Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 2.djvu/547

 s. ii. UK,-. 3,1904.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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spelling, which at once differentiates a Fiscal Reformer from a follower of Cobden. In its issue for 15 October the Spectator in a lead- ing article six times refers to the morale of the Russian army. The Times, since Mr. Chamberlain has initiated his campaign, has -adopted the correct word moral. It is impos- sible that the Spectator, which lives amongst the Muses on the very, summit of Parnassus, can be ignorant that morale, in the sense in which it is employed, is neither French nor English, and it must therefore use it in order to show that its views on fiscal questions are the very opposite of those enunciated by the Times. I have not yet discovered the exact tinge of thought which is reflected in the parcimony of the Times or the rime of ' N. <fe Q.,' because the fact that these spellings are correct has little to do with the tpatter. The public detests accuracy, but rejoices in a highly coloured symbolism. We may therefore expect a rapid development of this easy method of conjugating the verb distinguo, and to our descendants, who a couple of hundred years hence will probably have brought this system of registering ideas to a high degree of perfection, these notes upon its early professors may be of value. W. F. PEIDEAUX.

How MR. McGovERN can approve the ' Rules' of the Clarendon Press I cannot understand. They are in many instances exactly the contrary of what they should be, according to common sense and common usage. However, as he says, the difficulties are enormous, and therefore I will not attempt a refutation which would require half a number of ' N. & Q.,' at a moderate computa- tion.

When writing my * Swimming' I had to consider all these matters in detail. I will only take two. I had to use the word pro- gram. I found that we pronounced it /n-ngram : that, in fact, that was the English form, and therefore there was no use in adding me which was not pronounced. The French do pronounce the final me.

Though in most instances the Clarendon Press ' Rules ' are so bad, I agree with some as keeping the original word intact, in abridgement, &c. For simplicity no words should alter with affixes or prefixes. It is quite useless doubling the I at the end of a word like travel. We say travel-ing, not travl-ling, &c. It is equally bad (because a useless complication) to drop an I when put at the beginning, as al right. I agree with MR. McGovERX that forego is much prefer- able ; it is a pity if it is wrong.

The second instance is connect. I found

children were taught by some, when they wanted a connection, to write connexion ; but when they wanted connected they were to go back again to the original form, and not connexed. Here was a troublesome complica- tion, so I use connect, -ion, -ed. According to popular ideas I ought to have written con- necttionso nice and useless. I never adopted any spelling, however sensible, unless I found it in * The Century Dictionary,' published by the Times, or some other.

RALPH THOMAS.

The * Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford,' is a much more important document than is generally recognized, for whatever rules are adopted at the Clarendon Press will tend to make permanent the methods of spelling adopted in the rules. For some reasons it is much to be regretted that Oxford has struck out a line of its own in this matter. It is not only Oxford which is interested. Every teaching institution in the United Kingdom is in- terested as well. There is still time to submit the rules to other universities, and to the Conference of Head Masters of our great schools. And perhaps if this is done the retrogressive rules on the spelling of words ending in -ise and -ize may be modified. The tendency in the past has been to drop the z in favour of s. Why should this tendency be arrested by the rules, and a new spelling difficulty introduced by authority? They who teach have surely had difficulties enough in the past; they do not desire fresh difficulties thrust upon them : they would be glad to have some of the difficulties removed. It is quite conventional, and in defiance of all rule, that the words license, practise, prophesy, are spelt with ce when used as nouns ; why should they be \ There are words like attendance, which require alteration by authority. All the rules for the addition of syllables require revision, with a view to simplify the recognized spelling rules and to lessen the number of exceptions. This might be done by the Clarendon Press alone in course of time ; but it ought not to be done in that way. It ought to be done by the general discussion and consent of all whose opinion is worth having. F. P.

If MR. WHITWELL will look at pp. 246, 247 in vol. i. of the * Acts of Parliaments of Scot- land,' he will there find the authorities from which the text of the documents in question has been taken, and he will find an account of these authorities on pp. 177-210. It is
 * ASSISA DE TOLLONEIS,' &c. (10 th S. ii. 387).