now would be the first
to which English spelling had ever been subjected--would be
the establishment of an evil precedent instead of merely a
slight hastening, in the interest of convenience and
economy, of a process that has been going on steadily ever
since the day when English became a written language.

One of our correspondents said yesterday that, in his
opinion, "before we try to monkey further with so good an
instrument as the English language we ought to try to use it
properly."

Well, not necessarily. With a little, or even with a lot, of
"monkeying" an amount of time almost incalculably large, now
devoted to the learning of such utterly useless and imbecile
things as the arrangement of the vowels in "siege" and
"seize," could be used on the task which our correspondent
wisely intimated is so important.

The personality of the Simplified Spelling Board is
guarantee that the demand for an improved orthography is not
an outgrowth of ignorance or irreverence. These men have
more than a little affection for the history of words, and
they are not at all likely to do anything that will hide or
distort it. They will, however, put and keep that history in
its proper place.

How Dr. Johnson Takes It.

It would seem, however, that the shades of former lexicographers are
incensed by the threat of "fonetic speling." The New York _Globe_
describes the reception of the news in the land across the Styx:

It has been the practise at the Cheshire Cheese Inn in the
trans-Styx London, where post-mortem encyclopedists have
their "clubs," to make light of the modern verbal reformers
and "simplifiers." It was immediately seen, however, that
Andrew's addition to the reformer's fold put a very
different complexion on the case.

"Sir," said the doctor to Boswell, in his best "bow-wow"
manner, "I have never slept an hour less nor eat an ounce
less meat on account of these caitiffs, but now that the
Scotch barbarian, that futile Highland Cherokee, has
supplied them with money, they may ruin the language in a
twelvemonth."

"I don't see, sir," replied Boswell, "why my countryman did
not confine his charities to libraries and hero funds."

"Because, sir," thundered the doctor, "he is insane on the
subject of charity; he could not make a worse use of his
money than thu