TO M. DUBOURG.

On the free Use of Air.

London, 28 July, 1768.

I greatly approve the epithet which you give, in your letter of the 8th of June, to the new method of treating the small-pox, which you call the tonic or bracing method; I will take occasion from it to mention a practice to which I have accustomed myself. You know the cold bath has long been in vogue here as a tonic; but the shock of the cold water has always appeared to me, generally speaking, as too violent, and I have found it much more agreeable to my constitution to bathe in another element, I mean cold air. With this view I rise almost every morning, and sit in my chamber without any clothes whatever, half an hour or an hour, according to the season, either reading or writing. This practice is not in the least painful, but, on the contrary, agreeable; and, if I return to bed afterwards, before I dress myself, as sometimes happens, I make a supplement to my night's rest of one or two hours of the most pleasing sleep that can be imagined. I. find no ill consequences whatever resulting from it, and that at least it does not injure my health, if it does not in fact contribute much to its preservation. I shall therefore call it for the future a bracing or tonic bath. B. FRANKLIN.

* Translated from M. Dubourg's edition of Franklin's Works, Vol. II. p. 310.-EDITOR.

A SCHEME

FOR A

NEW ALPHABET AND REFORMED MODE OF SPELLING;

WITH

REMARKS AND EXAMPLES.

For the nature and intention of this alphabet, 1 must refer to what Dr. Franklin has himself said upon the subject, in answer to Miss Stevenson's objections; as the reader may understand the whole in an hour or two. It is necessary to add, that the new letters used in the course of printing this paper, are exactly copied from the manuscript in my possession; there being no provision for a distinction in the character as written or printed. I have no other way, therefore, of marking the scored parts of the manuscript (answering to italics,) than by placing such passages between inverted commas. As to capitals, I should have provided for them by means of larger types, but the form of some of them would have made them too large for the page. However, were the author's general system ever adopted, nothing would be easier than to remedy this particular. B. V.

The new characters, used in this edition, have been cut and executed after the model of those contained in Mr. Vaughan's edition, where the scheme was first published. - EDITOR.

Characters.

TABLE OF THE

Sounded respectively, as in the words in the column below.

um, un; as in umbrage, unto, &c., and as in er. Hunter, happy, high.

REFORMED ALPHABET.

Names of Letters as express

ed in the reformed Sounds

and Characters.

Manner of pronouncing the Sounds.

0

The first VOWEL naturally, and deepest sound; requires only to open the mouth, and breathe through it.

a

The next requiring the mouth opened a little more, or hollower.

น

The next requires the lips to be gathered up, leaving a small opening.

The next a very short vowel, the sound of which we should express in our present letters thus, uh; a short, and not very strong aspiration.

gi

ki

ish

ing

en

The first CONSONANT; being formed by the root of the tongue; this is the present hard g.

A kindred sound; a little more acute; to be used instead of the hard c.

A new letter wanted in our language; our sh, separately taken, not being proper elements of the sound.

A new letter wanted for the same reason:- These are formed back in the mouth.

Formed more forward in the mouth; the tip of the tongue to the roof of the mouth.

The same; the tip of the tongue a little loose or separate from the roof of the mouth, and vibrating.

The tip of the tongue more forward; touching, and then leaving, the roof.

The same; touching a little fuller.

el

The same; touching just about the gums of the upper teeth.

es

ez

eh

en

This sound is formed by the breath passing between the moist end of the tongue and the upper teeth.

The same, a little denser and duller.

The tongue under, and a little behind, the upper teeth; touching them, but so as to let the breath pass between.

The same; a little fuller.

Formed by the lower lip against the upper teeth.

The same; fuller and duller.

ev

b

The lips full together, and opened as the air passes out.

The closing of the lips, while the e [here annexed] is sounding.

38

REMARKS ON THE ALPHABETICAL TABLE.

{

It is endeavoured to give the alphabet a more natural order; beginning first with the simple sounds formed by the breath, with none or very little help of tongue, teeth, and lips, and produced chiefly in the windpipe.

Then coming forward to those, formed by the roof of the tongue next to the windpipe.

Then to those, formed more forward, by the fore part of the tongue against the roof of the mouth.

Then those, formed still more forward, in the mouth, by the tip of the tongue applied first to the roots of the upper teeth.

Then to those, formed by the tip of the tongue applied to the ends or edges of the upper teeth.

Then to those, formed still more forward, by the under lip applied to the upper teeth.

Then to those, formed yet more forward, by the upper and under lip opening to let out the sounding breath.

And lastly, ending with the shutting up of the mouth, or closing the lips, while any vowel is sounding.

In this alphabet c is omitted as unnecessary; k supplying its hard sound, and s the soft; k also supplies well the place of q, and, with an s added, the place of x; and x are therefore omitted. The vowel u, being sounded as oo, makes the w unnecessary. The y, where