the measure of their written expression.
Concerning the principle of writing and printing by sounds alone, a recent
writer delivers his opinion thus: "Let me here observe, as something not
remote from our subject, but, on the contrary, directly bearing upon it,
that I can conceive no [other] method of so effectually defacing and
barbarizing our English tongue, no [other] scheme that would go so far to
empty it, practically at least and for us, of all the hoarded wit, wisdom,
imagination, and history which it contains, to cut the vital nerve which
connects its present with the past, as the introduction of the scheme of
'phonetic spelling,' which some have lately been zealously advocating among
us; the principle of which is, that all words should be spelt according as
they are sounded, that the writing should be, in every case, subordinated
to the speaking. The tacit assumption that it ought so to be, is the
pervading error running through the whole system."--_R. C. Trench, on the
Study of Words_, p. 177.

OBS. 31.--The phonographic system of stenography, tachygraphy, or
short-hand writing, is, I incline to believe, a very great improvement upon
the earlier methods. It is perhaps the most reliable mode of taking down
speeches, sermons, or arguments, during their delivery, and reporting them
for the press; though I cannot pronounce upon this from any experience of
my own in the _practice_ of the art. And it seems highly probable, if it
has not been fully proved, that children may at first be taught to read
more readily, and with better articulation, from phonetic print, or
_phonotypy_, as it has been called, than from books that exhibit words in
their current or established orthography. But still it is questionable
whether it is not best for them to learn each word at first by its peculiar
or ideographic form--the form in which they must ultimately learn to read
it, and which indeed constitutes its only _orthography_.

IMPROPRIETIES FOR CORRECTION.

ERRORS IN SPELLING.

UNDER RULE I.--OF FINAL F, L, OR S.

"He wil observe the moral law, in hiz conduct."--_Webster's Essays_, p.
320.

[FORMULES--1. Not proper, because the word "_wil_" is here spelled with one
_l_. But, according to Rule 1st, "Monosyllables ending in _f, l_, or _s_,
preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant." Therefore, this
_l_ should be doubled; thus, _will_.

2. Not proper again, because the word "_hiz_" is here spelled with _z_.
Bu