in hi rapiditi av diskors, it uil bi muthi mor so in riten sentenses, huitfi mê bi red lezfiurli, and atended to mor partikularli in kes av difikylti, han ui kan atend to e past sentens, huyil e spikyr iz hyryiiŋ ys alag uih nu uyns.

Iur hyrd inkanviniens iz, hat "aal hi buks alredi riten uuld bi iusles.” —his inkanviniens uuld onli kym an graduali, in e kors av edfies. Iu and yi, and чhyr nau liviŋ ridyrs, uuld hardli farget hi ius av hem. Piipil uuld log lyrn to rid hi old rчitiŋ, ho he praktist hi nu. And hi inkanviniens iz nat greter, han huat hes aktuali hapend in a similar kes, in Iteli. Farmerli its inhabitants aal spok and rot Latin; az hi layuedfi thendfid, hi speliŋ falo'd it. It iz tru hat, at prezent, e miir ynlern'd Italien kanat riid hi Latin buks; ho hê er stil red and yndyrstud byi meni. But, if hi speliy had nevyr bin tfiendfied, hi uuld nau hev faund it mythi mor difikylt to riid and ryit hiz on laŋuadfi; far riten uyrds uuld hev had no rilêfiyn to scaunds, hê uuld onli hev stud far hins; so hat if hi uuld ekspres in ryitiŋ hi yidia hi hez, huen hi saunds hi uyrd Vescovo, hi myst iuz hi letterz Episcopus. -In fart, huatever hi difikyltiz and inkanviniensiz nau er, hê uil bi mor üzili syrmaunted nau, han hiraftyr; and sym tyim ar чhyr, it myst bi dyn; ar aur ryitiŋ uil bikym hi sêm uïh hi Thyiniiz,* az to hi difikylti av lyrniŋ and iuzing it. And it uuld alredi hev bin sytfi, if ui had kantinud hi Saksyn speliŋ and ryitiŋ, iuzed byi our forfahers.

yi am, myi diir frind, iurs afekfiynetli,

Lyndyn,

Kreven-striit, Sept. 28, 1768.

* Chinese.

B. FRANKLIN.

PETITION OF THE LETTER Z.*

From "The Tatler," No. 1778.

To the Worshipful Isaac Bickerstaff, Esquire, CensorGeneral.

The petition of the letter Z, commonly called Ezzard, Zed, or Izard, most humbly showeth ;

That your petitioner is of as high extraction, and has as good an estate, as any other letter of the Alphabet;

That there is therefore no reason why he should be treated as he is, with disrespect and indignity;

That he is not only actually placed at the tail of the Alphabet, when he had as much right as any other to be at the head; but is by the injustice of his enemies totally excluded from the word WISE; and his place injuriously filled by a little hissing, crooked, serpentine, venomous letter, called S, when it must be evident to your worship, and to all the world, that W, I, S, E, do not spell Wize, but Wise.

Your petitioner therefore prays, that the Alphabet may by your censorial authority be reversed; and that in consideration of his long-suffering and patience he may be placed at the head of it; that s may be turned out of the word Wise; and the petitioner employed instead of him.

And your petitioner, as in duty bound, shall ever pray, &c. &c.

The date of this jeu d'esprit in imitation of "The Tatler," from which it purports to be an extract, is not known. It is inserted in this place as being somewhat kindred in its subject to the preceding article. - EDITOR

Mr. Bickerstaff, having examined the allegations of the above petition, judges and determines, that Z be admonished to be content with his station, forbear reflections upon his brother letters, and remember his own small usefulness, and the little occasion there is for him in the Republic of Letters, since S whom he so despises can so well serve instead of him.

TO JOHN WINTHROP.

Telescope and Books for Harvard College.

DEAR SIR,

London, 11 March, 1769.

At length after much delay and difficulty I have been able to obtain your telescope, that was made by Mr. Short before his death. His brother who succeeds in the business has fitted it up and completed it. He has followed the business many years at Edinburgh, is reckoned very able, and therefore I hope every thing will be found right; but, as it is only just finished, I have no time left to get any philosophical or astronomical friends to examine it, as I intended, the ship being on the point of sailing, and a future opportunity uncertain. Enclosed is his direction-paper for opening and fixing it.

I have not yet got the bill of the price. It is to be made from the deceased Mr. Short's book of memorandums and orders, in which he entered this order of ours, and, as it is supposed, the price. I do not remember, it is so long since, whether it was one hundred pounds, or one hundred guineas; and the book is in the hands of the executor as I understand. When I have the account, I shall pay it as I did Bird's for

VOL. VI

39

Z*

the transit instrument, which was forty guineas, and then shall apply for the whole to Mr. Mauduit. By the way, I wonder that I have not heard from you of the receipt of that instrument, which went from hence in September by Captain Watt. I hope it got safe to hand and gave satisfaction. The ship was the same that Mr. Rogers went in, who I hear is arrived; and by him too I sent the Philosophical Transactions, with a number of copies of your paper as printed separately. But I have no letter from you since that by the young gentleman you recommended to me, grandson to Sir William Pepperell, which I think was dated about the beginning of October, when you could not have received them.

By a late ship, I sent your College a copy of the new edition of my Philosophical Papers; and others, I think, for yourself and for Mr. Bowdoin. I should apologize to you for inserting therein some part of our correspondence without first obtaining your permission; but, as Mr. Bowdoin had favored me with his consent for what related to him, I ventured to rely upon your good-nature, as to what related to you, and I hope you will forgive me.

I have got from Mr. Ellicot the glasses, &c. of the long Galilean telescope, which he presents to your college. I put them into the hands of Mr. Nairne, the optician, to examine and put them in order. I thought to have sent them by this ship, but am disappointed. They shall go by the next, if possible.

There is nothing new here in the philosophical way at present.

With great and sincere esteem, I am, Dear Sir,

Your most obedient and humble servant,
B. FRANKLIN.

P. S. There is no prospect of getting the duty acts

repealed this session, if ever. Your steady resolutions to consume no more British goods may possibly, if persisted in, have a good effect another year. I apprehend the Parliamentary resolves and address will tend to widen the breach. Enclosed I send you Governor Pownall's speech against those resolves; his name is not to be mentioned. He appears to me a hearty friend to America, though I find he is suspected by some on account of his connexions.

TO M. DUBOURG.*

Introducing Dr. Lettsom.

London, 30 August, 1769.

THIS letter will be forwarded to you by Dr. Lettsom, a young American physician of much merit, and one of the peaceable sect of Quakers; you will therefore at least regard him as a curiosity, even though you should have embraced all the opinions of the majority of your countrymen concerning these people.

B. FRANKLIN.

ON VENTILATION.

Written by Mr. Small, the Surgeon, but containing Dr. Franklin's Observations on the Subject.

I Do not know that we have in any author particular and separate directions concerning the ventilating of hospitals, crowded rooms, or dwellinghouses; or the

Translated from M. Dubourg's edition of Franklin's Works, Vol. II. p. 314.-EDITor.