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to compel the reft, I would propose the following regulations.

Firft. Let a tax be laid of a louis per window, on every window that is provided with fhutters to keep out the light of the fun.

Second. Let the fame falutary operation of police be made ufe of to prevent our burning candles, that inclined us laft winter to be more economical in burning wood; that is, let guards be placed in the fhops of the wax and tallow-chandlers, and no family be permitted to be fupplied with more than one pound of candles per week. Third. Let guards alfo be posted to ftop all the coaches, &c. that would pass the streets after funfet, except thofe of phyficians, furgeons, and midwives.

Fourth. Every morning, as foon as the fun ri fes, let all the bells in every church be fet ringing and if that is not fufficient, let cannon be fired in every ftreet, to wake the fluggards effectually, and make them open their eyes to fee their true intereft.

All the difficulty will be in the firft two or three days; after which the reformation will be as natural and eafy as the prefent irregularity: for, ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute. Oblige a man to rife at four in the morning, and it is more than probable he thall go willingly to bed at eight in the evening; and, having had eight hours fleep, he will rife more willingly at four the morning following. But this fum of ninety-fix millions and feventy-five thousand livres is not the whole of what may be faved by my oeconomical project. You may obferve, that I have calculated upon only one half of the year, and much may be faved in the other, though the days are fhorter. Befides, the immenfe ftock of wax and tallow left unconfumed during the fummer, will proba

bly

bly make candles much cheaper for the enfuing winter, and continue cheaper as long as the propofed reformation fhall be fupported.

For the great benefit of this discovery, thus freely communicated and bestowed by me on the public, I demand neither place, penfion, exclufive privilege, or any other reward whatever. I expect only to have the honour of it. And yet I know there are little envious minds who will, as ufual, deny me this, and fay that my invention was known to the ancients, and perhaps they may bring paffages out of the old books in proof of it. I will not difpute with these people that the ancients knew not the fun would rife at certain hours; they poffibly had, as we have, almanacks that predicted it: but it does not follow from thence that they knew he gave light as foon as he rofe. This is what I claim as my difcovery. If the ancient knew it, it must have been long fince forgotten, for it certainly was unknown to the moderns, at least to the Parifians; which to prove, I need ufe but one plain fimple argument. They are as well inftructed, judicious, and prudent a people as exift any where in the world, all profeffing, like myself, to be lovers of œconomy; and, from the many heavy taxes required. from them by the neceflities of the ftate, have furely reafon to be œconomical. I fay it is impoffible that so fenfible a people, under fuch circumftances, fhould have lived fo long by the fmoky, unwholfome, and enormously expensive light of candles, if they had really known that they might have had as much pure light of the fun for nothing.

I am, &c.

AN ABONNE.

ON

ON MODERN INNOVATIONS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND IN PRINTING.

TO NOAH WEBSTER, JUN. ESQ. AT HARTFORD.

DEAR SIR,

Philadelphia, Dec. 26, 1789.

I RECEIVED, fome time fince, your Dissertations on the English Language. It is an excellent work, and will be greatly useful in turning the thoughts of our countrymen to correct writing. Please to accept my thanks for it, as well as for the great honour you have done me in its dedication. I ought to have made this acknowledgement fooner, but much indifpofition prevented

me.

I cannot but applaud your zeal for preferving the purity of our language both in its expreffion and pronunciation, and in correcting the popular errors feveral of our states are continually falling into with respect to both. Give me leave to mention fome of them, though poffibly they may already have occurred to you. I wish, however, that in fome future publication of yours, you would fet a discountenancing mark upon them. The first I remember, is the word improved. When I left New-England in the year 1723, this word had never been used among us, as far as I know, but in the fenfe of ameliorated, or made better, except once in a very old book of Dr. Mather's, entitled Remarkable Providences. As that man wrote a very obfcure hand, I remember that when I read that word in his book, used instead of the word employed, I conjectured that it was an error

of

of the printer, who had mistaken a fhort / in the writing for an r, and a y with too fhort a tail for a v, whereby employed was converted into improv ed: but when I returned to Bofton in 1733, I found this change had obtained favour, and was then become common; for 1 met with it often in perufing the newfpapers, where it frequently made an appearance rather ridiculous. Such, for inftance, as the advertisement of a country house to be fold, which had been many years improved as a tavern; and in the character of a deceased country gentleman, that he had been, for more than thirty years, improved as a juftice of the peace. This ufe of the word improve is peculiar to NewEngland, and not to be met with among any other fpeakers of English, either on this or the other fide of the water.

During my late abfence in France, I find that feveral other new words have been introduced into our parliamentary language. For example, I find a verb formed from the fubftantive notice. I fhould not have noticed this, were it not that the gentleman, &c. Alfo another verb, from the subftantive advocate; The gentleman who advocates, or who has advocated that motion, &c. Another from the fubftantive progrefs, the most aukward and abominable of the three: The committee having progreffed, refolved to adjourn. The word oppofed, though not a new word, I find ufed in a new manner, as, The gentlemen who are opposed to this measure, to which I have alfo myself always been oppofed. If you fhould happen to be of my opinion with refpect to these innovations, you will ufe your authority in reprobating them.

The Latin language, long the vehicle ufed in diftributing knowledge among the different nations of Europe, is daily more and more neglected; and one of the modern tongues, viz. French,

feems,

feems, in point of univerfality, to have fupplied its place. It is fpoken in all the courts of Europe; and most of the literati, thofe even who do not fpeak it, have acquired knowledge of it, to enable them easily to read the books that are written in it. This gives a confiderable advantage to that nation. It enables its authors to inculcate and spread through other nations, fuch fentiments and opinions, on important points, as are most conducive to its interefts, or which may contribute to its reputation, by promoting the common interefts of mankind. It is, perhaps, owing to its being written in French, that Voltaire's Treatife on Toleration has had fo fudden and fo great an effect on the bigotry of Europe, as almoft entirely to difarm it. The general use of the French language has likewife a very advantageous effect on the profits of the bookfelling branch of commerce, it being well known, that the more copies can be fold that are ftruck off from one compofition of types, the profits increase in a much greater proportion than they do in making a greater number of pieces in any other kind of manufacture. And at prefent there is no capital town in Europe without a French bookfeller's fhop corresponding with Paris. Our English bids fair to obtain the second place. The great body of excellent printed fermons in our language, and the freedom of our writings on political fubjects, have induced a great number of divines of different fects and nations, as well as gentlemen concerned in public affairs, to ftudy it, fo far at least as to read it. And if we were to endeavour the facilitating its progress, the ftudy of our tongue might become much more general. Thofe who have employed fome part of their time in learning a new language, muft have frequently obferved, that while their acquaintance

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