is stronghold, and that it would be useless to attack him
there; they of course would give him no credit as a philologist, for
anything like fair treatment towards him was not to be expected at their
hands, but they were afraid to attack his philology--yet that was the
point, and the only point, in which they might have attacked him
successfully; he was vulnerable there. How was this? Why, in order to
have an opportunity of holding up pseudo-critics by the tails, he
wilfully spelt various foreign words wrong--Welsh words, and even Italian
words--did they detect these mis-spellings? Not one of them, even as he
knew they would not, and he now taunts them with ignorance; and the power
of taunting them with ignorance is the punishment which he designed for
them--a power which they might, but for their ignorance, have used
against him. The writer, besides knowing something of Italian and Welsh,
knows a little of Armenian language and literature; but who, knowing
anything of the Armenian language, unless he had an end in view, would
say that the word for sea in Armenian is anything like the word tide in
English? The word for sea in Armenian is dzow, a word connected with the
Tebetian word for water, and the Chinese shuy, and the Turkish su,
signifying the same thing; but where is the resemblance between dzow and
tide? Again, the word for bread in ancient Armenian is hats; yet the
Armenian on London Bridge is made to say zhats, which is not the
nominative of the Armenian noun for bread, but the accusative. Now,
critics, ravening against a man because he is a gentleman and a scholar,
and has not only the power but also the courage to write original works,
why did not you discover that weak point? Why, because you were
ignorant; so here ye are held up! Moreover, who with a name commencing
with Z, ever wrote fables in Armenian? There are two writers of fables
in Armenian--Varthan and Koscht, and illustrious writers they are, one in
the simple and the other in the ornate style of Armenian composition, but
neither of their names begins with a Z. Oh, what a precious opportunity
ye lost, ye ravening crew, of convicting the poor, half-starved,
friendless boy of the book, of ignorance or misrepresentation, by asking
who with a name beginning with Z ever wrote fables in Armenian; but ye
couldn't help yourselves, ye are duncie. We duncie! Ay, duncie. So
here ye are held up by the tails, blood and foam streaming from your
jaws