es, &c. that would pafs the ftreets after funfst, except those of phyficians, furgeons and midwives. Fourth. Every morning as foon as the fun rifes, let all the bells in every church be fet ringing; and if that is not fufficient, let cannon be fired in every fireet, and wake the fluggards effectually, and make them open their eyes to fee their true intereft. All the difficulty will be in the first two or three days; after which the reformation will be as natural and eafy as the prefent irregularity: for, ce n'eft que le premier pas qui coute. Oblige a man to rife at four in the morning, and it is more than probable he fhall 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 thoufand 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 o ther, tho' the days are shorter. Befides, the immenfe flock of wax and tallow left unconfumed during the fummer, will probably make candles. much cheaper for the enfuing winter, and continue cheaper as long as the proposed 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 pri vilege, nor 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 paf fages out of the old books in proof of it. I will not difpute with thefe 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 refe. This is what I claim as my difcovery. If the ancients knew it, it must long fince have been forgotten, for it certainly was unknown to the moderns, at leaft to the Parifians; which to prave 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 economy; and, from the many heavy taxes required from them by the neceffities of the ftate, have furely reafon to be œconomical, I fay it is impoffible that fo fenfible a people, under fuch circumstances, fhould have lived fo long by the foky, unwholefome, and enormously expenfive 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 MODERN INNOVATIONS To NOAH WEBSTER, jun. Efq. at HARTFORD DEAR SIR, Philadelphia, Dec. 26, 1789. RECEIVED, fome time fince, your Differtations 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 fr the great honour you have done me in its dedication. I ought to have made this acknowledgment fooner, but much indifpofition prevented me. 1 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 ftates are continually falling into with refpe&t to both. Give me leave to mention fome of them, though poffibly they may alrea dy have occurred to you. I with, however, that in fome future publication of yours you would fet a difcountenancing mark upon them. The first I remember, is the word improved. When I leit New-England in the year 1723, this word had ne ver 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 rel that word in his book, ufed inftead of the word employed, I conjectured that it was an error of the printer, who had mistaken a short /in the writing for an r, and a y with too fhort a tail for a v, whereby employed was converted into improved: but when returned to Boftonin 1733, I found this change had obtained favour, and was then become common; for I met with it often in perufing the newspapers, where it frequently made an appearance rather ridiculous. Such, for inftance, as the advertisement of a country houfe to be fold, which had been many years improved as a tavein; and in the character of a deceafed country gentleman, that he had been, for more than thirty years, improved as juftice of the peace. This ufe of the word improve is peculiar to New England, and not to be met with among any other fpeakers of Englifh, either on this or the other fide of the water. During my late abfence in France, I find that Several other new words have been introduced into our parliamentary language. For example, I and a verb formed from the fubftantive notice. I bould not have noticed this, were it not that the gentleman, &c. Alfo another verb from the fubtantive advocate; The gentleman who advocates, or who has advocated that motion, &c. Another from the fubftantive progress, the moft awkward' and abominable of the three: The committee hav ing progreffed, refolved to adjourn. The word oppofd, though not a new word, I find ufed in a new manner, as, The gen'lemen who are oppofed to this measure, to which I have alfo myself always been oppofed. If you should happen to be of my opinion with refpect to thefe innovations, you will ufe your authority in reprobating them. The Latin language, long the vehicle ufed in This The ge diftributing knowledge among the different nations of Europe, is daily more and more neglected; and one of the modern tongues, viz. French, feems in point of univerfality, to have fupplied its place. It is fpoken in all the courts of Europe; and moit of the literati, thofe even who do not fpeak it, have acquired knowledge of it, to enable them ea, fily to read the books that are written in it. 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 interests of mankind It is, perhaps, owing to its being written in French, that Voltaire's Treatife on Toleration has had fa fudden and fo great an effect on the bigotry Europe, as almost entirely to disarm it. neral ufe of the French language has likewife very advantageous effect on the profits of the book felling 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 in creafe 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 book feller's fhop correfponding with Paris. Our Eo glish bids fair to obtain the fecond place. great body of excellent printed fermons in our lan guage, 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 leaft as to read it.' And if we were to endeavour t The |