflower", "Belflower", "Bellflower", "Bellflower", "Belman", "Belman", "Bellman", "Bellman", "Belmetal", "Belmetal", "Bellmetal", "Bellmetal", "Belringer", "Belringer", "Bellringer", "Bellringer", "Belwether", "Belwether", "Bellwether", "Bellwether", "Belligerant", "Belligerent", "Belligerent", "Belligerent", "Bequeath", "Bequeath", "Bequeath", "Bequeath", "Behaviour", "Behavior", "Behavior", "Behavior", "Benum", "Benumb", "Benumb", "Benumb", "Bevel, or Bevil", "Bevel, or Bevil", "Bevel", "Bevel", "Bilingsgate", "Bilingsgate", "Bilingsgate", "Bilingsgate

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WHAT SHALL I ADOPT FOR MY

encies, alternate advances and retrocessions, are the only result, and endless confusion must follow. Thus he has

Autocracy, Autocracy, Autocracy.

First with s, then c, then returning to s again. But why not democracy, theoc-
rasy, &c., as well? So ascendency, ascendancy, ascendency — first with e,
then a, then to e again; and, on the whole, a regular approach to Webster.
Now, I have no conception that all the anomalies of English orthography are
very soon to be corrected. Shall there be no attempt, therefore, to correct
any of them? Some of the most obvious of these, I say again, there is a
strong tendency, in this country especially, to correct; and, in my opinion, it
is the province of the lexicographer wisely to guide these. Take, for exam-
ple, one of the terminations, most perplexing to foreigners, as seen in the
following four words : —

Although, Plough, Rough, Through.

The first is very often written in an abbreviated form — *altho'*; the second Dr. Webster restores to its old English usage — *plow*, and you will so find it in any English edition of the Bible; the fourth is likewise written, very often, in an abbreviated form — *thro*.'

Dr. Webster, it is stated by Professor Goodrich, the editor of the recent
editions of his works, introduced two distinct classes of changes in orthography.
One is composed of those designed to carry out changes already commenced,
or required by obvious analogies, or falling under an existing general rule;
the other was suggested by the etymology of the particular word. Thus,
under this last class, he changed *molasses* to *melasses*, since it was taken from
the French *melasse*, or Italian *melazza*; having a common relation to the
Latin, *mel*, honey; (Paul was shipwrecked upon the island Mel-ita, so called
from its abounding in honey.) Now, however desirable this orthography
would have been originally, as conveying a true idea of the primary mean-
ing of the word, or the orthography be fitted to suggest the definition, yet,
as this advantage would be one mainly to be appreciated by the learned, and
this class of changes not of such obvious and great utility as the other, and
not as readily acquiesced in, I consider a restoration to the old form, which
Dr. Goodrich has effected in the recent editions, to have been judicious. Yet
the advantage of even this class of changes, in particular cases, may not have
been sufficiently appreciated. Suppose, for example, the word *benevolence*
had come to be spelled *beanevoughlents*, (and as strange metamorphoses as
this have happened,) and the question was, whether to restore it to a form to
indicate its origin: — thus, from the Latin, *bene*, well, *volens*, willing — well-
willing — so *benevolence*. What more perfect or beautiful idea of the mean-
ing of the word can be conveyed? As Webster now stands I can intelligently
adopt him as my guide. I concur with Professor Stowe — "His system falls
in most completely with the tendencies of the language; and if in any thing
he goes beyond present usage, it is in the right direction, and the usage will
soon overtake him." I will only observe, finally, —

4. Because Webster's system appears to be that to which public usage is rapidly conforming. Worcester, as you will have seen from the instances I have cited, adopts many of his principles, — manifestly derived from him, — and in each succeeding edition appears to come to a nearer approximation. Even English usage, (more slow to change,) I am assured, is yet gradually, but surely, tending in the same direction; while it is still far from that uniformity and system which Dr. Webster has so happily secured for us. I open a recent English dictionary, for example, and copy at random as follows, taking

17

the orthography as there given: — *author*, *behaviour*, *favour*, *honorary*,
*rigour*, *superior*, &c., and many others equally inconsistent.

Uniformity of usage, I regard, after all, as of more importance than this or
that particular mode of spelling. Webster's system appears to me fitted to
secure, and is actually securing, this, and I therefore give it my vote.

Having thus spoken of words in their *meaning*, or *definitions*, and their
*form*, or *orthography*, it only remains, in the last place, that I advert to their
enunciation, or

PRONUNCIATION.

What should be our guide in this respect? I answer, certain general principles, rules, and analogies, and good usage conjoined, as in orthography. A tendency to anomalous, affected, uneuphonious forms should be discouraged: the reverse should be fostered. The language in its present condition is not susceptible of unbending rules in this respect; but it is susceptible of a recognition of some general principles. Thus we say *c* should take the sound of *k*, when it precedes *a*, *o*, *u*, *l*, and *r*; of *s*, when before *e*, *i*, and *y*. So *a* as a terminal, should take the sound, not of *y* short, but of *a* in *abba*.

Then what constitutes good usage? In England, the pronunciation of the stage, I believe, has been a sort of criterion; yet not as much so now, I suppose, as in the days of Garrick. The general practice of the largest number of the most intelligent and best educated people — of those most conversant with cultivated society — is perhaps a safe general rule. Yet as this usage is necessarily somewhat diversified, not the same precisely in different localities, it does not seem expedient to press the matter into minute details too much. We have with us no body corresponding to the French Academy, to give law to the world of letters, or to lead the mode.

Then pronunciation, it is obvious, must be learned essentially from the living teacher, since the numberless modulations of the voice can never be indicated by arbitrary characters, or the respelling of words. To attempt too much must inevitably lead to error. Let us look, for a moment, in this particular, also, to the antecedents of the authors of the volumes before us. Webster, in the thirty years' elaboration of his work, gave attention to this, as well as the other departments of his Dictionary. In particular, he spent some time in England, to learn the views and practice of scholars there, having this object specially in view. Professor Goodrich, the editor of the recent editions, has for many years had the lexicational training of the young men in one of the largest, most ancient, and best conducted literary institutions of the country. He has likewise traveled extensively in Europe, and thus come in contact with the ripest scholars of both hemispheres. Webster's dictionaries now present the results of the combined labors and observation of both these distinguished men. The Imperial Dictionary, the work of perhaps the greatest present repute in Great Britain, I learn adopts Webster's notation and system of pronunciation in every particular. That is convincing proof of the estimation in which Webster is held there.

Worcester, on the other hand, I believe, has resided most of his life in one
place, without being practically engaged in teaching, or having the oppor-
tunity of a widely extended observation, as the means of forming a nicely
cultivated ear in orthoëpy. He has pushed his system to an extreme, in
my estimation; adopts sometimes the affected pronunciation of the London
stage, or gets his views from the writings of English orthoëpists, not recog-
nized, even in England, as authoritative, or safe guides on this point.

3

18

WHAT SHALL I ADOPT FOR MY

A recent English lexicon, published in London, has some judicious remarks on this subject, which, for their apparent candor and correctness, I subjoin: —

"Let any man, in genteel society or in public, pronounce the distinct sound of e in the terminations less and ness, as in hopeless, happiness, and he would pass for a most inelegant speaker." — London Imperial Dictionary.

Mr. Worcester gives

<table><tr><td>Hap-pi-něss</td><td>(e short as in met)</td></tr><tr><td>Bless-ed-něss</td><td>“ “</td></tr><tr><td>Right-eous-něss</td><td>“ “</td></tr></table>

Yet he gives hopeless, blameless, &c., without so marking the e, giving it as obscure. Why this difference? Does any good speaker ever say hap-pi-něss? au-di-ěnce?

"Ink, uncle, concord, concourse, concubine, are pronounced by Walker, ingk, ungkl, kongkord, konkorse, kongkubine; and these odious vulgarisms are offered for our adoption. There can be no apology for such attempts to corrupt our language." — Ed. Lon. Imperial.

Worcester adopts these corruptions—ingk, ungkl, kongkord, kongkors, kong-kubine, &c.

This seems a great perversion of our language. Who ever hears such a pronunciation as this? — Ing-kubus (incubus); sangk-tify (sanctify); fungk-shun (function); and yet this is the way that Mr. Worcester respells these words, and some hundreds of the same class.

Take the following list, to which, with many others, he gives this pronunciation: —

<table><tr><td>Anchor</td><td>angk-ur</td><td>Juncture</td><td>jungkt-yur</td></tr><tr><td>Anchorage</td><td>angk-ur-aj</td><td>Lank</td><td>langk</td></tr><tr><td>Anchorage</td><td>angk-o-ret</td><td>Monkey</td><td>mung-ke</td></tr><tr><td>Banquet</td><td>bang-kueet</td><td>Puncture</td><td>pungkt-yur</td></tr><tr><td>Concourse</td><td>kong-kors</td><td>Punctual</td><td>pungkt-yu-al</td></tr><tr><td>Concord</td><td>kong-kord</td><td>Punctuate</td><td>pungkt-yu-at</td></tr><tr><td>Concubine</td><td>kong-ku-bin</td><td>Sink</td><td>singk</td></tr><tr><td>Function</td><td>fungk-shun</td><td>Sanctify</td><td>sangk-te-fi</td></tr><tr><td>Functionary</td><td>fungk-shun-a-re</td><td>Sanctuary</td><td>sangkt-yu-a-re</td></tr><tr><td>Inchoate</td><td>ing-ko-at</td><td>Trunk</td><td>trungk</td></tr><tr><td>Ink</td><td>ingk</td><td>and many others.</td><td></td></tr></table>

Mr. Worcester, also, is continually inconsistent with himself, on this very point. He gives us singk (sink), sungk, (sunk), but not dringk, (drink), drungk (drunk); leaving the latter to their true pronunciation. So he gives us angkur (anchor), but not angkle (ankle); ingkoate (inchoate), but not ingkum (income); trungk (trunk), but not trungked (trunked); mungky (mon-key), but not dongky (donkey).

As to the sound of n as ng, Webster gives a word — anger — as his example, in the key, at the bottom of every page, and then attaches the double accent [".] to every word where this sound is given; as, con"gress, con"gress. It is a great deficiency in Worcester that he has no mark for this distinction. Hence he gives the same marking to lin ear and to lin'guist with its derivations, though he expects the latter to be pronounced ling'quist, as given by Webster (lin'guist). This ambiguity extends to some thousands of words in his Dictionary. Lingo he has strangely marked lin'go, without any respelling, though every body pronounces it ling'go.

"Possess is by some orthopists pronounced pozzess; but why not then pronounce assess,

19

assert, assassin, concession, obsession, &c., with the sound of z? Can any good reason be assigned for making possess an exception to the pronunciation of this class of words? This utterance of sounds through the nose is always disagreeable to the ear, and should be restricted to words in which usage is established. Good taste should rather induce a limitation than an extension of this practice. This remark applies also to some words being with dis, in which Walker goes beyond other orthopists in giving to z this nasal sound." — Editor London Imperial Dictionary.

Take the following list of words from Worcester, having the pronunciation to which the London editor so properly objects: —

<table><tr><td>Possess</td><td>pozzess</td><td>Disdify</td><td>dizified</td></tr><tr><td>Disable</td><td>dizable</td><td>Disinterested</td><td>dizinterested</td></tr><tr><td>Disanchor</td><td>dizangkur</td><td>Disjoin</td><td>dizjoin</td></tr><tr><td>Disbodied</td><td>dizbodied</td><td>Disjunctive</td><td>dizjungktie</td></tr><tr><td>Disblame</td><td>dizblame</td><td>Disjunction</td><td>dizjungkshun</td></tr><tr><td>Disburse</td><td>dizburse</td><td>Disjunct</td><td>dizjungkt</td></tr><tr><td>Disband</td><td>dizband</td><td>Disjuncture</td><td>dizjungktyur</td></tr><tr><td>Disbark</td><td>dizbark</td><td>Dislike</td><td>dizlike</td></tr><tr><td>Disbowel</td><td>dizbowel</td><td>Dislodge</td><td>dizlodj</td></tr><tr><td>Disbud</td><td>dizbud</td><td>Dismay</td><td>dizmay</td></tr></table>

And a vast many others. Whether this is not opposed to the usage of the best speakers, and most highly educated men, or to "prevailing usage" in this country, which Mr. Worcester professed to make his guide in other respects, you will judge. I think there is, at least, a diversity of good usage, if the prevailing practice is not the other way; and that the point is established that his notation attempts too much.

"Walker lays it down as a rule, that when a is preceded by the gutturals hard g or c [he should have said palatals] it is, in polite pronunciation, softened by the intervention of a sound like e, so that card, cart, guard, &c., are pronounced like keard, keart, ghead, &c. * * It is an affected pronunciation which Nares calls 'a monster, peculiar to the stage.'" — London Imperial.

Worcester gives guard, gyard, &c., by placing this as a form (the first form) of pronunciation after the word. So one form of pronunciation of mankind is given as man-kindy, guide, gy-ide, guile, gy-ile, &c.

I will here subjoin a short extract from the article I have before mentioned, from the Manchester, (New Hampshire,) Granite Farmer: —

"In pronunciation, we believe that Worcester has attempted too much, and by so doing, has made himself unintelligible to the young student, and in many words to all students, young or old. There are certain vowel sounds that cannot be described; they must be given orally, and the learner must imitate them. They can be learned by no other method. How can a child, or a foreigner, for instance, learn the pronunciation of such sounds from written descriptions of them? Take, for example, plough, trounce, trout, ounce, pronouncee, and hundreds of others that can be named, and what idea can a child form of the pronunciation of such words from Worcester's written directions as to their pronunciation? He can form no correct idea as to it, except from imitation, hearing them pronounced, and following the ear, and thus learning the pronunciation. Now, Webster is much less prolix in the matter. Such words he has left to be pronounced by hearing, imitation, — the only way their true pronunciation can be learned."

I will now remark, briefly, on the notation, or characters, used to distinguish the several sounds, since this runs throughout the whole of these two dictionaries.

Webster's notation is simple, and easily understood; Worcester's is at once redundant and defective, and calculated in some respects greatly to mislead.

Thus, 1. In the sound of short o, in words like nor, lord, &c., Worcester gives a distinct character to the o, though confessedly the same sound as in

20

WHAT SHALL I ADOPT FOR MY

not, slightly prolonged by the "opening power" of the r. Here he violates a fundamental principle of orthoëpy, which forbids us to give different marks to the same letter on the ground of a mere difference in quantity, when the quality of the sound is the same. In the word all, for example, the a is longer than in salt; in father, than in half; in educate, than in ultimate. The o is more protracted in bold, cold, holy, than in bolt, colt, wholly. So the short o is more prolonged in loss, than in lot; in cost, than in cot. Such differences, however, are left for oral instruction. No judicious orthoëpist attempts to indicate them by distinct characters. Worcester does not; and is, therefore, inconsistent with himself, when he undertakes to do it in the single case of the short o. Jones, Jameson, Knowles, the Imperial, and most others, are against him as to this notation.

2. Sound of a in words like care, fair, parent, &c. To this Worcester gives a peculiar mark; and yet tells us expressly that the letter a has here "its long sound [as in fate] qualified by being followed by the letter r." Why, then, give it a distinct character? We have seen in words like nor, &c., that nearly all the orthoëpists of our language are against using a peculiar mark when the vowel sound continues the same, and is simply "qualified" by "the opening power" of the r. So in the present case, Walker, Jones, Jameson, Knowles, the Imperial, Fulton and Knight, Craig, Wright, &c., all decide against Worcester, as to giving any peculiar character to the a in such words as care, &c.

3. Sound of a in words like past, shaft, &c. Worcester discards Walker's innovation of giving such words the sound of a in fat (håft, like have). He invents for it a distinct character; and maintains that the a here has "an intermediate sound of this letter between its short sound, as in fat, man, and its Italian sound, as in far, father." Here again all the great orthoëpists of England are against him. Those who go with Walker are so of course; and the remainder agree to a man, that the true sound is that of the Italian a, as Webster has marked it. Such is the explicit statement of Jones, of Perry, of Mitford, of Knowles, of Fulton and Knight, of the Imperial, &c. It is the short Italian a, as heard in papa, and in the French article la. Brown, in his Grammar of Grammars, speaking of this sound and of that in fat, says, "Between the two, there does not appear to be room for another distinguishable from both." The whole weight of authority is therefore opposed to Worcester's notation, and goes to show that his ear has deceived him as to this class of words.

4. Worcester's notation is also defective. He has no mark for the sound of a in such words as was, what, &c. This is as much needed as a distinctive mark for the o in prove, or for the oo in foot; the latter of which is in exactly the same circumstances as the a in what. See, also, Webster's notation of an'ger, &c., mentioned above, as supplying a great deficiency of Worcester in this respect.

There is one other point, of very considerable importance, to which I will for a moment advert. It is the vocabulary, or list of words themselves. In a hand book of this character, a dictionary designed for the daily use of the pupils, there must of necessity be a selection, — not the entire list of words in the language. Of course, it is important that this selection be judicious, composed of words in most common use, not of those which are obsolete or uncommon. I will take a single page to illustrate the difference of these works in this particular. On page 22 of Webster's Academic are the following seventeen words, not found in Worcester's Comprehensive: —

21

Adenology, n. the doctrine of the glands; their nature and uses.

Adenotomy, n. a cutting or incision of a gland. Adhered, pp. of adhere.

Adhortatory, a. containing counsel or warning. Adipoceration, n. the process of being changed into adipocere.

Adjourned, pp. put off, delayed, or deferred for a limited time; a. held by adjournment.

Adjourning, ppr. deferring; closing a session. Adjunctly, ad. in connection with; consequently.

Adjustable, a. that may be adjusted. Adjusting, n. a regulation; a setting in order; disposition; settlement.

Adjustive, a. capable of being set right.

Adjuitage, or Ajutage, n. a tube fitted to the mouth of a vessel, through which water is played in a fountain.

Admeasur, v. t. to take the dimensions; to apportion.

Admeasurer, n. one that admeasures.

Adminicular, a. supplying help.

Administerial, a. pertaining to administration, or to the executive part of government.

Admissibility, n. the quality of being admissible.

* Ad interim, [L.] in the mean while.

Take now the following eighteen words, from the corresponding portion of Worcester's Comprehensive, not found in Webster's Academic: —

Adelantado, n. Spanish officer in Spain.

Adenography, n. a treatise on the glands.

[Adenology, the proper word, is in Webster.] † Adeption, n. (obs.) attainment; acquisition.

† Adequate, (obs.) v. a. to resemble exactly.

Affiliate, v. a. See Affiliate.

[Affiliate is in Webster.]

Adhibit, (rare,) v. a. to apply; to make use of.

† Adiaphory, (obs.) n. neutrality; indifference.

† Adipous, (obs.) a. Same as Adipose.

[Adipose is in Webster.]

Adjection, n. the act of adjecting or adding.

Adjectitious, a. additional.

Adjectival, a. relating to an adjective.

† Adjoinant, (obs.) a. contiguous to.

† Adjutory, (obs.) a. that helps; helpful.

Administrable, a. capable of administration.

† Admirative, (obs.) n. point of admiration, thus!

Admittable, (rare,) a. admissible.

[Webster has Admissible, and Admittable.]

Admitter, n. one who admits.

Admonitioner, n. an admonisher.

Of these eighteen words, ten, you will notice, are marked by Worcester himself as rare, obsolete, or Spanish. Of three others Webster has an equivalent, or better word; and most of the five others, as *admitter*, *admonitioner*, are hardly essential.

I believe the above affords a fair specimen of the character of the books in this respect.

But I have already dwelt too long, perhaps, on these particulars. Yet it is only by some degree of minute analysis, some specification in details, that the comparative merits of the two authors in question can be fairly estimated. I trust not to have conducted the investigation in an uncandid spirit. The subject is really one of great moment. I hardly know of one pertaining to our educational interests equally important. Language, as I remarked at the outset, is the great medium of communication between the teacher and scholar. To be effective, this medium should be clear, transparent, certain. If otherwise, error may be imparted instead of truth, and "counsel darkened by words without knowledge."

A wise conservatism is not that which repels all progress — ignores all improvement — or else Dr. Webster's labors might have been wholly spared, and the "twelve thousand words, and forty thousand definitions," contained in the first edition of his Dictionary, which his biographer tells us, "could then be found in no similar work," might have forever remained unrecorded. Then, too, the reformer must precede the reformation; and should the reforms suggested be in advance of the day in which the reformer lives, yet if wise, salutary, and of practical utility, they are likely ultimately to prevail; and so is it all the more to the honor of him who suggests them, that he had the

["22", "WHAT SHALL I ADOPT FOR MY SCHOOL DICTIONARY?", "wisdom to conceive, and the courage to advocate, opinions in advance of his time.", "The English language has never been wholly stationary. To be so, would hardly be consonant with the character of the race who use it. As men have new ideas, they will find new words to express them. With fresh discoveries in science and new inventions in art, with novel applications of the powers of nature and the treasures of the material world, and original conceptions in the realms of thought, the corresponding symbol will be coined, stamped, and find its appropriate place in the mint of the lexicographer's record, and be issued thence for circulation. No English dictionary that I can now find contains the word chloroform. Then if, instead of expressing by a circumlocution what we now mean by a telegraphic dispatch, we should say, in one word, a telegram, who would not find it a daily convenience? So, too, if convenience, or analogy, or the carrying out of a modification already recognized and partially adopted, suggest an improvement in orthography, shall it never be made? If a more graceful and effective enunciation is suggested, are the laws of orthoepy, for a living language, like those of the Medes and the Persians, unchangeable? Who will go back to the critter, and natur, of the last century?", "It may happen, however, that good usage, in different localities, as to orthography or pronunciation, may not be the same, especially while a change is going on. Two forms may be recognized as admissible, the lexicographer indicating his own preference, but conceding to both the sanction of educated men. In doing this, he but records a fact. To deny this fact were folly. Dr. Webster's works now recognize this unavoidable present diversity, and so are unexceptionable, in this respect, while yet they have been eminently successful in securing uniformity of usage.", "In Definitions, in Orthography, in Pronunciation, I have cited the views of these authors as expressed by themselves. If in your opinion my citations justify the results at which I arrive, and my premises sustain my conclusions, you will decide with me, in answer to the question which I have propounded, What shall I adopt for my School Dictionary, or what shall I recommend to my pupils as their Standard of English Lexicography? —", "THE WORKS OF NOAH WEBSTER.", "PHILOM.", "Massachusetts, January, 1855.", "APPENDIX.", "Conclusive Testimony.", "SALE OF WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES IN\nTHE UNITED STATES,\nAS COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OTHER\nDICTIONARIES.", "In order to determine the question as to what Dictionaries are actually regarded by the public as the Standard, we addressed a letter to a large number of the leading Booksellers in the most important points. We append as many of their answers as room can be found for. These facts prove that Webster is the actual Standard all over the country, and that the introduction of any works differing from his, must tend to produce that confusion and difficulty, which it is so essential to avoid. The attention of Educators is earnestly invited to this matter, of the highest practical importance.", "1. **MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM**—Of small Dictionaries, we sell about as many Webster as of all others. Of the large, nine-tenths of all we sell are Webster. New York, March 27, 1854.", "2. **Our sale of Webster's Dictionaries is about twenty to one of all others.** We sell no other large Dictionary. The sale of Webster's is about one third of the whole. We sell some Webster's, but only to the Only three Worcester's large Svo. have been sold by us the past year. We sell some Webster's, but only to the", "3. **Estimate of numbers sold during the year 1853: 600 Walker, 150 Cobb, 250 Worcester (all sizes), 100 Cobb's and Johnson's Pocket, 6,250 Webster, all sizes—showing Webster six to one of all others.** New York, 29th March, 1854.", "4. **Our sales of Webster's Dictionary are about three-fourths of all we sell.** PRATT, WOODFORD & CO. New York, March 25, 1854.", "5. **Our sales of Dictionaries for the year 1853, as nearly as we can ascertain, were—**\n\n**Webster's whole series, 2,317;**\n\n**BURGESS & CO.**\n\n**New York, April 17, 1854.**\n\n**MARK & SMITH.**\n\n**New York, April 19, 1854.**", "6. **Our annual sale is three-fourths of Webster's to one-fourth of Worcester's, and nearly in the same proportion.**\n\n**ROBERT B. COLLINS.**\n\n**New York, April 19, 1854.**", "7. **We may observe that Webster's Dictionaries are the Dictionaries now, sell more, or are more generally used than others,—but as to proportion, we can not very readily determine.**\n\n**S. S. & W. WOOD.**\n\n**New York, April 19, 1854.**", "8. **Is it possible that we shall sell five times as many Webster's as of Worcester's, and perhaps rather more, we can not say positively.**\n\n**LEAVITT & ALLEN.**\n\n**New York, April 20, 1854.**", "9. **It appears to be the general opinion in our establishment, that our average annual sale of the whole series of Webster's and Worcester's Dictionaries is about fifty copies of Webster to one of Worcester.**\n\n**KIGGINS & KELLOGG.**\n\n**New York, April 22, 1854.**", "10. **Our sales of Webster's series of Dictionaries, in comparison with sales of Worcester's whole series, is at least five of Webster's to one of Worcester's, and probably four of Webster to one of all other Dictionaries of the same number.**\n\n**W. K. CORNWELL.**\n\n**Boston, April 22, 1854.**", "11. **As near as we can judge, our sales for Worcester's Comprehensive Dictionary, nearly double our sales for Webster's small Dictionaries (3 sizes);**\n\n**BOSTON, 26th April, 1854.**\n

4

SALE OF WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES IN THE U. STATES.

Buffalo, N. Y., April 15, 1854.

62. We only give a guess as to the number of Webster's Dictionaries sold during the past year. They would amount in our opinion to between five and six hundred copies, and may reach as high as one hundred. We have sold of all styles of Worcester's Dictionaries between fifteen and twenty—nearer the former than the latter. We have had but two orders for during fifteen months, for six copies each. Have sold two to four additional by personal exertion, as we have some on hand we would like to dispose of.

MILLER, ORTON & MULLIGAN,
Chicago, March 29, 1854.

63. We have sold the past twelve months, some 400 Webster's 16m.

some 500 Webster's High School.

"300" "University
"50" "Pocket
"50" "Harper's Edition.

"150" "Unabridged.

Our tales of all other English Dictionaries put together would not be twenty-five copies.

S. C. GRIGGS & CO

Chicago, March 25, 1854.

CHICAGO, MICHIGAN.

64. Of Webster's Dictionaries we sell as follows:—Two hundred Quarto—one hundred Royal 8vo.—two hundred High School—three hundred Small School Edition—one hundred Pocket Edition—fifty Quarto Edition. The above are the amount of our sales of these during 1853, but we anticipate an increase, say to 1,800 in all. The above are the amount of our sales of these during 1853, but we anticipate an increase, say to 1,800 in all. We sell of all others as follows, which is but a drop in the bucket:—Fifty Webster's small, five W. cester's 8vo. twenty-five Worcester's Comprehensive, fifty Worcester's small.

KEEN, BRO. & CO,
Chicago, March 31, 1854.

CHICAGO, MICHIGAN.

65.

An approximate view of our sales of Webster's Dictionaries for the last year is as follows:—One hundred Webster's 4to, thirty-five 8vo., one hundred University, one hundred and fifty High School, two hundred and eighty 16mo. Of Worcester's 8vo. Dictionary, five copies. Walker's School Dictionary, thirty copies. Our sales of the 4to, would have been very much larger, we think, if during the close of navigation, we had not been out of them. As it was, we were compelled to purchase in various places, as we could get them. This shows been out of them. As it was, we were compelled to purchase in various places, as we could get them. The call for them to be constant.

A. H. & C. BURLEY,
Milwaukee, April 6, 1854.

66.

We sell very few Dictionaries other than Webster's. It is said put together, the entire sale of all others. We sell every copy of Webster's Dictionaries. We sell perhaps in the aggregate, five hundred and fifty or six hundred Webster's in a year.

A. WHITEMORE & CO,
Detroit, March 31, 1854.

67.

I scarcely sell any other Dictionaries than Webster's. The Canadians, and some others in this State, still use Walker; but the sale of these is diminishing every year. I sell probably fifty of Webster, to one of any other.

Detroi, April 18, 1854.

68.

Our sales of Webster's series of Dictionaries, with Worcester's do., would be in a ratio of fifty of the former to one of the latter. In comparison with all other English Dictionaries, in a ratio of forty of the former to two of all others.

S. D. ELWOOD & CO,
Baltimore, April 5, 1854.

69.

In reply to yours of 3d inst., we would say:—The sales of the whole series of Webster's Dictionaries, is with us larger than that of Worcester's series. The sale of Webster is less than that of all others.

CUSHINGS & BAILEY,
New Orleans, April 22, 54.

70.

As near as I can arrive at my sales of Webster's and other Dictionaries, I sell twenty-five hundred Webster's School Dictionaries, twenty University, fifty Harper's edition, one hundred and fifty Quarto. Of all others I sell about one-third the above numbers—I mean of Walker, Worcester, Johnson and others.

THOMAS L. WHITE,
Burlington, Vt., May 5, 1854.

71.

GENTLEMEN:—The whole number of Webster's Unabridged sold in town for the year 1853, is one hundred and fifty-five. University edition, one hundred and twenty; High School, two hundred; small School Edition, two hundred and fifty. Harper's 8vo. edition, fifty. Worcester's 8vo., a few—say twelve; the Comprehensive, sells about equal to Webster's High School; the Elementary, fifty for the year would be a large allowance. Proportion of Webster to all others, should say about four to one.

E. SMITH,
Hartford, May 9, 1854.

72.

In answer to your inquiry in regard to my sales of Webster's Dictionaries as compared with others, I can only say, that I sell very few of any others—so very few that I can almost say that Webster's are about the only ones that I have any demand for at present.

F. A. BROWN,
Vicksburg, Miss., May 1, 1854.

73.

We think the proportionate sales of Webster to Worcester, fifty of the former to one of the latter; and of
Webster's over all others, five to one.
Houston, Texas, May 2, 1854.

74. Relative to the two interrogatories, I answer to the 1st; there is no proportion involved in the case, for Worcester's not being used here to my knowledge. To the 2d, I would say—ten of Webster's to one of all others, in excluding the different editions of Webster's. I sell but three editions, however, of Webster's, to wit: School, Harper's 8vo., and your large 4to.
J. S. TAPT.

The foregoing letters from prominent Bookmakers in the principal towns through the United States, are presented as an unanswerable testimony to a FACT, which can not be gain- said. A large number of a similar character could readily be added. It is not doubted that the relative proportion of the sale of Webster's Dictionaries to Worcester's is as above in- dicated—perhaps twenty to one. Whom, then, do the peo- ple of the United States recognize as their Standard Authority in English Lexicography?

A NATIONAL STANDARD.
WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY,

The Entire Work Unabridged, 1456 Pages, Crown Quarto,
Two Dollars.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, UNIVERSITY EDITION, 500 pp. Imperial 12mo.

WEBSTER'S ACADEMIC DICTIONARY, 492 pp. Cap Quarto.

WEBSTER'S HIGH SCHOOL DICTIONARY, 360 pp. 12mo.

WEBSTER'S PRIMARY SCHOOL DICTIONARY, 820 pp. 16mo.

FORMING A COMPLETE SERIES, AND AFFORDING A NATIONAL STANDARD, THUS SECURING UNIFORMITY OF ORTHOGRAPHY AND PRONUNCIATION FOR THE MILLIONS THAT ARE TO CONSTITUTE THIS VAST

Of the Spelling-Book One Million Copies is sold Annually.

THE LEADING SERIES OF SCHOOL BOOKS PUBLISHED IN THIS COUNTRY, ARE BASED UPON
WEBSTER'S SYSTEM.

* There is no other acknowledged Standard in this country or Great Britain; and the following, among many others, show the views of prominent gentlemen through the country, on this subject:—

TESTIMONIALS.

"We rejoice that it bids fair to become the STANDARD DICTIONARY to be used by the numerous millions of people who are to inhabit the United States."—Signed by 104 Members of Congress.

"We recommend it to all who desire to possess THE MOST COMPLETE, ACCURATE, AND RELIABLE DICTIONARY OF THE LANGUAGE."

DANIEL WEBSTER, LEWIS CASS, THOMAS H. BENTON, and thirty other members of the United States Senate, MILLARD FILLMORE, THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN, Chancellor of the University of New York. WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL, Ed. N.Y. Dist. School Journal, GEORGE N. BRIGGS, Gov. Massachusetts. WILLIAM B. CALHOUN, Sec. of State, Massachusetts. RICHARD S. RUST, Com. Common Schools, N. Hampshire. THEODORE F. KING, Sup. Schools, New Jersey. ROBERT C. WINTHROP, Speaker U. S. House of Representatives. EDMUND BURKE, Com. Patents. JOHN YOUNG, Gov. NEW YORK. CHRISTOPHER MORGAN, Sec. State and Sup. Com. Sch., New York. ALVAN HUNT, Treas. New York. REV. SAMUEL H. COX, D.D. LYMAN BEECHER, D.D., late Pres. Am CALVIN E. STOWE, D.D., Prof. do. REV. HEMAN HUMPHREY, D.D., late Pres. Am herst College. Rev. EZRA KELLER, D.D., Pres. Wittenberg College, Ohio. M. A. DIEHL, Prof. in do. N. A. GIEGER, Prof. in do. BENJAMIN LABAREE, D.D., Pres. of Middlebury College; and other distinguished gentlemen.

Gov. Wood, of Ohio, in his Annual Message, January 1852, remarks:—
"It is admitted to be the most valuable work of the kind extant, by the learned men both here and in Europe; and its general use in our schools would break down all provincialisms so to speak, and produce uniformity and elegance in the use of our language. Words would then be used by every one in the same sense in which they are defined by that able lexicog- rapher."

Gov. EATON, of Vermont:

HON. F. W. SHEARMAN, State Superintendent of Schools in Michigan:

"This work has been adopted as the STANDARD DICTIONARY in the schools and colleges of most of the States of the Union; and State officers in charge of the system and subject of Education, in various States, have recommended appropriations for its purchase by the legislature."

SECRETARY MORGAN, of New York:

"As a STANDARD of orthography and orthoepy, its claims to general adoption have been recognized by the most eminent scholars and statesmen of our land; and as a purely Ameri- can work, prepared at great expense, and emanating from a source entitled to the highest credit and respect, it commends itself strongly to the adoption of our School Districts generally."

PROFESSOR STOWE, of Cincinnati:

"The STANDARD, wherever the English language is spoken, it deserves to be, must be, is, and will be."

(21)

24

The *pronunciation* is marked by a simple and excellent system of notation, and in difficult cases, words are re-spelled. The lists of Scriptural, Classical, and Geographical names are very full—the latter more so than we have seen in any Dictionary; it comprises twelve or thirteen thousand names. Every American student, and, as far as possible, every American family, should possess this great standard of our language.

"Get the Best."

‘All young persons should have a standard

DICTIONARY

NOAH WEBSTER'S,

"We believe we shall be certain of doing a service to the people of the State, if we say a word or two upon the Unabridged Quarto Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster. The word UNABRIDGED has been purposely employed, because if such a work is wanted for any but the very lowest uses—those of mere orthography, or orthopthy—it can not be too copious and comprehensive. When one is ignorant of the proper and precise powers of a word, he can not endure to be turned over to an abridgment that gives him a SYNONYM, instead of a definition; but he demands to know as much as any body knows of its history or etymology, and its different shades of meaning. Then only can he employ it with confidence and effect, as a mighty weapon for the expression of intellect or passion."—Newark Daily Advertiser, March 25, 1851.

Chronotype.

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY.—Every body knows about Webster's Dictionary, and every man, woman, and child, ought to have access to it.

It is a great labor-saver—it has saved me time enough in one year's use to pay for itself: and that must be deemed good property, which will clear itself once a year. If you have any doubt about the precise meaning of the word clear, in the last sentence, look at Webster's thirteen definitions of the v. t.”—Massachusetts Life Boat, April 28, 1852.

RECENT TESTIMONY.

33

"GET THE BEST."

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

ALSO,

1855.

MAINE.

Very respectfully yours,

CHARLES A. LORD.

MASSACHUSETTS.

MESSRS. MERRIAM: Like every one else who has taken the pains to examine the merits of various English Dictionaries, I am fully impressed with the superiority of Webster's over all others. It is thorough and systematic; and though in some instances not agreeing with the orthography and pronunciation which certain individuals, cliques, and small communities may at present follow, I nevertheless regard it as the *Standard* Dictionary for all deep and correct knowledge of the English language. We use it as such in this institution.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD EDWARDS.

34

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

W. H. WELLS.

MIDDLEBORO', July 29, 1854.

I adopt Webster's Dictionary as the standard authority in definition, orthography, and pro-
nunciation, in the school under my charge, and Webster's Academic Dictionary, of the
school series, is recommended, and is in general use, as a hand book among my students,
and is better adapted, in my judgment, to meet the wants of Academies and High Schools,
as a hand book for convenient reference, than any other dictionary of corresponding size in
the English language. Unquestionably Webster must be acknowledged to be the greatest
English lexicographer that has yet lived. For copiousness, for exactitude of definitions,
and adaptedness to the present state of science and literature, Webster's Dictionaries are
unrivaled.
J. W. P. JENKS, Principal of Peirce Academy.

RHODE ISLAND.

EAST GREENWICH, May 10, 1854.

My attention has been called to-day to an Abridgement of this work, styled the "Academic Dictionary," which appears to be a very convenient book for the student whose means do not allow him to procure the large work. I hope this Dictionary will obtain an extensive circulation, and together with its parent, the Unabridged, do much towards systematizing and rendering permanent in its purity the English language.

ROBERT ALLYN.

SCITATE, R. L., October 31, 1854.

We have this day voted, in committee, to introduce Webster's Dictionaries (School Series) into our schools, eighteen in number. We have been led to do this for two reasons: first, because our scholars are without dictionaries, which we feel to be highly important to put into their hands. The other consideration is, that we deem Webster's to be *superior*, in exactness and fullness of definition, and *equal* in all other respects, to every other dictionary. There is also a pride in doing as we have done in the recollection that Webster has labored so long in this department, and obtained from European nations praise awarded to no other American as a lexicographer.
C. C. BEAMAN, Ch'm. School Com.

CONNECTICUT.

I have used Webster's Dictionaries in instruction for fourteen years. Having compared the quarto edition with other American and English Dictionaries, I universally recommend it to schools and to individuals, as the best *Dictionary of the English Language* to be obtained. We have used it in our Normal and High Schools for more than four years, and should not be willing to do without it a single day.
DAVID N. CAMP.

NEW YORK.

NEW JERSEY.

OFFICE OF STATE SUP'T PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PENNINGTON, N. J., Nov. 29, 1854.

DATUS DRURY, President.

JACOB H. SIDES, Secretary.

RECENT TESTIMONY.

35

\*\*\* In an affectionate appreciation (for I truly love it) of its enlarged excellence, I have not failed to commend it as the book of the school, second only to the Bible. I would have it always on the desk of the teacher, beside the Bible—this as the symbol of Christianity, the source and foundation of all government and authority—that as the symbol and foundation of all intellectual knowledge and improvement. \*\*\* I have always put it in the front rank of the essentials of a good school, and I hope to live to see the day when every teacher in New Jersey will find his school desk adorned by "Webster's Unabridged," at the expense of the township or the State. In my own family, my children make it the *hand book*, and dwell on its pages with a delight equaled only by that derived from the page of the historian.
C. C. HOAGLAND.

INDIANA.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM: \*\*\* I think Webster's worthy to supersede every other English Dictionary. It will, I have no doubt, be used almost universally this side of the Alleghanies. I hope America will adopt the work of her own great and unrivaled lexicographer.
CHARLES WHITE.

\*\*\* As Superintendent of Public Instruction of Indiana I shall have it in my power to promote its introduction, and shall take great pleasure in improving such opportunities. \*\*\* I was much pleased with the three minor volumes. We shall introduce into our Preparatory Department the "Academic Dictionary."

Yours truly,

CALEB MILLS.

MICHIGAN.

YPSILANTI, October 23, 1854.

I have employed such leisure as I could command in giving the School Dictionaries (Webster's) a careful examination. We have long wanted cheap and portable Abridgments of Webster's large work for the use of our common and higher schools. The young should receive uniform instruction in the principles of the *Standard Orthography* and *Pronunciation*. The High School and Academic editions are admirably adapted to this purpose. We shall use them in the State Normal School, and encourage their circulation in the State.

KENTUCKY.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, FRANKFORT, KY., November 9, 1854.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM, Springfield, Mass.: I have examined Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, edited by Professor Goodrich, recently published by you. It is the best Dictionary of the English language ever published. It should have a place in the library of every gentleman. This very useful Dictionary should be in all our public schools.

Very respectfully,

L. W. POWELL.

OFFICE OF SECRETARY, FRANKFORT, KY., November 9, 1854.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM. Gentlemen: I have no hesitation in making the avowal that Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is essential as a standard, in our language, in every study, and in every office in our Commonwealth. Indeed we refer to no other; all others have gone out of use. I have no doubt that the Board of Education may be induced to recommend his abridged editions of Webster in all our Common Schools.

Very respectfully, your ob't serv't,
JOHN D. MATHEWS.

The Board of Education would respectfully call the attention of Teachers in the Common Schools of Kentucky to the several editions of Webster's Dictionary as a standard of our language in *Orthography*, *Orthoepy*, and *Defining*; and recommend the use of them throughout the State as a class book.
JOHN D. MATHEWS,

Chairman of the Board, and State Sup't Public Instruction.

A library is as incomplete without WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY as the SOLAR SYSTEM would be without the SUN. — Scientific American, November 4, 1854.

36

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

MISSOURI.

From Hon. E. C. DAVIS, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

St. JOSEPH, Mo., November 10, 1854.

Webster is my standard, first, last, and all the time.

E. C. DAVIS.

FROM ILLINOIS, WISCONSIN, AND IOWA.

We, the undersigned, prefer WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY to any other now extant, for the following reasons:—

1st. Its *Fecundity* is more complete than that of any other.

2d. Its *Orthography* is in accordance with that system which has been sanctioned by general adoption.

3d. In *Pronunciation* it is simple, precise, and accurate in giving a just exhibition of the language as pronounced by educated men — our only standard.

4th. The *Table of Scriptural Names*, the *Classical Table*, and the *List of Geographical Names*, are all revised and rendered complete in the new edition.

5th. In the exhibition of the *Etymology* of the language, and in the extent and correctness of its *Definitions*, it is incomparably superior to all others.

In view of these facts, we would urge the importance of making this Dictionary the NATIONAL STANDARD; and in order to effect this, in our opinion, one copy at least of the *Quarto Dictionary* should be placed in every school room, and an abridged copy in the hands of every pupil.

A. J. SAWYER, A. M., Principal Chicago Female Seminary.

C. CHILDS, Principal Union School No. 1, Beloit, Wisconsin.

J. W. ATHERTON, Principal Fort Atkinson Academy, Ft. Atkinson, Wis.

F. R. JONES, Principal of Forest City Select School, Rockford, Ill.

J. G. McKINDLEY, Principal of Kenosha Union School No. 1.

D. W. HOYT, Principal Union School No. 1, Beloit, Wisconsin.

JNO. Q. A. JONES, Principal Madison Select School, Madison, Wisconsin.

D. Y. KILGORE, Principal of Union School, Madison, Wisconsin.

J. K. BLOOM, Principal of the Munroe (Wis.) Institute.

C. B. GOODRICH, Principal of Public Schools, Mineral Point.

R. C. PARSONS, Principal of Mineral Point Select School.

November, 1854.

FRANKLIN GLOBES.

The Franklin Globe, 6 inch & 10 inch, Terrestrial & Celestial.

We invite the attention of Teachers, Town Superintendents, Parents, Committees, &c., to the above new Series of Globes, manufactured by us. They are strongly made, highly finished, and each Globe is put up in a handsome case.

Each Globe (excepting the parlor pattern, which is put up only in packing cases) is put up in a neat case, with a lid secured by a catch; or, at a higher price, in an ornamental black walnut case, secured with a lock. The case opens readily, so as to display the Globe, and so that it may be conveniently used without taking it therefrom, and effectually protects it from liability to accident and from dust; a great desideratum in the school room. The Celestial Globe is put up in the same variety of styles. They are printed on new plates, which are engraved in a superior manner, giving the late changes and divisions, including the latest Arctic and Australian discoveries.

PRICES OF THE FRANKLIN GLOBES:

<table><tr><td>10 in. Globe, Elevated Stand,</td><td>per pair, $32</td><td>10 in. Globe, wood 'm, walnut case, lock, pair, $24</td></tr><tr><td>10 " " Terrestrial,</td><td>16 10 " "</td><td>" Terrestrial, pair, $22</td></tr><tr><td>10 " " Packing Cases for above,</td><td>each, 1</td><td>" neat plain case, pair, $22</td></tr><tr><td>10 " " Globe, bronze 'm, bl'k walnut case, lock, pr. 26</td><td>10 " "</td><td>" Terrestrial, pair, $2</td></tr><tr><td>10 " " " Terrestrial, 13</td><td>6 " "</td><td>" bronze 'm, " " Terrestrial, 9</td></tr><tr><td>10 " " " neat plain case, pair, 24</td><td>6 " "</td><td>" Terrestrial, $4 50</td></tr><tr><td>10 " " " Terrestrial, 12</td><td></td><td></td></tr></table>

MERRIAM, MOORE, & CO., Troy, N. Y.

THE subject of the following pages is one of the utmost importance to the educational interests of our country, and it is earnestly hoped that Teachers, School officers, Literary men, and all others interested in the great business of education, will give the opinions herein expressed their very careful, and candid examination.

A NATIONAL STANDARD.

WEBSTER'S
QUARTO DICTIONARY,

The Cheapest Dictionary in the World, Containing

THREE TIMES the matter found in any other English Dictionary compiled in this country, or any Abridgment of this work; a GEOGRAPHICAL TABLE of 12,000 Names, ILUSTRATIVE QUOTATIONS, and other peculiarities and advantages found in no other work, it yet is sold at a trifling advance above the price of other and limited Dictionaries.

This great AMERICAN work is acknowledged, as well in Great Britain as this country, and wherever the English language is spoken, to be superior to any other.

The American Dictionary of the English language by NOAH WEBSTER, L. L. D., the most honorable monument of American literature and talent, and of which every American may be justly proud, after a struggle of nearly twenty years, may be considered, in its revised form, fully established as authority in spelling, pronunciation, and definition. As such, it has been adopted by States in their common-schools, by colleges, by academies, and most educated men who are in favor of a judicious progressive reform in language, securing simplicity in the spelling of words and accuracy in their use. In view of these facts, therefore, it is of great importance that Webster's Dictionary should be made the STANDARD in our schools, and in all text books used in them.

WM. GREENE,
D. SHEPARDSON,
HENRY SNOW,

H. H. BARNEY,

JOSEPH RAY,
E. S. BROOKS,
M. SIMPSON,

Examiners
of
Cincinnati
Public Schools.

P. B. WILBER,
President Wesleyan Female College, Cincinnati.

In the Cincinnati Central High School [H. H. BARNEY, Principal Instructor,] Webster's Dictionary had been used as STANDARD authority, in orthography, pronunciation, &c. And at a meeting of the teachers of the Hughes and Woodward Public High Schools of Cincinnati, held at the Hughes School, February 11th, 1852, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That Webster's Dictionary (Unabridged) be adopted as the STANDARD of orthography and pronunciation in the two Cincinnati High Schools.

Ohio.—From the late Message of Governor Wood of Ohio.

In Massachusetts, every school is furnished by the State with Webster's Dictionary, as the STANDARD work of orthography, and pronunciation. The same is recommended by a committee of the New York Legislature for the Empire State.

2

would break down all provincialisms, so to speak, and produce uniformity and elegance in the use of our language. Words would then be used by every one in the same sense in which they are defined by that able lexicographer.

**Massachusetts.**—In 1850, the Legislature of Mass. passed a law, giving, at the expense of the State, a copy of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, or Worcester's Dictionary at its option, to each school district that would provide for its safe keeping. One year from the time the law took effect, 3,035 had taken Webster, and 105 Worcester.

From the State Superintendent of Massachusetts.

"Webster's is the best defining Dictionary in the English language. I would recommend to students, and especially all those who are mainly dependent on self culture or self education, to keep a copy of this work by their side, as a hand book."

OPINIONS OF STATE SUPERINTENDENTS OF COMMON SCHOOLS AND LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL JOURNALS, &c.

**1. New Hampshire.**—From the State Superintendent.

"Should be found in every family and school-room, and upon the table of every man of business and of letters."

**2. Maine.**—From the State Commissioner.

"Command my services in the circulation of the best Dictionary in the English Language."

**3. Vermont.**—From the State Superintendent.

"I had the gratification of seeing WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY adopted as the STANDARD DICTIONARY for the schools of Vermont. I was gratified, because I felt that this work was worthy to be a STANDARD,—a secure resting place from the fluctuations to which our language had been long subjected, and to which, without this work, it would still as much as ever be exposed."

**4. Rhode Island.**—From the City Superintendent.

"Pupils should be accustomed from the very first to acquire well-defined and distinct ideas of the meaning of words. This gives an exactness to their knowledge which will be of invaluable service to them through life. But a large portion of our teachers are not able to impart this critical and exact information without access to just such a work as WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY."

**5. Connecticut.**

"So complete as to be a substitute for all other dictionaries of the language."

Jeremiah Day, S. T. D., L. L. D., Pres. Yale College; Simeon Baldwin, late Judge of the Superior Court; David Daggett, L. L. D., Prof. Law, Yale College, and Judge Superior Court; Benjamin Silliman, M. D., L. L. D., &c.

**6. New York.**—From the State Superintendent.

"As a STANDARD of Orthography and Orthoepy, it claims to general adoption have been recognized by the most eminent scholars and statesmen of our land."

"It is unquestionably the very best Dictionary of our language extant. It is a model of copiousness and precision; and its great accuracy in the definition and derivation of words gives it an authority that no other work on the subject possesses. It is constantly cited and relied on in our Courts of justice, in our Legislative bodies, and in public discussions, as entirely conclusive."

"It is scarcely necessary to add that such a work is a treasure which cannot be dispensed with by any one who would thoroughly understand and correctly use his mother tongue. It should be in every school in our land, that our youth may not be obliged, as I have been, to unlearn the false pronunciation, the unsound philology, and the erroneous definitions which were taught me in my childhood."—John C. Spencer.

3

## THE STANDARD IN THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS.

"Resolved unanimously, That Webster's Quarto Dictionary be the STANDARD in the New York State Normal Schools.

"W. M. H. CAMPBELL, Clerk Ex. Committee.

“Albany, March 12th, 1850.”

## Legislative Provision.

The Legislature of New York, at its recent session, made provisions for each school district placing a copy of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary in its library and on the teacher's desk. The cities of New York, Buffalo, Utica, Troy, &c., had previously supplied their own schools.

**7. New Jersey.**—From the State Superintendent.

**S. Ohio.**—From the State Superintendent.

"The best Dictionary of the English language extant with which I am acquainted. It is gratifying to me, as it must be gratifying to every lover of English literature, that a work so pre-eminent in merit, and so indispensable to our wants, has been furnished."

**9. Michigan.**

"This Dictionary is the STANDARD of our language, and has become a national treasure."

**10. Illinois.**

"I have regarded Dr. Webster's Dictionary as by far the best which the English language affords. It may well be said to stand without a rival in the annals of English lexicography."

**11. Iowa.**

"As an American, I am proud of the work. I shall recommend it as the STANDARD in the PUBLIC SCHOOLS."

**12. Missouri.**

*Webster's Quarto Dictionary for the School Room.*

"At a meeting of the Board of Public Instruction of St. Louis, Resolved, That a copy of Webster's Unabridged Quarto Dictionary be placed upon the desk of each teacher, as a book of reference for teachers and pupils."

**13. Pennsylvania.**

"The most comprehensive, learned, accurate, and valuable work of the kind which has ever been published in the English language."

"EZRA STILES ELY."

"Recognized as STANDARD Authority throughout the world, where the English language is spoken."—Pittsburg Gazette.

**14. Kentucky.**

From Professor Matthews, Transylvania University,

**15. Canada.**

From Dr. RYERSON, Sup. Public Instruction in Canada.

"Education Office, Toronto, Dec. 6th, 1851."

"I regard Webster's Dictionary as by far the most comprehensive and valuable work of the kind in the English language. I have for several years used it more than any other English Dictionary; and the more I use it the more I am impressed with its excellence and value."

4

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY UNABRIDGED.—In the unanimous judg-
ment of the leading literary press of Great Britain and the United States,
Webster's Dictionary is the most learned, the most comprehensive, and the
most complete work of the kind in the English language.”—Journal of Ed-
ucation for Upper Canada, Toronto, January, 1849.

16. Great Britain.

"This volume must find its way into all our public and good private li-
braries, for it provides the English student with a mass of the most valuable
information, which he would in vain seek for elsewhere.—London Literary
Gazette.

"The best and most useful Dictionary of the English language ever pub-
lished."—London Times.

17. Congress.—Webster's Quarto Dictionary Unabridged.

"We rejoice that it bids fair to become the **Standard** Dictionary to be used by the numerous millions of people who are to inhabit the United States."—Signed by 104 Members of Congress.

"It is with pleasure that we greet this new and valuable contribution to American literature. We recommend it to all who desire to possess the MOST COMPLETE, ACCURATE AND RELIABLE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE."—Lewis Cass, Thos. H. Benton, and thirty-one other members of the United States Senate.

WASHINGTON, January 31, 1850.

"I possess many dictionaries, and of most of the learned and cultivated languages, ancient and modern; but I never feel that I am entirely armed and equipped, in this respect, without Dr. Webster at command."

"DANIEL WEBSTER."

"Ages will elapse before any other dictionary of the language will be re-
quired.

"THOMAS DICK, L. L. D.,
of Scotland, Author of Ch. Philoso., etc."

"There is no dictionary but this of Webster's that can be adopted as a
**Standard**. We cannot refrain from expressing a hope that our brethren
of the type—the printers and editors of newspapers especially—will adopt
the orthography of Dr. Webster. In this respect, the printers of the pres-
ent day have no **STANDARD**. It is time they had."—Boston Courier,
December 30th, 1847.

"We adopted Webster's Dictionary of the English language as a
**STANDARD**, in preference to every other, from its very first appear-
ance."—Boston Christian Register.

"I think the American dictionary unrivalled by any work of the kind in the English language."—Wilbur Fisk, D. D.

PROF. CALVIN E. STOWE, late Professor in Lane Seminary,—now Profes-
sor of Languages in Bowdoin College, Maine, says:

"My judgment and feelings are most heartily and permanently engaged
in doing all that I can to make Webster the **STANDARD** wherever the
English is spoken, as it deserves to be, must be, and will be."

"It is the best specimen of the printing art ever produced in this country."—[Librarian of Congress.] "The copious list of geographical names is itself worth the cost of the whole work."—[School Committee of Framingham.] "Without reserve or qualification, the best extant."—[Pres. Olin.] "Surpassed in fullness and accuracy by none in our language."—[Pres. Wayland.] "It far excels all others in giving and defining scientific terms."[Pres. Hitchcock.] "An honor to the language."—[President Humphrey.] "A copiousness, perspicuity, and accuracy not found in any other."—[Pres. Day.] "A great improvement on all which have preceded."—[Pres. Bates.] "Worthy of general patronage."—[Pres. Woods.] "Most complete, accurate, and reliable of the language."—(William B. Calhoun, Robert C. Winthrop, Richard S. Rust, Theodore F. King, Edmund Burke, John Young, Christopher Morgan, Alivah Hunt, Millard Fillmore, and Presidents Beecher, Larrabee, Keller, Woolsey, Blanchard, Smith, and Knox.

WEBSTER'S

QUARTO DICTIONARY.

THE ENTIRE WORK,

UNABRIDGED,

"A treasure which cannot be dispensed with by any one who would thoroughly understand and correctly use his mother tongue."—Hon. John C. Spencer.

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.:

PUBLISHED BY GEO. & CHAS. MERRIAM.

1855.

From "Glances at the Metropolis."

THE SCHOOLMASTER OF OUR REPUBLIC.

"It seems to be one of the laws of Providence, that the founders of States shall never divide their glory with those who come after them. Moses, Solon, and Lycurgus; Romulus Alfred and Washington, have left none to dispute their fame. So it is with the fathers of learning. The name of Cadmus inspires to-day, the same veneration that was felt for him by Plato. No dramatic poet will dream of usurping the throne of Shakspeares—no future astronomer will lay a profane hand on the crown of Galileo. The world looks for no other lliad—there will be no second Dante. Daniel Webster has interpreted the constitution, and Noah Webster left us a standard of the English language which will guide all successive ages.

"The pen is the only scepter which is never broken. The only real master is he who controls the thoughts of men. The maker of words is master of the thinker who only uses them. In this domain he has no rival. He stands at the fountain-head of thought, science, civilization. He is controller of all minds—to him all who talk, think, write or print, pay ceaseless and involuntary tribute. In this sense, Noah Webster is the all-shaping, all-controlling mind of this hemisphere. He grew up with his country, and he molded the intellectual character of her people. Not a man has sprung from her soil, on whom he has not laid his all-forming hand. His principles of language have tinged every sentence that is now, or will ever be uttered by an American tongue. His genius has presided over every scene in the nation. It is universal, omnipotent, omnipresent. No man can breathe the air of the continent, and escape it.

"The scepter which the great lexicographer wields so unquestionably, was most worthily won. It was not inherited, it was achieved. It cost a life-struggle for an honest, brave, unfaltering heart—a clear, serene intellect. No propitious accidents favored his progress. The victory was won after a steady trial of sixty years. Contemplate the indices of his progress; for science, like machinery, measures its revolutions. When the wheels of our ocean steamers have moved round a million times, the dial hand marks one. It was so with Galileo and Bacon—their books marked their progress through the unexplored seas of learning. It was so with Webster. When our republic rose, he became its schoolmaster. There had never been a great nation with a universal language without dialects. The Yorkshireman can not now talk with a man from Cornwall. The peasant of the Ligurian Apennines, drives his goats home at evening, over hills that look down on six provinces, none of whose dialects he can speak. Here, five thousand miles change not the sound of a word. Around every fireside, and from every tribune, in every field of labor and every factory of toil, is heard the same tongue. We owe it to Webster. He has done for us more than Alfred did for England, or Cadmus for Greece. His books have educated three generations. They are forever multiplying his innumerable army of thinkers, who will transmit his name from age to age. Only two men have stood on the New World, whose fame is so sure to last—Columbus, its discoverer, and Washington, its saviour. Webster is, and will be its great teacher; and these three make our trinity of fame."

English Standard Lexicography.

DR. WEBSTER'S
SERIES OF DICTIONARIES.

I. THE QUARTO, UNABRIDGED.

II. THE UNIVERSITY EDITION.

III. THE ACADEMIC QUARTO.

III. THE HIGH SCHOOL EDITION.

V. THE PRIMARY SCHOOL EDITION.

VI. THE POCKET EDITION.

FORMING A COMPLETE SERIES, AND AFFORDING A NATIONAL STANDARD; THUS SECURING UNIFORMITY OF ORTHOGRAPHY AND PRONUNCIATION FOR THE MILLIONS THAT ARE TO CONSTITUTE THIS VAST REPUBLIC.

OF THE SPELLING BOOK ONE MILLION COPIES

are sold Annually.

THE LEADING SERIES OF SCHOOL-BOOKS PUBLISHED IN THIS COUNTRY, ARE
BASED UPON WEBSTER.

\*\*There is no other acknowledged Standard in this country or Great Britain.

New and Revised Editions of Webster's School Dictionaries have recently been issued, in handsome style, with Tables of Geographical, Scripture, and Greek, and Latin, Proper Names, forming the best PRONOUNCING and DE-FINING School Dictionaries of the Language.

Dr. Webster's Educational Works, it is believed, have done more to secure the uniformity of pronunciation and use of language, as well as freedom from Provincialisms, so remarkable in this country, especially when the great influx of foreigners from all nations is considered, than any other cause.

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.:

GEO. & CHAS. MERRIAM,

PUBLISHERS OF WEBSTER'S UNABRIDGED;

NEW YORK:

MASON & BROTHERS, 23 PARK ROW,

PUBLISHERS OF WEBSTER'S SCHOOL DICTIONARIES,

1854.

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

THE QUARTO UNABRIDGED.

The Entire Work Unabridged, in one Volume Crown Quarto, of 1452 Pages;

Containing THREE TIMES the matter found in any other English Dictionary Compiled in this country, or any Abridgment of this work; a GEOGRAPHICAL TABLE of 12,000

WEBSTER'S UNIVERSITY DICTIONARY.

450 pp. Imperial Duodecimo. Price $2.

The edition is designed for Colleges, and professional and business men. It contains between 60,000 and 70,000 words, and embraces important Etymologies, Rules for the Orthography and Pronunciation of words, the accented Vocabularies of Walker's Key to the Classical Pronunciation of Greek, Latin, and Scripture Proper Names, Tables of Money and of Weight and Measures, with a Memoir and Portrait of the author. For any purpose requiring a comprehensive and to a large extent complete work, but for which a book so capacious and expensive as the Unabridged Quarto is not required, the University Edition is admirably suited. For the Counting House, or the Family, it is excellently adapted.

WEBSTER'S ACADEMIC QUARTO DICTIONARY.

428 pages, Cap Quarto. Price $2.50.

Designed for the Higher Schools, Academies and Colleges. To aid the pupil in understanding the structure and grammatical relations of our language, the irregular plurals of nouns are given, with the preterites and perfect particles of irregular verbs. As a means of creating an interest in etymological inquiries, the derivations of words are frequently traced. As an aid to pronunciation, the words are carefully divided into syllables on the principles adopted by the author as the result of his latest inquiries into the subject. The vocabulary is very copious, more so than in any similar work. It contains all the important words of our language, in connection with those exact and comprehensive definitions for which Dr. Webster's works are so much distinguished; with Vocabularies of Greek, Latin, Scripture, and Modern Geographical names, with Rules for the Pronunciation prefixed to each. Also a collection of Familiar Phrases, Words, and Proverbs, from the Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, and Greek, with brief definitions; a concise account of some of the principal Heathen Deities, Heroes, &c., and an extensive list of Abbreviations with their explanations. No pains have been spared to make this work suited to the important place which it is designed to occupy in the Schools and Colleges of our country.

WEBSTER'S HIGH SCHOOL DICTIONARY.

360 pages, Medium Duodecimo. Price 80 cents.

The SCHOOLMASTER'S USE OF WORDS is a matter of the gravest consideration. His words, his voice, and tone, his pronunciation, all are imitated by his pupils. He, of all men therefore, should not be without a DICTIONARY, both for himself and his pupils. In the High School, he has one fitted with great pains to his hand. The power of saying exactly what we mean, of neither more nor less than we mean, is an elegant mental accomplishment. Perhaps there is no power so surely indicative of high and accurate training of the intellectual faculties. But it is also much more than this: it has a moral meaning as well. It is nearly allied to morality, inasmuch as it is nearly connected with truthfulness. Every man who has himself in any degree cared for the truth, and occupied himself in seeking it, is more or less aware how much of the falsehood in the world passes current under the concealment of words, how many strives find much of their fuel in words carelessly or ignorantly employed.

Let the teacher who would deserve the love and gratitude of his pupil, impart a thorough acquaintance of that instrument, by which all knowledge and thought, as well as his every want, is made known.

320 pages, Square 16mo. Price 45 cents.

This is the edition for Common Schools. It is very complete, containing 10,000 more words than Walker's School Dictionary.

WEBSTER'S POCKET DICTIONARY.

Diamond, 2mo. Price in coin binding, 30 cents; Price in roan gilt edges, 62 1-2 cents; price in tucks, gilt edges, 75 cents.

This edition is designed for pocket and every day use. It gives the spelling of the irregular participles, also the irregularly formed plurals of nouns and other derivatives, the rules for the correct orthography of which being so perplexed and difficult to retain in the memory that persons of good education are not unfrequently betrayed into errors.

Liberal discounts made to Purchasers in quantities

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY,

UNABRIDGED.

PRICE REDUCED TO SIX DOLLARS.

OPINIONS OF

I. MAINE.

From the "Common School Advocate," edited by the State Superintendent, Hon. Wm. G. Crosby.

II. NEW HAMPSHIRE.

From the State Commissioner.

From Hon. R. S. RUSSELL, Commissioner of Public Schools for the State of New Hampshire.

"MESSRS. MERRIAM: * * * Command my services in the circulation of the best Dictionary of the English Language. "Yours, &c. R. S RUST."

"Intending positively to retire from public life at the close of the present school year, the Commissioner * * * * most respectfully recommends to the honorable Legislature of New Hampshire, now to convene, that a resolution be passed to this effect: That

'WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, (UNABRIDGED,) be furnished at public expense, to every School District in the State, to be carefully kept and preserved for the benefit both of teachers and pupils.

"JOSEPH PERRY.

"The volume is, in fact, the teacher's encyclopedia, as well as lexicon, for daily reference. Could a copy of it be provided as the permanent property of every district school, the effect, as regards the improvement of instruction, would be deeply and extensively felt, in the increased skill of the teacher, and the higher attainments of his pupils, in the most important part of education—the acquisition of an adequate knowledge and proper use of our own language."—William Russell, Esq., Teacher of Education.

III. VERMONT.

"It was my lot to be present, and preside, about four years since, at a State meeting of our County Superintendents, then the appointed Board for recom-mending books for School purposes,—when I had the gratification of seeing WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY adopt-ed as the Standard Dictionary for the Schools of Vermont. I was gratified, because I felt that this work was worthy to be a standard,—that it afforded a safe harbor after long tossings upon a sea of doubt and un-certainty,—a secure resting-place from the fluctuations to which our language had been long subjected, and to which, without a work, it would still, as much as ever, be exposed."

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY

## TESTIMONY OF THE BOSTON TEACHERS.

From J. D. PHILBRICK, Esq., late Principal of the Quincy School, Boston, and now Associate Principal of the Connecticut State Normal School.

"STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, NEW BRITAIN, CT., April 18, 1853.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM, GENTLEMEN.—I have the pleasure to assure you that the teachers and pupils of the Model Department of this Institution, are truly grateful to you for the fine copy of WEBSTER'S UNABRIDGED AMERICAN QUARTO DICTIONARY, free access to it, and it is in constant requisition. Its beneficial influence on the scholarship of the school is already visible. The scholars are beginning to appreciate the difference between guessing at the import of the terms used in their text-books, and learning their meaning with precision and exactness.

A copy of the work, furnished by the State, had been in use in my school-room in Boston, during the two years preceding my removal to this place, and it was used more than all the books of reference in the library, which contained a good selection of that class of books. My observation of its utility in a public school has fully convinced me that it is just the thing needed in every District School in the State.

This great work is the product of the best of the State of Connecticut, and she ought to have taken the lead in furnishing it to all her schools, for the use of her children. I know of no means whereby the common schools of the State could be benefited more at the same expense, than by placing a copy in every school-room. I hope the day is not distant when the State will confer this blessing on her children.

Yery respectfully yours,
JOHN D. PHILBRICK.

From ISAAC F. SHEPARD, Esq., Principal of the Lyman School.

"BOSTON, April 27, 1853.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM, GENTLEMEN.—I take pleasure in adding my testimony to the great value of WEBSTER'S UNABRIDGED AMERICAN QUARTO DICTIONARY. In my labors as a Teacher in the Boston schools for ten years, I have not been without the work for reference, at all times, by both Assistants and pupils. I consider it an invaluable companion; and in the etymology and definitions of the language, strict, faithful, copious and understandable; in short, just what is needed by every man, woman and child in the Union, who would be most grateful to the language we use. Massachusetts is deserving of the gratitude of her children for the gift of the book to all her public schools; and I trust that not only Connecticut, who is especially bound to the duty, but every State in the Confederacy, will speedily follow her example.

Yours very truly,

ISAAC F. SHEPARD."

From R. G. PARKER, Esq., Principal of the Johnson School, and author of Exercises in Composition, a Treatise on Natural Philosophy, and various other Text Books.

"BOSTON, April 26, 1853.

I beg leave to assure you that Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is seldom out of my sight, and is the only one to which I ever refer for the meaning and etymology of a word. Notwithstanding I have some objections to the orthography of Mr. Webster, I prefer his Unabridged Dictionary to any and all others, and could I have but one, his would be the one I should select. The clearness of his definitions, the elab- orateness with which he has traced the etymology of his words, and the transparency, so to speak, which he has thereby given to their proper signification, are features in his work, which have made it the Dic- tionary of the English Language. I believe him a benefactor to all of Anglo-Saxon origin. The definitions, as I have been informed, in my opinion, to supplant all its predecessors, and to become the great fountain to which all will resort for draughts of pure English.

Respectfully yours,

RICH. G. PARKER."

"BOSTON, April 26, 1853.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM.—GENTLEMEN; I regard WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY as a highly valuable work, and an essential one to every critical scholar; and I think that a copy of it should be accessible to the pupils of all our Districts, Grammar, and High Schools.

Respectfully yours,

THOMAS SHERWIN.

From W. M. H. SAEVAY, Esq., Principal of the Eliot High School, Boston.

"BOSTON, May 10, 1853.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM.—I am happy to express my full concurrence in Mr. PHILBRICK'S favorable opinion of WEBSTER'S Unabridged Quarto Dictionary. I subscribe to this opinion after four years' experience and observation of the effects of its use, in and out of the school room.

Yours,
WILLIAM H. SAEVAY."

From GEORGE B. HYDE, Esq., Associate Principal of the Dwight School, Boston.

"BOSTON, May 14, 1853.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM.—" It gives me the highest pleasure to do any thing to extend the use of this invaluable work. Every human being that can speak or write the English Language, should have a copy. Next to the Bible, I consider it the Book.

Yours truly,

GEO. B. HYDE."

From JAMES A. PAGE, Esq., Associate Principal of the Dwight School.

"BOSTON, May 27, 1853.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM.—" I have recently observed more particularly the constant requisition, and consequent high estimation, in which WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY is held by the boys of this school. In scores of instances during that time I have known it to be consulted, as a last resort, and always with evident satisfaction. The pupils consider this authority of such importance in all contested points of orthography, definitions, &c., as to call for Webster at once.

Its usefulness in the study of Grammar, by furnishing a clew to the meaning of a word, and thereby to the sentence; its general copiousness of definition, and of illustrative quotations, place it, in our estimation, above every other work of its kind.

Respectfully yours,

JAMES A. PAGE."

## WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY IN ENGLAND.

A somewhat singular circumstance has recently transpired in England, showing the estimate placed there upon the work of the great American Lexicographer —

"An edition of the English public library has recently been published in London, and is advertised as 'WEBSTER'S Critical and Pronouncing Dictionary, &c., enlarged and revised by Worcester,' On the title-page Webster's is placed first, in large type, and Worcester follows in another line, in smaller type, and the book is lettered on the back, 'WEBSTER'S and Worcester's Dictionary!!'"

The London publisher seems quite aware that the English public will only accept, as a genuine article in the Dictionary line, something labeled WEBSTER, and so covers his wooden nutmeg with a coating which has the genuine aroma. This beats Jonathan.

WEBSTER'S

QUARTO DICTIONARY.

PRICE REDUCED TO SIX DOLLARS.

PUBLISHED BY

AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

TESTIMONIALS.

FROM PRESIDENTS OF COLLEGES,

"It gives me great pleasure to state, that I have made use either of your Quarto or Octavo Dictionary, ever since the time of their publication; and that for copiousness, for exactitude of definition, and adaptability to the present state of science and literature, they seem to me to be the most valuable works of the kind that I have ever seen in our language. In the general principles of Orthography and Pronunciation, which you have adopted, I also concur, and shall endeavor hereafter to conform to them in practice.
FRANCIS WAYLAND."

4. From President FISK, [at Wesleyan University previous to President Olin.

* In a subsequent note, Mr. Parker says, 'That Webster's Orthography will be the standard, I have no doubt.

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

**5. From President HITCHCOCK, of Amherst College.**

**6. From President CHAPIN, of Columbian College, D. C.**

"I am prepared, after protracted and careful examination and comparison, to say, that in my judgment, the Dictionary of Noah Webster possesses unrivaled merit. From its first publication, I have used it as my standard in orthography and definition. The objects of the author were important to the patriot and the scholar, and the manner in which he has accomplished them will procure for him a fame as universal and imperishable as the English language. The devotion of his long life to improve that tongue, which bids fairest to be the chief vehicle to convey over the world the blessings of science and Christianity, should be gratefully ascribed to that superintending Providence which rules the affairs of men."

**7. From President HOSACK and Professors FRANCIS, SMITH, MOTT, and STEVENS, of Rutgers Medical College.**

**8. From President HUMPHREY, formerly of Amherst College.**

"Dr. Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language is an honor to the country which gave him birth, to the age, and to the language which it so admirably traces up to its etymological sources, so skilfully analyzes, and so happily explains." Heman Humphrey, D. D., late President of Amherst College.

**9. From President SPARKS, of Harvard University.**

**10. From President WOODS, of Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky.**

"For the English Dictionary of Noah Webster, L.L. D., I entertain a very high opinion. It displays learning and research. I think it worthy of general patronage."

**11. From Professor MATTHEWS, of Transylvania University.**

**12. From Professor SHORT, of Transylvania University.**

**13. From Professor CALDWELL, of Transylvania University.**

"Of that great production [Webster's American Dictionary] I say, confidently, that I consider it by far the best Dictionary of the English Language that has yet been published. When doubtful as to the meaning, origin, Orthography, Pronunciation, or correct use of any word, I refer to it as the highest authority. That the establishment of a uniform mode of spelling the English Language, is a very important desideratum, no scholar will deny. I trust, therefore, that in this great effort to promote education, and improve the literature of the country, Dr. Webster will be amply patronised."

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FROM PRESIDENTS OF COLLEGES.

17

**14. From President WOOLSEY, of Yale College, Chancellor FRELINGHUYSEN, New York University, President LARRABEE, of Middlebury College, President KELLER, of Wittenberg College, Ohio, Dr. BEECHER, President Lane Seminary, Professors STOWE, ALLEN, DIEHL, GIEGER, and others.**

**15. From President MANN, of Antioch College, Ohio.**

**16. From Professor TYLER, of Amherst College.**

**17. From NATHAN W. FISKE, Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy in Amherst College.**

2

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

FROM DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS,

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19

October, 1850.

G. P. R. JAMES.

"I consider this Lexicon, in many respects, the best in our language, and find it an invaluable *eade mecum*; I must frankly tell you, however, I do not make it my standard for orthography in the publication of my works. My reason simply is, that it differs occasionally from the orthography in use among the best London Publishers."*

J. A. JAMES."

"So far as I know, there is a unanimity of opinion that Dr. Webster's is the best *Defining* Dictionary in the English language. Whoever may choose to purchase Dr. Webster's also; and I assure you it will give me pleasure, as far as I have the opportunity and ability, *to recommend to Students, and ESPECIALLY ALL THOSE WHO ARE MAINLY DEPENDENT ON SELF-CULTURE, OR SELF-EDUCA-TION, TO KEEP A COPY OF THIS WORK BY THEIR SIDE, AS A HAND-BOOK.*"

WASHINGTON, March 26, 1848.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM:

Gentlemen: * * * Dr. Webster's Dictionary is a work of extraordinary merit and value. On the great head of Etymology, I know nothing to supply its place. I put my name to your proposals with very great pleasure.

WASHINGTON, Jan., 1850.

DANIEL WEBSTER.

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

HON. THOS. H. BENTON, U. S. Senator from Missouri, an able Scholar, as well as distinguished statesman; HON. LEWIS CASS, formerly U. S. Minister at the Court of Versailles, and more recently U. S. Senator from Michigan; HON. THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN, Chancellor of New York University; HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP, of Boston, late Speaker of U. S. House of Representatives, and a ripe scholar, with many others, attach their signatures to a testimonial concerning Webster's Dictionaries, ending as follows:-

From WILLIAM RUSSELL Esq., formerly Editor of the American Journal of Education, and a distinguished Elocutionist.

The edition of Dr. Webster's Dictionary, revised by Prof. Goodrich, I would earnestly recommend to the attention of all teachers who are desirous of becoming fully qualified to give instruction in the English language. The copious information which that work embodies on all topics connected with Etymology—the extreme exactness, as well as the number, extent, and fullness of the definitions which it furnishes to every important word, render it a mine of philological wealth to instructors. The volume is, in fact, the teacher's encyclopaedia, as well as lexicon, for daily reference. Could a copy of it be provided as the permanent property of every district school, the effect as regards the improvement of instruction, would be deeply and extensively felt, in the increased skill of the teacher, and the higher attainments of his pupils, in the most important part of education—the acquisition of an adequate knowledge and proper use of our language.

WM. RUSSELL.

R. H. WALWORTH."

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"For nearly half a century, 'amidst obstacles and toils, disappointments and infirmities,' he [Dr. Webster] has nobly sustained his courage; and by means of his extraordinary skill and industry in the investigation of languages, he will transmit his name to the latest posterity. It will dwell on the tongues of infants, as soon as they have learned to lisp their earliest lessons. It will be stamped on our American literature, and be carried with it over every part of this mighty continent. It will be honored by three hundred millions of people; for that is the number which, it is computed, will, in some future age, occupy the wide space of territory stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, and from the torrid to the arctic regions. The American Dictionary of the English language is a work of profound investigation, and does infinite honor to the philological learning and general literature of this country. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and heartless man. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and heartless man. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and heartless man. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and heartless man. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and heartless man. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and heartless man. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and heartless man. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and heartless man. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendors across the plains below, and along the coasts and head-lands of Attica, is now crumbling to ruins, after being despoiled of its most exquisite materials by savage war and heartless man. Even the Pyramids of Egypt, whose origin is hidden in the deepest recesses of antiquity, and which have always stood in awe-inspiring solitude and heartless man. Happy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our vernacular tongue. There is no other way in which mortal man could more effectually secure immortality beneath the skies. Obelisks, arches, and triumphal monuments seem to be as transient as the bubble of military reputation. No work of art can withstand the incessant strokes of Time. The unrivaled Parthenon, glowing in polished marble, and which, for more than two thousand years, continued from the summit of the citadel of Athens to cast its broad splendor

JOSEPH STORY.

WILLIAM CRANCH.

"More than twenty years ago I procured the Quarto edition, and have used it constantly ever since. My pursuits in life have rendered it necessary to consult it frequently, as well as other works of a kindred or similar character, particularly Dr. Johnson's Quarto, of the latest and best edition, Richardson's Dictionary, Crabbe's Synonymies, and Horne Tooke's Diversions of Purley. In professional, political, and literary discussions, the turning point of the argument has often been the exact meaning of words, as ascertained not only from their use, but from their derivation. While in many cases, perhaps in the majority of them, the works referred to have failed to give the desired information, that of Dr. Webster has always furnished precisely what has been desired; and I have long felt individually indebted to the illustrious author for the labor and time he has saved me by his unwearied patience, profound learning, and unsurpassed industry.

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22

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

From Bishop HOBART, of New York.

"A most valuable work, and eminently deserving of public patronage."

JOHN HENRY HOBART.

From J. K. POLK, late President of the United States.

It is the great work of an American citizen, accomplished after a life of indefatigable study and labor, and deserves the public favor.

From Gen. TAYLOR, late President of the United States.

It is a truly national work, illustrating at once American learning, and American enterprise and art.

From MILLARD FILLMORE, late President of the United States.

"In revising and publishing an enlarged edition of this invaluable work at so cheap a rate as to bring it within the reach of almost every family, you have rendered AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE TO MANKIND."

From T. H. GALLAUDET, well known in this country and in Europe, as an Educator and Philanthropist, and especially by his labors for the Deaf and Dumb.

"I have no hesitation in saying, that Dr. Webster's English Dictionary is decidedly the best with which I am acquainted; and that the principles on which he has attempted to reduce to greater uniformity the hitherto vague, and to a great extent, unsettled orthography of our anomalous language, if once adopted in our own country, would produce results, not only most favorable to American literature, but tend to remove many difficulties which our youth have now to encounter, in the acquisition of their mother tongue."

"We make Dr. Webster's Dictionary our general standard of Orthography, and would cordially recommend its adoption in our schools and seminaries of learning."

Signed by Gen. George P. Morris, the poet, Col. Wm. L. Stone, formerly editor of N. Y. Commercial Advertiser, Joshua Leavitt, of N. Y. Independent, Sidney E. Morse, of N. Y. Observer, Gerard Hallock, of Journal of Commerce, and many others.

Other and similar testimony might be adduced from among the most honored names which distinguish American scholarship, or adorn the bench, the bar, the pulpit, and the medical, and (last not least) the editorial professions of the country. Some of these are Rev. Doctors Milnor, Knox, De Witt, Matthews, Ezra Stiles Ely, Bacon, Taylor, Skinner; Professors Silliman, Olmsted, Moses Stuart, Leonard Woods, Emerson, Stowe, Kingsley, &c., &c.

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A NATIONAL STANDARD.

23

WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY UNABRIDGED.—The accumulated intellectual treasures of a people are wrapped up in their language. The ideas of all past generations, modified from time to time in their descent, have finally been transmitted to us in words. The chief value of a Dictionary, therefore, consists in its definitions, and its etymology; the two particulars in which Webster's is universally acknowledged to be unrivalled. No other lexicographer has ever displayed so happy a talent for combining in his definitions, precision and fullness with condensation; nor given to the study of derivation, so much time, patience, discrimination, and special and well directed study. Indeed, his Dictionary of the English Language, was the work of Dr. Webster's entire life—the great controlling end to which all his mighty energies were directed, and it will be as enduring as the massive conquering speech of which it is the exponent. "Ages," says Dr. Dick, "will elapse before any other Dictionary of the language will be required." Most of the salutary changes proposed by Dr. Webster in orthography, for the purpose of securing a greater degree of uniformity, have now been generally adopted, and are fast coming into good use.

We should be glad to see this great work in every house, lying close beside the family Bible. It should be procured at almost any sacrifice. To the young man, who wishes to store his mind with accurate and reliable information, it is indispensable. It is the teacher's best assistant, and an Encyclopedia imperatively needed in every school. Many States of the Union have made appropriations to place it in every DISTRICT SCHOOL. This ought to be done in New Jersey. The Board of Education of this city, have passed an order to furnish a copy for each of our Public Schools."

"This is now the acknowledged standard of the English language, wherever spoken. England has laid aside her great Johnson for the American Webster. The English press generally has admitted the 'American Dictionary, to be the best extant. Dr. Thomas Dick, than whom no living or modern transatlantic writer is better known, or more generally read, in this country, says, 'This Dictionary is undoubtedly the most complete Dictionary of the English language that has been published and ages will elapse before any other Dictionary of that language will be required.' He declares it in every respect far superior to Johnson's large Dictionary. It is indorsed and strongly recommended by the most eminent names which adorn American literature. It ought to obtain a universal circulation. Every school-house, academy, and college, every professional office, every reading room, every library in the land, should contain a copy of Webster's large Dictionary. All who aspire to speak and write the English language with accuracy and force, will find this work an indispensable auxiliary. To the young, who are aiming at self-culture and self-improvement, it will be of the greatest value. A constant and careful reference to it will tend to form intellectual habits of much importance, as to accuracy, discrimination, and condensation of thought; for the work is remarkable for these properties, as well as for purity of language. Nor is it merely a book of words, as young people sometimes imagine a Dictionary to be. It is, in fact, an encyclopedia of knowledge. 'All young persons,' says the Phrenological Journal, 'should have a standard Dictionary at their elbow; and while you are about it, get the best; that Dictionary is Noah Webster's—the great work unabridged. If you are too poor, save the amount from off your back, to put it into your head.' This is true doctrine. If you do not mean to spell wrong, read wrong, speak wrong, write wrong—go halting and blundering intellectually, as long as you live—buy WEBSTER'S LARGE DICTIONARY; and when you have it, use it."

4

The *pronunciation* is marked by a simple and excellent system of notation, and in difficult cases, words are re-spelled. The lists of Scriptural, Classical, and Geographical names are very full—the latter more so than we have seen in any Dictionary; it comprises twelve or thirteen thousand names. Every American student, and, as far as possible, every American family, should possess this great standard of our language."

"Get the Best."

DICTIONARY

at their elbows. And while you are about it, *get the best*; that Dictionary is

NOAH WEBSTER'S,

The *great work* unabridged. If you are too poor, save the amount from off your back, to put it into your head."—Phrenological Journal.

Chronotype.

TESTIMONIALS.

25

*[Whose pursuits, in translating, &c., lead them to an intimate study of Language, and who are, often, scholars of a high order.]*

To MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM:

His Honor, the Lieutenant Governor, a reputed scholar, calling upon us more than a year since, saw the work, admired, and at once ordered a copy for his own use. About a month since one of the civil magistrates inquired of me where and how he could obtain a copy for himself. And only last week the Honorable the Secretary to Government, a man of much maturity in both years and knowledge, passing a day or two with us, referred several times to Webster's Quarto Dictionary as the highest or two with the general merits and marked excellences are too well known and acknowledged to require of me any enumeration, had I the time to make it.

LEWIS GROUT."

> "Promotion to Government service is regarded by the intelligent Hindoos as the greatest honor to which they can attain, and in order to that, a knowledge of English is quite indispensable. The many heathen schools in which it is taught, as well as the many seminaries and schools under the care of the different missions, are opening the way for this Dictionary to exert an elevating and civilizing influence throughout the length and breadth of British India.

> "It is regarded by the intelligent natives as a work of unequaled merit. This is in a good degree evinced by their readiness to pay the American retail price, which, in some instances, is twice the amount of their monthly wages."

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26

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

I. M. PRESTON,

Missionary of Am. Board."

From a Missionary in Persia.

"QOROOMIAH, PERSIA, Jan. 7, 1852.

Messrs. G. & C. MERRIAM:—SIR S: Some time since we received two copies of Webster's Quarto Dictionary, kindly presented to you by our Mission. *** We prize the books very highly, and who does not, who is acquainted with the work? One of the books is assigned to our new station in the mountains of Koordistan, and the other stands in our Library here. It is a work of unequaled excellence in its kind, and is a real *treasure* to missionaries in foreign countries, who, in the use and study of other languages, are in some danger of forgetting their own.

Most truly yours,

A. H. WRIGHT."

From Western India.

* * The copy of Webster's Quarto Dictionary has been duly received. To express our very high appreciation of its value, would be only to repeat the very numerous testimonials of the best American and European scholars. We find the ripest Oriental scholars in India, prize it not less than our own countrymen. We have found it necessary to order several copies for young men who have been educated in our schools, and the demand is constantly increasing.

Yours very sincerely,

R. G. WILDER,

"OODOOVILLE, Aug. 22, 1851.

L. SPAULDING."

## EXPRESSIONS OF THE PRESS,
AMERICAN AND FOREIGN,
ENGLISH.

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27

TESTIMONIALS.

*From the London Examiner.*

*From the London Sun.*

## AMERICAN.

"Our purpose is simply to recommend the present edition of it, (Webster's Quarto Dictionary,) with its copious additions to the text, as a highly valuable publication. Great labor has been bestowed upon it, and all the alterations and articles that have been added, so far as we have noticed them, are great improvements. We hope that it will obtain a wide and profitable circulation."—*North American Review, January, 1848.*

In all other respects, it has never had a rival. In the completeness of the vocabulary, the fullness and precision of its definitions, its learned solution of the true source of words, and its apt and copious authorities, it is a work of amazing labor and scholarship, which has made English lexicography an entirely new thing. Prof.

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28

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

Goodrich has added such new words as are respectively known, and has especially
enhanced the value of the work by incorporating a complete list of scientific, techni-
cal, and peculiar words, relating to all the various departments of science, art, manu-
factures, philosophy, philology, &c. In this he has been aided by his very able
corps of fellow-professors in Yale College; and the result is that all the benefits of a
technological dictionary, so far as the popular wants are concerned, have been secur-
ed to this edition. * * By far the cheapest, most beautiful, and most useful lex-
con of our language that can be obtained."—Biblical Repository, Jan. 1848.

"His pronunciation, as a whole, has been sanctioned, to a great extent, by the best speakers both in England and America. That only can be the best pronunciation, which obtains the consent of the largest number of the well-educated and well-bred of a nation—the more prevailing practice in the circles of taste, refinement, and intelligence. Dr. Webster's method of pronunciation conforms more nearly to such a practice, there is reason to think, than that of most of our orthopists. * * * The value of the volume is greatly enhanced by the addition of a VOCABULARY GIVING THE PRONUNCIATION OF MODERN GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES. It is hardly necessary to say how much a guide of this kind is needed, on the part of a large class in the community. * * * The satisfaction derived from a clear, full, and consistent definition, is worth any effort which it may cost, and to all who search for truth such definition is indispensable. We believe that there is not, within the compass of English literature, a work which, in this respect, will meet the expectations of all who consult a Dictionary, so entirely as the one which has drawn forth these comments. In this feature of the work, as we have seen, it will bear the test of the severest scrutiny. In respect to the other uses of a dictionary, as a guide to etymology, orthography, pronunciation, &c. we believe it may be relied on with equal confidence."—New Englander, January, 1848.

"We venture to say that there is no Dictionary in the English language which combines so many advantages, with such economy of price, beauty of execution, compactness and clearness, as this Quarto edition of Webster."—New York Observer, December 4, 1847.

"We rejoice that the public award is strongly ratifying our long-cherished conviction, that Noah Webster was decidedly the best lexicographer who has treated of the English language. * * Emphatically the Dictionary of our language.—New York Tribune, December 7, 1847.

"In its admirable definitions, its accurate philology, its copiousness, good sense, and completeness, it is fast receiving the judgment of the learned world, that it has no equal."—New York Evangelist, December 9, 1847.

"If any student or scholar, or any one who has aught to do with the language more than to grunt or gabble in it, can manage, after having once seen this Dictionary, to live without it, his power of abstaining from the necessaries of life will exceed our capabilities of comprehension."—Pittsburg Christian Advocate, December 22, 1847.

"All that good taste, patient research, and a happy faculty of discrimination between the good and the bad, could effect, has been done, and his work recognized as standard authority throughout the world, where the English language is spoken."—Pittsburg Gazette, December 14, 1847.

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TESTIMONIALS.

29

it in respect to the English language, there is no work to be named with the present edition of Webster. The present edition is a most beautiful specimen of the art of printing—white satin paper, type the best shaped and most distinct, and the fairest impressions."—Boston Independent Register, Jan. 13, 1848.

"As regards etymology and pronunciation, the present volume is all that can be desired. In the former respect, Dr. Webster did nearly all that could be done, and his labor of thirty years throws all former attempts in this department into the shade. In pronunciation, the revised Dictionary is clear and exact, its system is simple, and easily understood and remembered. * * We may now hope that the best and the same Dictionary may be used by both writers and readers, in the family, the school, and the study, to the great profit and instruction of all concerned."—Boston Post, January 12, 1848.

"Will be regarded as a standard work, and is a monument to commemorate for ages the name and indefatigable labors of the great American lexicographer. * * A Dictionary, copious, and as near perfection as can be attained. One which is worthy of the country and the age, and which ought to be in the possession of every head of a family."—Boston Journal, January 4, 1848.

"The mechanical execution is superb, and faultless; in the matters of type, paper, accuracy, skill, and taste, it leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. * * We are happy to express our belief that the present edition of Webster's Dictionary leaves nothing material in English lexicography to be desired. The price of the volume (six dollars) brings it within the reach of the far greater part of intelligent persons."—New York (Baptist) Recorder, December 22, 1847.

"The highest standard of authority, with the learned of Great Britain and the United States."—New York Journal of Commerce, December 1847.

"The publishers have made a beautiful work of it. A neat and finished and fair book, is a reprint of one of the Graces. And then, as the crowning charm, it is a cheap work—the cheapest work published in America. It ought to be in every family, in every school, in every professional library. And could we whisper in the ear of the young men and the young ladies of our parishes, we would say to them, 'Raise six dollars among yourselves, buy this Dictionary, and some Monday morning, within a week or two, call on your pastor and make him such a present as will cause him to remember you, and bless you every time he writes a sermon.'"—New England Religious Herald, Hartford, January 22, 1848.

This edition of Webster, it should be observed, is *UNABRIDGED*. The volume before us, singularly beautiful in typographical execution, as it is rich in the results of Dr. Webster's labors and last revisions, amplified by Prof. Goodrich, of Yale, will be a valuable, we had almost said an indispensable, addition to the library of every gentleman and scholar."—Pittsburg Commercial Journal, January 15, 1848.

"One of the most important contributions ever made to a sound American literature—the most complete work of the kind that any nation can boast of. * * What distinguishes this Dictionary above all others is the thoroughness and accuracy of its definitions; and this is the leading feature of such a work. This is a department of learning which is singularly difficult; and very few excel in it. It requires uncommon clearness and comprehensiveness of intellect. Definitions often lose their point by being overburdened with words. Dr. Webster was wonderfully happy in the use of language. And his definitions are models of condensation and purity; and the careful study of them, as an intellectual exercise, may safely be recommended to the young, especially, as an important means of advancement in knowledge. There is great fullness, too, in this work, in the defining of words; and in this respect it might be called an Encyclopaedia, presenting substantially the circle of the sciences.

In regard to *Pronunciation*, we feel perfectly satisfied that this revision places that subject on a truer ground than any other work of the kind. The system of pronouncing conforms to a pure and manly taste, adapted to the character of the language, and is far removed from all affection and mere fashion. * * It is now, as we fully believe, in this revision, brought down to the true circumstances of the community in all respects. And we hope it will find its way rapidly, not only to the

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["30", "WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.", "schools and the study, but to the parlor, the counting-room, and to the every-day\npurposes of life.\"—Hon. William B. Calhoun, December, 1847.", "\"The American who cherishes the honor of the literature of his country, may with good reason be proud of this Dictionary, and regard with ardent enthusiasm every effort to give it additional value and a more extended circulation. The fact that such a work has been produced in this country, a work which can be sent to the mother country as a Thesaurus in that common language which unites the mother and the daughter land, more valuable than any which England has produced, with all her leisure, her libraries, and her means of research, is fitted to give us a just pride in the past, and an ardent hope for the future. The author of the original now sleeps with the dead; but it was his rare fortune to hear, while living, from the lips of the excellent Chancellor Kent, the following words of eulogy.\"—Literary World, December 11, 1847.", "The following beautiful eulogy on Noah Webster, Esq., is from the Anniversary Address delivered before the Connecticut Alpha of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, by the late Chancellor Kent, of New York:—", "\"For nearly half a century, 'amidst obstacles and toils, disappointments and in-\nfirmities,' he has nobly sustained his courage; and by means of his extraordinary\nskill and industry in the investigation of languages, he will transmit his name to the\nlatest posterity. It will dwell on the tongues of infants, as soon as they have learn-\ned to lisp their earliest lessons. It will be stamped on our American literature, and\nbe carried with it over every part of this mighty continent. It will be honored by\nthree hundred millions of people; for that is the number which, it is computed, will,\nin some future age, occupy the wide space of territory stretching from the Atlantic\nto the Pacific Ocean, and from the torrid to the arctic regions. The American Dic-\ntionary of the English Language is a work of profound investigation, and does in-\nfinite honor to the philological learning and general literature of this country.\nfinite honor to the philological learning and general literature of this country.\nHappy the man who can thus honorably identify his name with the existence of our\nHappy the man who can thus honorably identify

32

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

From the Ladies' Repository, (Meth. Book Room) Cincinnati, May, 1852.

From the Watchman and Obseer, Richmond, Va., March 3, 1853.

"This work has been adopted as the STANDARD, not only in this country, but in England, and for accuracy of Definition and faithfulness in tracing out the various shades of meaning of words, it has no equal, and is probably the only full and complete Dictionary of our language extant."

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE.—"We must pay this compliment to Webster's Quarto DICTIONARY,—it contains scientific terms not to be found in any other work, and we have often been surprised to find that it contained full and clear definitions of many technical phrases, which we thought had never been outside of the workshop. It is a real Encyclopaedia of Science, for it not only gives the definitions of scientific terms, but describes the nature of many chemical actions, and the operation of many machines. In its unabridged present form, it is complete, and no man pretending to scientific knowledge can be without it. In Chemistry, Architecture, Geology, Engineering, Mechanics, &c., &c., it is full and accurate, and is not only essential to the student in science, but to the most erudite philosopher. We are proud of this work as an American production; it is certainly gratifying to know and feel that England looks to America as having now produced the standard work of the English Language."—Scientific American, Oct. 4, 1851.

"There have been two Noahs in this world, who have, we trust, entered a blessed world to come—the Noah of Diluvian days, who conducted the Representatives of the Living creation over the world of Waters—and the Noah of Modern days, who has navigated the Ark of the English language over the deluge of a world of words.

All other Dictionaries are swamped in the deluge, like the inhabitants of the old world, and no high mountain of distinction, ambition, or pretension, has had sufficient altitude to overtop the flood of oblivion that washes them under, and overwhelms them in the silence of death and forgetfulness.

But 'Noah entered the ark with all his house,' and outlived the flood. So Noah Webster and all his faithful followers preserved the Progeny of the English Language, and are rapidly extending it over the Pagan, as well as Christian world.

Again, Language has been a gnarled and tangled web, that none could unravel and straighten well, until a Webster arose to accomplish the task. Others only made the tangled web the worse, or broke and tore it into shreds and patches, but our Webster has analyzed and synthesized it, has unraveled and woven the web into the warp and woof, into a beautiful pattern. Noah Webster's Dictionaries are the standard spellers and definers of the English language the world over—soon to be the Court Language of the world."

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TESTIMONIALS.

33

His Dictionary is firmly established as a standard work, and enjoys a reputation unknown to any other work of the kind.—Massachusetts Spy.

"This Dictionary may be regarded as the most complete and valuable one ever offered to the American public."—Lowell Daily Courier, January 25, 1848.

"By far the most complete and correct Dictionary of the English language ever published."—Hampshire Herald, January 25, 1848.

"It not only acquaints the scholar with the origin and early history of all the leading words in our language, but it enables him to discover at a glance the exact elementary idea of these words, and thus to see them in a significance, and use them with a precision, to which he must otherwise be a stranger."—Cleveland Plain-dealer, Dec. 7, 1847.

"Nor can it be said that any man's library, or that of any public institution, is complete without this book."—St. Louis Republican, Dec. 18, 1847.

"Dr. Webster's masterly work as the standard English Dictionary, not only of America, but of the world."—Hampshire Gazette, January 14, 1848.

"Beyond doubt, the most complete work of the kind ever published in this country."—Philadelphia Saturday Courier, November 20, 1847.

"—will always hold the highest rank in this country, and eventually, we suspect, every where."—N. Y. Commercial Advertiser, Dec. 16, 1847.

"Perhaps no work ever issued from the press more faultless in every particular."—Daily Ohio State Journal, January 7, 1848.

"After a pretty general examination, we pronounce it, in our opinion, the ne plus ultra of lexicography. The mechanical execution we think superior to that of any publication of the kind we have ever seen, from the press of this or the transatlantic country. The typography is clear and tasteful, having three columns on a page—the paper of a superior quality, and the binding neat. The definitions are full and perspicuous, the orthopæy complete, and the orthography, probably the most perfect of any standard ever established."—Orleans Republican, Jan. 5, 1848.

"The nearest approximation to a complete and perfect English Lexicon that has ever yet appeared."—Boston Christian Reflector, Dec., 1847.

"No other Dictionary of the English Language has claims to rival this standard work of Webster."—St. Louis New Era, Dec. 18, 1847.

"The Crown Quarto edition ought to receive universal favor, as a monument of American intellect and erudition, equally brilliant and solid—more copious, precise, and satisfactory than any other work of the kind.—George M. Dallas, Vice President of the U. States, March, 1848.

The Dictionary of Noah Webster is the only reliable standard we have.—Evening Wisconsin, June 8, 1854.

"We recognize it as the best authority in all respects, and say, let all "get the best."—N. Hampshire Statesman, June 16, 1854.

Now considered, by universal consent, as standing at the head of English lexicography.—Fall River News, June, 1854.

Pre-eminently the standard work of its kind, wherever the English language is spoken.—Providence Post, May, 1854.

If we were asked by one just beginning to collect a library what books should first be selected, we should unhesitatingly answer, let the first book be the Bible, and the second Webster's Dictionary—the complete edition, published by G. & C. Merriam.—American Agriculturist, New York, May 10, 1854.

There is no end so important to the education of the common mind as to use this one common language with correctness, ease, and elegance; and there is no one book which promises so many facilities for this purpose as Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.—Philad., D. News, April 12, 1854.

The only standard of the English language.—Chicago Daily Democrat, March, 1854.

The authoritative standard of the English language, wherever that noble vehicle of thought for the human mind is employed.—Lutheran (Baltimore) March, 1854.

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34

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

We have few classics in American literature, but if a Dictionary can be included under that title, Webster certainly is at the head of American classics. His work immortalized his name.—*Philad. Ev. Bulletin, March*, 1854.

The most popular, and doubtless when considered in all regards, the most valuable Dictionary extant is Noah Webster's. The Superintendent of Public Instruction of this State has given his official approval of the work, and has recommended its being adopted as a standard in the public schools of our State.—*Dubuque Tribune, Feb.*, 1854.

A work which should be in every family in the land, containing as it does an amount of information not to be found in any other book in the language.—*Dedham Gazette, Feb.*, 1854.

For fullness, accuracy, variety, and extent of definitions, no other Dictionary in the language can compare with it.—*Lawrence Courier, Feb.* 1854.

To assert that this is the best Dictionary of the English language, in its pronunciation and orthography, in the precision and comprehensiveness of its definitions, and for its profound etymological research, would be but to repeat what thousands have uttered.—*Boston Cultivator, Feb.* 1854.

Generally acknowledged that Noah Webster's Unabridged is the most complete and correct Dictionary ever issued. We advise every body who can afford it to purchase and study Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.—*N. Hampshire Gazette, Dec.*, 1853.

We will only add, that we are glad the school districts of Massachusetts have so generally selected Webster's Dictionary instead of Worcester's. [THIRTY TO ONE.] In so doing, they have undoubtedly made the best choice.—*Greenfield Republic, Sept.*, 1853.

No other man in this country has exerted a direct influence upon the scholastic education of so many minds as Noah Webster. His Dictionary, the great work of his life, has already established itself as a standard in this country, and is gaining a wide and solid reputation in Europe.—*U. S. Journal, Oct.*, 1853.

We have always regarded the "Great Unabridged" as one of the most wonderful works ever accomplished by the intellect of man. There have been some good jokes about reading Dictionaries, but we fully confess that Webster's is a book which we read daily with pleasure and profit. No family should be without this great source of and well-spring of learning; no student or young writer, especially, should think of pursuing his vocation a day without Noah Webster at his elbow.—*Boston True Flag, July* 8, 1854.

This invaluable Dictionary, which is now so universally acknowledged to be the standard work in English lexicography in both hemispheres, has received the most unqualified praise and commendation from the most distinguished scholars, both in England and America.—*Providence Journal, July* 6, 1854.

That Webster's is the most voluminous and elaborate of all Dictionaries, none pretend to deny; that it far excels all others in the important feature of *definitions* we have never seen disputed.—*Literary Museum, August*, 1853.

Emphatically the great English Lexicon, embracing within its limits three times the amount of matter found in any kindred work, together with the freest and most copious definitions. Its advantages are pre-eminent, and without disparagement to any other, we may safely say, that Webster's Unabridged Quarto enjoys a superiority over all other English and American Lexicographers.—*Cambridge (Mass., Chronicle, Oct.*, 1853.

It will stand a monument to his name and fame, when other names, now vigorously kept before the public, will be long forgotten.—*Portland Eclectic, Aug.*, 1853.

Webster's method will supplant all others as sure as the sun shines.—*American Mirror, Aug.*, 1853.

Its position in philosophical literature is established, and Americans may well be satisfied with the high rank assigned it.—*Southern Christian Advocate, May*, 1853.

# A NATIONAL STANDARD.
## WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

### WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY,
The Entire Work Unabridged, 1456 Pages, Crown Quarto,
Six Dollars.

WEBSTER'S ACADEMIC DICTIONARY, 432 pp. Cap Quarto.

WEBSTER'S PRIMARY SCHOOL DICTIONARY, 320 pp. 16mo.

FORMING A COMPLETE SERIES, AND AFFORDING A NATIONAL STANDARD, THIS SECURING UNIFORMITY OF ORTHOGRAPHY AND PRONUNCIATION FOR THE MILLIONS THAT ARE TO CONSTITUTE THIS VAST REPUBLIC.

Of the Spelling-Book One Million Copies are sold Annually.

* There is no other acknowledged Standard in this country or Great Britain: and the following, among many others, show the views of prominent gentlemen through the country, on this subject:—

### TESTIMONIALS.

"We rejoice that it bids fair to become the STANDARD DICTIONARY to be used by the numerous millions of people who are to inhabit the United States."—*Signed by 104 Members of Congress*.

DANIEL WEBSTER, LEWIS CASS, THOMAS H. BENTON, and thirty other members of the United States Senate. MILLARD FILLMORE. THEODORE FRELINGHUTSEN, Chancellor of the University of New York. WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL, Ed. N.Y. Dist. School Journal. GEORGE N. BRIGGS, Gov. Massachusetts. WILLIAM B. CALHOUN, Sec. of State, Massachusetts. RICHARD S. RUST, Com. Common Schools, N. Hampshire. THEODORE F. KING, Sup. Schools, New Jersey. ROBERT C. WINTHROP, Speaker U. S. House of Rep. EDMUND BURKE, Com. Patents. JOHN YOUNG, Gov. New York. CHRISTOPHER MORGAN, Sec. State and Sup. Com. Sch., New York. ALYAH HUNT, Treas. New York. REV. SAMUEL H. COX, D.D. LYMAN BEECHER, D.D., Pres. Lane Seminary. CALVIN E. STOWE, D.D., Prof. do. REV. HEMAN HUMPHREY, D.D., late Pres. Amherst College. REV. EZRA KELLER, D.D., Pres. Wittenberg College, Ohio. M. A. DIEHL, Prof. in do. N. A. GIEGER, Prof. in do. BENJAMIN LABAREE, D.D., Pres. of Middlebury College; and other distinguished gentlemen.

Gov. Wood, of Ohio, in his *Annual Message, January* 1852, remarks:

> "It is admitted to be the most valuable work of the kind extant, by the learned men both here and in Europe; and its general use in our schools would break down all provincialisms, so to speak, and produce uniformity and elegance in the use of our language. Words would then be used by every one in the same sense in which they are defined by that able lexicographer."

Gov. EATON, of Vermont:

> "I had the gratification of seeing WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY adopted as the STANDARD DICTIONARY for the Schools of Vermont. I was gratified—because I felt that this work was worthy to be a Standard; that it afforded a safe harbor after long tossing upon a sea of doubt and uncertainty;—a secure resting place from the fluctuations to which our language has long been subjected, and to which, without this work, it would still, as much as ever, be exposed."

> "This work has been adopted as the STANDARD DICTIONARY in the schools and colleges of most of the States of the Union; and State officers in charge of the system and subject of Education, in various States, have recommended appropriations for its purchase by the legislature."

> "As a STANDARD of orthography and orthoepy, its claims to general adoption have been recognized by the most eminent scholars and statesmen of our land; and as a purely American work, prepared at great expense, and emanating from a source entitled to the highest credit and respect, it commends itself strongly to the adoption of our School Districts generally."

> "The STANDARD, wherever the English language is spoken, it deserves to be, must be, is, and will be."

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ADDITIONAL TESTIMONY FROM OHIO.

CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

[ACTION OF APRIL AND MAY, 1854.]

FROM THE BOARD OF SCHOOL EXAMINERS,

*Consisting of Rev. D. Shepardson, D. D.; Prof. Joseph Ray of the Woodward School; Prof. C. Knowlton, of the Hughes School; Prof. Chas. E. Matthews; Hon. Judge Stallo; E. S. Brooks, A. M., and Rev. J. D. Butler, A. M.*

To the Trustees and Visitors of Cincinnati Public Schools.

The attention of the Trustees of the Common Schools is respectfully invited to what appears to the undersigned, [SCHOOL EXAMINERS] to be a subject of importance to the Schools of this city.

Some years since, the large edition of Webster's Dictionary was formally adopted as the standard authority in spelling, pronunciation, and definition, and is now used as such. Indispensable as it undoubtedly is and ever must be as a book of reference for general information, and for ultimate resort in cases of doubt, it can not, in consequence of its size and expense, supply the place of a *hand-book*, which shall be upon the pupil's desk, ready for use when needed in his daily lessons. A book of moderate dimensions, but containing a large amount of matter, which should be at all times accessible, would save time and labor in study, invite the pupil to its frequent use, and greatly increase the amount and accuracy of information actually acquired. It is respectfully submitted whether a book of this kind may not be desirable in our Schools.

A uniform system of spelling, pronunciation, and definition, is essential to a correct and thorough education. To accomplish this object, as well as to secure a system in itself the best, and most extensively authorized by good usage, the School Board, some years since, as already stated, adopted Webster as the standard. Subsequently the Teachers of the Woodward and the Hughes High Schools, in accordance with this view, at a meeting held February 11th, 1852, unanimously passed the following resolution :-

"*Resolved:* That Webster's Dictionary be adopted as the Standard of Orthography and Pronunciation in the two Cincinnati High Schools."

In March, 1852, the Board of Trustees re-affirmed the action of a former Board, by adopting the following resolution :-

"*Resolved:* That Webster's Crown Quarto Dictionary, (Unabridged) revised edition, be adopted as standard authority in Orthography, Pronunciation, and Defining in the Public Schools of the city of Cincinnati."

The above resolution was adopted by the Board of Trustees and Visitors of Common Schools, in Cincinnati, March 9th, 1852. (Signed)

W. M. LEUTHSTROM, Sec'y.

Thus, Webster's system has become the authorized and established Standard in our Schools. It is also regarded as the best authority in a large majority of Schools in those portions of the United States, where education receives most attention, and where judicious progress in simplifying our language is encouraged. It is true that all literary men do not entirely approve even the admirable simplicity of Webster's modifications. But it is equally true, that a vastly greater number of finished scholars of this country, especially those who are more intimately connected with educational movements and literary institutions, and who are less bound by habit and prejudice to old things, believe that great and substantial good has been secured by Dr. Webster's fifty years labor for the improvement of the English language. They consider his Dictionary a great advance upon the old system—a progressive movement, to be sustained and carried forward. It is believed that more than three-fourths of the educational establishments in the Union, adopt Webster's mode of spelling and pronunciation, which, against the sternest opposition for twenty years, has been constantly gaining ground, and in the language of one of our most learned Western scholars, Prof. Stowe, of Lane Seminary, *deserves to be, must be, is, and will* be the standard, wherever the English language is spoken.

These Dictionaries are the invaluable works of a most learned and distinguished

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CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS

13

American, and they are an honor to our republican institutions, and our country. On this subject Professor Larrabee, the able Superintendent of Public Instruction and President of the State Board of Education in Indiana, holds the following language :-

"Dr. Noah Webster's Unabridged Quarto Dictionary is considered indispensable to every teacher in our State, as the standard authority in Orthography, Pronunciation, and Defining; and Webster's smaller Dictionaries are equally indispensable in all schools where an English Lexicon is required.

"The introduction of Webster's Dictionaries is indeed an urgent necessity, that the rising generation may be taught to spell and pronounce alike, and also, that all may learn from the highest authority the use and meaning of words."

The unanimous opinion of the School Examiners of this city has also been expressed as follows :-

"CINCINNATI, 21st February, 1852.

The *American Dictionary of the English Language*, by NOAH WEBSTER, L.L. D., the most honorable monument of American literature and talent, and of which every American may be justly proud, after a struggle of nearly twenty years, may be considered in its revised form, fully established as authority in Spelling, Pronunciation, and Definition. As such, it has been adopted by States in their Common Schools, by Colleges, by Academies, and most educated men who are in favor of a judicious progressive reform in language, securing simplicity in the spelling of words, and accuracy in their use. In view of these facts, therefore, it is of great importance that Webster's Dictionary should be made the STANDARD in our Schools, and in all text-books used in them."

(Signed)
H. H. BARNEY,
JOSEPH RAY,
E. S. BROOKS,

M. SIMPSON
W. M. GREENE,
D. SHEPARDSON,
HENRY SNOW,

Webster's Dictionaries are seven in number, viz: The small Pocket Dictionary, the small Primary—the High School—the Academic—the University Octavo—the Royal Octavo, published in New York, and the Crown Quarto, published in Massachusetts. Of these, the *High School Pronouncing Dictionary*, recently published, seems to be the best adapted as a hand-book of reference for the pupils in our schools. This is a small volume of 352 pages, but containing, by its admirable typographical arrangement, the immense number of forty-four thousand eight hundred words (44,800.) Its Definitions are remarkable for clearness and conciseness, and the parts of speech are clearly indicated. The Key for Pronunciation (placed at the bottom of each page) is simple and easily understood. It contains a list of Classical Proper Names, one of Scripture Names, and another of Geographical Names, with the pronunciation of each word. It is a very comprehensive and an invaluable manual, perfectly agreeing in spelling and pronunciation with the Standard now authorized by the Board, and its low price brings it within the reach of all.

As a work of this kind seems to be needed in our Schools, and as this book is especially adapted to supply this want, it is respectfully submitted to the Board, whether it may not be best to adopt Webster's High School Pronouncing Dictionary for common use in the Public Schools.

(Signed)
JOSEPH RAY,
CHAS. E. MATTHEWS,
I. B. STALLO,

D. SHEPARDSON,
JAMES B. BUTLER,
CYRUS KNOWLTON,
E. S. BROOKS,

School
Examiners.

Cincinnati, April 18th, 1854.

FROM HON. H. H. BARNEY,
State Commissioner of Public Instruction for Ohio, Late Professor in
the Hughes School.

Experience in the business of instruction—an intimate practical acquaintance, with many English Dictionaries, their modes of Spelling, Pronouncing, and Defining, (and no two authors of other Dictionaries agree) demand a hearty concurrence in the foregoing suggestions.

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14

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

In Webster's *SERIES* of Dictionaries there are many sizes, so that as regards price, and different degrees of fullness and completeness, the wants of all can be supplied.

A consistent adherence to so excellent a standard—one so much approved by American educators and ripe scholars, can result only in good; while any departure from it, may tend to confusion and evil.

A uniform manner of writing and speaking the words of our language is an essential point in the education of our children, and this is given us by Dr. Webster.

(Signed)

H. H. BARNEY.

April, 1854.

FROM A. J. RICKOFF, Esq.,

Superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools.

As necessary as a Dictionary is to the student, (for his constant reference) it has not heretofore been competent for our teachers to *require their pupils* to obtain them.

From the time the children in the Schools, under the charge of the Board, first learn to spell, they are taught Webster's Orthography, their *Spelling-Books*, *Primers and Readers all* being conformed to it, and his Dictionary only should be placed in their hands.

I heartily unite in the recommendation of the Board of Examiners.

[Mr. Rickoff suggests to pupils of the higher grades Webster's *ACADEMIC*.]

(Signed)

ANDR. J. RICKOFF.

The foregoing papers from the Board of Examiners, City Superintendent and State Commissioner, were received and accepted by the Trustees and Visitors of Cincinnati Public Schools at their meeting held May 2d, 1854.

From the *Annual Report of Hon. BELLAMY STORER*, President of School Board, Cincinnati, for the year ending June 30, 1851.

"A copy of Webster's (Unabridged) Dictionary has been placed in each District School, for the use of the Teachers, and is now our STANDARD in Orthography, Pronunciation, and Definitions. This great work has become universally popular, and is sanctioned by the best educators and scholars in our country."

In our Institution we have adopted Webster's *Crown Quarto Dictionary*, (Unabridged,) Revised Edition, as our STANDARD authority in spelling, pronunciation, and defining. We regard Webster as the only reliable authority, and one to which all our educational establishments should adhere. [Signed]

Feb. 28, 1852.

JOHN COVERT.

From the *Annual Message of His Excellency Gov. WOOD*, to the Legislature of Ohio, January, 1852.

"The Assembly might do much to improve our common Schools, and to promote the cause of education, by providing for suitable Libraries in every School District, such as would be adapted to the capacities and tastes of youth.

In Massachusetts, every school is furnished by the State with Webster's *Dictionary*. The same is recommended by a committee of the New York Legislature for the Empire State.

It is admitted to be the most valuable work of the kind extant, by the learned men both here and in Europe, and its general use in our schools would break down all provincialisms, so to speak, and produce uniformity and elegance in the use of our language. Words would then be used by every one, in the same sense in which they are defined by that able lexicographer."

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. WEBSTER.

*[From Barber's Historical Collections.]*

NOAH WEBSTER, LL.D.

BELOW is a northern view of the house in which NOAH WEBSTER, LL. D. the author of the "AMERICAN DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE," was born. This house is situated on an elevated ridge of land, about one mile south of the Congregational Church in West Hartford, and about four miles west from the central part of the city of Hartford. The prominent buildings in the city are seen from the house; also Wadsworth's tower on Talcott Mountain, about six miles to the north-west. The house is now owned and occupied by Mr. Samuel Hurlbut, who has resided on this spot for a long period. Dr. Webster, in after life, cherished a warm affection for the home of his childhood, and on his last visit to the house, about a year before his death, requested Mr. Hurlbut to take good care of a grape vine, about twenty rods north-west from the house, which was probably planted or cultivated by him in his youthful days.

[DR. WEBSTER'S BIRTH PLACE.]

Dr. Webster was born Oct. 16th, 1758. His father, Noah Webster, cultivated a small farm for his support, and was for many years a Justice of the Peace for the town of Hartford, and an officer of the Church in the parish of West Hartford. His family consisted of two daughters and three sons, all of whom were brought up to unremitting industry in the employments of the farm. His early advantages were

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24

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

limited. Having overcome the objections of his father, whose means were not am-
ple, he became a member of Yale College in Sept. 1774. The Revolutionary War
broke out the next year, and although exempted from military service, in the autumn
of 1777 he volunteered his services, and marched with his father and both his bro-
thers, to stop the progress of Gen. Burgoyne.

Having finished his education at the age of twenty, after having remained a short
time at home, his father put into his hand an eight dollar Continental bill, then
worth about four dollars, saying, "you must now seek your living, I can do
no more for you!" Being unable to prepare for professional life, he commenced the
business of school teaching, which at that period afforded but a scanty support.
For a period of ten years from the commencement of his literary course, he
struggled through a series of difficulties, and still saw no favorable results. His
spirits now failed him, and he gave way to the most gloomy forebodes. As a re-
lief to his mind, he undertook to prepare a series of books for schools. This may
be considered as a providential opening which conducted to a long course of useful-
ness, and one that enabled him to become an honor to his country, and to the age
which he lived.

The first draft of his "Spelling Book," was made in the year 1782. Most per-
sons regarded his design as useless, and many had strong objections to the changes
he proposed. Only two of his friends, John Trumbull and Joel Barlow, encouraged
him with any hope of success. "No printer would undertake the publication on
his own responsibility; and Mr. Webster was at last obliged to incur the whole risk,
with a certainty, if the book failed, of being made a bankrupt for life." Though the
work was on the whole received favorably, yet it made its way slowly into schools
for a number of years. As it became more popular, the booksellers were glad to
purchase the copy-right, by allowing him a few mills on each copy. Though Mr.
Webster's share of the profits were small, yet it furnished, at a subsequent period,
nearly all the support of his family during the twenty years which he bestowed on
the preparation of the AMERICAN DICTIONARY. Thirty millions of the "Spelling
Book have now been printed, and the present circulation is about one million of cop-
ies, per year. "Without the Spelling Book, the Dictionary could never have ex-
isted."

Mr. Webster was also distinguished as a political writer. In 1785, he published
a pamphlet entitled "Sketches of American Policy." It contained, as Chancellor
Kent of New York has frequently declared, the first distinct proposal made through
the medium of the press, for the formation of a new Constitution of the United
States. The great work, however, which will transmit the name of Dr. Webster to
posterity, is his "American Dictionary of the English Language." This was published
in 1828 in two quarto volumes of more than one thousand pages each. In 1840, he
published a revised edition in two volumes, octavo. In 1843, he published a collec-
tion of Papers on Political, Literary, and Moral subjects, in one volume octavo, col-
lected from his essays and pamphlets. This was the last volume he committed to
the press, ; at the expiration of sixty years from the commencement of his literary
labors in 1783. During the spring of 1843, Dr. Webster revised the Appendix of
his Dictionary, and added some hundreds of words. "He completed the printing of
it about the middle of May." It was the closing act of his life. His hand rested
in its last labors, on the volume which he had commenced thirty-six years before.
After a short illness, he died May 28th, 1843; closing a long, useful, and active life,
in the full triumph of Christian faith.

(48)

# APPENDIX.

## Conclusive Testimony.

### SALE OF WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES IN
THE UNITED STATES,
AS COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OTHER
DICTIONARIES.

1. New York, March 28, 1854.
MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM—Of small Dictionaries, we sell about as many Webster as of all others. Of the large, nine-tenths of all we sell are Webster.
A. S. BARNES & CO.

2. New York, March 27, 1854.
Our sale of Webster's Dictionaries is about twenty to one of all others. We sell no other large Dictionary. Only three Worcester's large 8vo. have been sold by us the past year. We sell some Walker 8vo., but only to the IVISON & PHINNEY. Canada market.
New York, 29th March, 1854.

3. Estimate of numbers sold during the year 1853: 600 Walker, 150 Cobb, 250 Worcester (all sizes), 100 Cobb's and Johnson's Pocket, 6,250 Webster, all sizes—showing Webster six to one of all others, nearly.

4. PRATT, WOODFORD & CO.
Our sales of Webster's Dictionary are about three-fourths of all we sell.
New York, March 25, 1854.
D. BURGESS & CO.
New York, April 17, 1854.
Our sales of Dictionaries for the year 1853, as nearly as we can ascertain, were—Webster's whole series, 2,317; CLARK, AUSTIN & SMITH, 1,975.

5. New York, April 19, 1854.
My annual sale is three-fourths of Webster's to one-fourth of Worcester's, and nearly in the same proportion to all others.
ROBERT B. COLLINS.
New York, April 19, 1854.

6. New York, April 19, 1854.
My sale of Webster's Dictionaries is the same as that of the Dictionaries now, sell more, or are more generally used than others,—but as to proportion, we can not very readily determine.
S. S. & W. WOOD.
New York, April 19, 1854.

7. LEAVITT & ALLEN.
1st. We presume we sell five times as many Webster's as of Worcester's, and perhaps rather more, we can not say positively. 2d. We sell scarcely any others except a few of Walker's and occasionally a few of Reid's.
NEW YORK, April 20, 1854.

8. TAPPAN & WHITTEMORE.
It appears to be the general opinion in our establishment, that our average annual sale of the whole series of Webster's and Worcester's Dictionaries is about fifty copies of Webster to one of Worcester.
KIGGINS & KELLOGG.
New York, April 22, 1854.

9. TAPPAN & WHITTEMORE.
Our sales of Webster's series of Dictionaries, in comparison with sales of Worcester's whole series is at least five of Webster's to one of Worcester's, and probably four of Webster to one of all other Dictionaries of the English language together.
W. K. CORNWELL.
Boston, April 22, 1854.

10. LEAVITT & ALLEN.
As near as we can judge, our sales for Worcester's Comprehensive Dictionary, nearly double our sales for Webster's small Dictionaries (3sizes); Worcester's 8vo. we sell about the same number as of Webster's 8vo.; of Webster's 4to. we sell about three times as many as we do of the two 8vo. Dictionaries together. B. B. MUSSEY & CO.
BOSTON, 26th April, 1854.

11. TAPPAN & WHITTEMORE.
Our clerks say that we sell nearly four times as many Webster's largest Dictionaries as of Worcester's; and about as many of Webster's small Dictionaries as of Worcester's.
BOSTON, April 20, 1854.

12. JOHN PHILBRICK.
My annual sale of Webster's Dictionaries (4to and 8vo.) amounts to 1,600 copies to 50 copies of Worcester's large in the same time. To your 2d proposition I will say that I sell of Webster's Dictionaries five to one of all others.
JOHN PHILBRICK.
3

13. JOHN PHILBRICK.
My annual sale of Webster's Dictionaries (4to and 8vo.) amounts to 1,600 copies to 50 copies of Worcester's large in the same time. To your 2d proposition I will say that I sell of Webster's Dictionaries five to one of all others.
JOHN PHILBRICK.
3

62.

We can only give a guess as to the number of Webster's Dictionaries sold during the past year. They would amount in our opinion to between five and six hundred copies, and may reach as high as eight hundred. We have sold of all styles of Worcester's Dictionaries between fifteen and twenty—nearer the former than the latter. We have had but two orders for them during fifteen months, for six copies each. Have sold two to four additional by personal exertion, as we have some on hand we would like to dispose of.

63.

some 400 Webster's 16mo.

300 University

500 Harper's Edition.

150 " " Pocket.

500 " " Unabridged.

Our sales of all other English Dictionaries put together would not be twenty-five copies.

64.

S. C. GRIGGS & CO.

Chicago, March 23, 1854.

Of Webster's Dictionaries we sell as follows:—Two hundred Quarto—one hundred Royal 8vo.—two hundred High School—three hundred Small School Edition—one hundred Pocket Edition—fifty Quarto Academic.

The above are the amount of our sales of these during 1853, but we anticipate an increase, say to 1,800 in all for 1854. We sell of all others as follows, which is but a drop in the bucket.—Fifty Walker's Webster's 4to., twenty-five Worcester's Comprehensive, fifty Webster's small.

65.

An approximate view of our sales of Webster's Dictionaries for the last year is as follows.—One hundred Webster's 4to., fifty-five 8vo, one hundred University, one hundred and fifty High School, two hundred and eighty 16mo. Of Worcester's 8vo. Dictionary, five copies. Walker's School Dictionary, thirty copies. Our sales of the 4to. would have been very much larger, we think, if during the close of navigation, we had not been out of them; as it was, we were compelled to purchase in various places, as we could get them. This shows the call for them to be constant.

66.

Milewski, April 6, 1854.

We sell very few Dictionaries other than Webster's. In'ed put together, the entire sale of all others would not amount to over twenty-five or thirty copies, that " English Dictionaries. We sell perhaps in the aggregate, five hundred and fifty or six hundred Webster's in a year.

67.

A. WHITTEMORE & CO.

Detroit, March 31, 1854.

68.

C. MORSE.

Detroit, April 18, 1854.

69.

S. D. ELWOOD & CO.

Baltimore, April 3, 1854.

In reply to your 3d inst., we would say:—The sales of the whole series of Webster's Dictionaries, is with us larger than that of Worcester's series. The sale of Webster is less than that of all others.

70.

CUSHINGS & BAILEY.

New Orleans, April 22, 1854.

As near as I can arrive at my sales of Webster's and other Dictionaries, I sell twenty-five hundred Webster's School Edition, twenty University, fifty Harper's edition, one hundred and fifty Quarto. Of all others I sell about one-third the above numbers—I mean of Walker, Worcester, Johnson and others.

71.

THOMAS L. WHITE,

Burlington, Vt., May 5, 1854.

GENTLEMEN:—The whole number of Webster's Unabridged sold in town for the year 1853, is one hundred and fifty-five. University edition, one hundred and twenty; High School, two hundred; small School edition, two hundred and fifty. Harper's 8vo. edition, fifty, Worcester's 8vo. a few—say twelve; the Comprehensive, sells just about equal to Webster's High School; the Elementary, fifty for the year would be a large allowance. Proportion of Webster to all others, should say about four to one.

72.

Hartford, May 9, 1854.

In answer to your inquiry in regard to my sales of Webster's Dictionaries as compared with others, I can only say, that I sell but very few of any others—so very few that I can almost say that Webster's are about the only ones that I have any demand for at present.

73.

We think the proportionate sales of Webster to Worcester, fifty of the former to one of the latter; and of O. V. WOODRICH & CO., Houston, Texas, May 2, 1854.

74.

Houston, Texas, May 2, 1854.

Relative to the two interrogatories, I answer to the 1st: there is no proportion involved in the case, where the other is not being used here to my knowledge. To the 2d, I would say—ten of Webster's to one of all others, in including the different editions of Webster's. I sell but three editions, however, of Webster's, to one of School, Harper's 8vo., and your large 4to.

J. S. TAFT.

The foregoing letters from prominent Booksellers in the principal towns through the United States, are presented as an unanswerable testimony to a FACT, which can not be gain-said. A large number of a similar character could readily be added. It is not doubted that the relative proportion of the sale of Webster's Dictionaries to Worcester's is as above indicated—perhaps twenty to one. Whom, then, do the people of the United States recognize as their Standard Authority in English Lexicography?

RECENT TESTIMONY.

33

"GET THE BEST."

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

ALSO,

1855.

MAINE.

Very respectfully yours,

CHARLES A. LORD.

MASSACHUSETTS.

MESSRS. MERRIAM: Like every one else who has taken the pains to examine the merits of various English Dictionaries, I am fully impressed with the superiority of Webster's over all others. It is thorough and systematic; and though in some instances not agreeing with the orthography and pronunciation which certain individuals, cliques, and small communities may at present follow, I nevertheless regard it as the Standard Dictionary for all deep and correct knowledge of the English language. We use it as such in this institution.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD EDWARDS.

84

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARIES.

W. H. WELLS.

From J. W. P. JENKS, Esq., Principal of Peirce Academy, Middleboro',

MIDDLEBORO', July 29, 1854.

I adopt Webster's Dictionary as the standard authority in definition, orthography, and pronunciation, in the school under my charge, and Webster's Academic Dictionary, of the school series, is recommended, and is in general use, as a hand book among my students, and is better adapted, in my judgment, to meet the wants of Academies and High Schools, as a hand book for convenient reference, than any other dictionary of corresponding size in the English language. Unquestionably Webster must be acknowledged to be the greatest English lexicographer that has yet lived. For copiousness, for exactitude of definitions, and adaptedness to the present state of science and literature, Webster's Dictionaries are unrivaled.
J. W. P. JENKS, Principal of Peirce Academy.

## RHODE ISLAND.

EAST GREENWICH, May 10, 1854.

My attention has been called to-day to an Abridgment of this work, styled the "Academic Dictionary," which appears to be a very convenient book for the student whose means do not allow him to procure the large work. I hope this Dictionary will obtain an extensive circulation, and together with its parent, the Unabridged, do much towards systematizing and rendering permanent in its purity the English language.

ROBERT ALLYN.

SCITATE, R. I., October 31, 1854.

We have this day voted, in committee, to introduce Webster's Dictionaries (School Series) into our schools, eighteen in number. We have been led to do this for two reasons: first, because our scholars are without dictionaries, which we feel to be highly important to put into their hands. The other consideration is, that we deem Webster's to be superior, in exactness and fullness of definition, and equal in all other respects, to every other dictionary. There is also a pride in doing as we have done in the recollection that Webster has labored so long in this department, and obtained from European nations praise awarded to no other American as a lexicographer.
C. C. BEAMAN, Chm. School Com.

## CONNECTICUT.

## NEW YORK.

## NEW JERSEY.

OFFICE OF STATE SUPT. PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PENNINGTON, N. J., Nov. 29, 1854.

The high opinion I entertain of Webster's Dictionary induces me to recommend its introduction into our Common Schools.
JOHN H. PHILLIPS, State Sup't.

DATUS DRURY, President.

JACOB H. SIDES, Secretary.

RECENT TESTIMONY.

35

\*\*\* In an affectionate appreciation (for I truly love it) of its enlarged excellence, I have not failed to commend it as the book of the school, second only to the Bible. I would have it always on the desk of the teacher, beside the Bible — this as the symbol of Christianity, the source and foundation of all government and authority — that as the symbol and foundation of all intellectual knowledge and improvement. \*\*\* I have always put it in the front rank of the essentials of a good school, and I hope to live to see the day when every teacher in New Jersey will find his school desk adorned by "Webster's Unabridged," at the expense of the township or the State. In my own family, my children make it the *hand book*, and dwell on its pages with a delight equaled only by that derived from the page of the historian.
C. C. HOAGLAND.

## INDIANA.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM: \*\*\* I think Webster's worthy to supersede every other English Dictionary. It will, I have no doubt, be used almost universally this side the Alleghanches. I hope America will adopt the work of her own great and unrivaled lexicographer.

CHARLES WHITE.

Yours truly,

CALEB MILLS.

## MICHIGAN.

YPSILANTI, October 23, 1854.

## KENTUCKY.

Very respectfully,

L. W. POWELL.

From the Rev. Dr. JOHN D. MATHEWS, Sup't of Public Instruction for the State of Kentucky.
OFFICE SUPT. OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, FRANKFORT, KY., November 9, 1854.

MESSRS. G. & C. MERRIAM. Gentlemen: I have no hesitation in making the avowal that Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is essential as a standard, in our language, in every study, and in every office in our Commonwealth. Indeed we refer to no other; all others have gone out of use. I have no doubt that the Board of Education may be induced to recommend its abridged editions of Webster in all our Common Schools.

JOHN D. MATHEWS.

The Board of Education would respectfully call the attention of Teachers in the Common Schools of Kentucky to the several editions of Webster's Dictionary as a standard of our language in Orthography, Orthopdy, and Defining; and recommend the use of them throughout the State as a class book.
JOHN D. MATHEWS,

J. HARLAN, Attorney General.

A library is as incomplete without WEBSTER'S QUARTO DICTIONARY as the SOLAR SYSTEM would be without the SUN.—Scientific American, November 4, 1854.

A NATIONAL STANDARD.

WEBSTER'S
QUARTO DICTIONARY,

*The Cheapest Dictionary in the World, Containing*

THREE TIMES the matter found in any other English Dictionary compiled in this country, or any Abridgment of this work; a GEOGRAPHICAL TABLE of 12,000 Names, ILUSTRATIVE QUOTATIONS, and other peculiarities and advantages found in no other work, yet is sold at a trifling advance above the price of other and limited Dictionaries.

Examiners
of
Cincinnati
Public Schools,

2

### OPINIONS OF STATE SUPERINTENDENTS OF COMMON SCHOOLS AND LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL JOURNALS, &c.

#### 1. New Hampshire.—From the State Superintendent.

#### 2. Maine.—From the State Commissioner.

#### 3. Vermont.—From the State Superintendent.

"I had the gratification of seeing WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY adopted as the STANDARD DICTIONARY for the schools of Vermont. I was gratified, because I felt that this work was worthy to be a STANDARD, a secure resting place from the fluctuations to which our language had been long subjected, and to which, without this work, it would still as much as ever be exposed."

#### 4. Rhode Island.—From the City Superintendent.

#### 5. Connecticut.

#### 6. New York.—From the State Superintendent.

"As a STANDARD of Orthography and Orthoeph, it claims to general adoption have been recognized by the most eminent scholars and statesmen of our land."

3

### THE STANDARD IN THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS.

"W. H. CAMPBELL, Clerk Ex. Committee.
"Albany, March 12th, 1850."

#### Legislative Provision.

#### 7. New Jersey.—From the State Superintendent.

#### 8. Ohio.—From the State Superintendent.

#### 9. Michigan.

#### 10. Illinois.

#### 11. Iowa.

#### 12. Missouri.

#### Webster's Quarto Dictionary for the School Room.

#### 13. Pennsylvania.

"EZRA STILES ELY."

"Recognized as STANDARD Authority throughout the world, where the English language is spoken." - Pittsburg Gazette.

#### 14. Kentucky.

From Professor Matthews, Transylvania University.

#### 15. Canada.

4

16. Great Britain.

"This volume must find its way into all our public and good private libraries, for it provides the English student with a mass of the most valuable information, which he would in vain seek for elsewhere.—London Literary Gazette.

"The best and most useful Dictionary of the English language ever published."—London Times.

"We rejoice that it bids fair to become the Standard Dictionary to be used by the numerous millions of people who are to inhabit the United States."—Signed by 104 Members of Congress.

WASHINGTON, January 31, 1850.

"DANIEL WEBSTER."

"Ages will elapse before any other dictionary of the language will be required.

"We adopted Webster's Dictionary of the English language as a
**STANDARD**, in preference to every other, from its very first appearance."—Boston Christian Register.

PROF. CALVIN E. STOWE, late Professor in Lane Seminary,—now Professor of Languages in Bowdoin College, Maine, says:

"It is the best specimen of the printing art ever produced in this country."—[Librarian of Congress.] "The copious list of geographical names is itself worth the cost of the whole work."—[School Committee of Framingham.] "Without reserve or qualification, the best extant."—[Pres. Olin.] "Surpassed in fullness and accuracy by none in our language."—[Pres. Wayland.] "It far excels all others in giving and defining scientific terms."[Pres. Hitchcock.] "An honor to the language."—[President Humphrey.] "A copiousness, perspicuity, and accuracy not found in any other."—[Pres. Day.] "A great improvement on all which have preceded."—[Pres. Bates.] "Worthy of general patronage."—[Pres. Woods.] "Most complete, accurate, and reliable of the language."—(William B. Caihoun, Robert C. Winthrop, Richard S. Rust, Theodore F. King, Edmund Burke, John Young, Christopher Morgan, Alvah Hunt, Millard Fillmore, and Presidents Beecher, Larrabee, Keller, Woolsey, Blanchard, Smith, and Knox.