the literati, thofe even who do not speak it, have acquired knowledge of it, to enable them easily to read the books that are written in it. This 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 interests, or which may contribute to its reputation, by promoting the common interefts of mankind. It is, perhaps, owing to its being written in French, that Voltaire's Treatife on Toleration has had fo fudden and fo great an effect on the bigotry of Europe, as almost entirely to difarm it. The general ufe of the French language has likewife a very advantageous effect on the profits of the bookfelling branch of commerce, it being well known, that the more copies can be fold that are struck off from one compofition of types, the profits increase in a much greater pro

portion

portion 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 bookseller's fhop correfponding with Paris. Our English bids fair to obtain the fecond place. The great

i

body of excellent printed fermons in our language, 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 study it, so far at least as to read it. And if we were to endeavour the facilitating its progrefs, the study of our tongue might become much more general. Thofe who have employed fome part of their time in learning a new language, must have frequently obferved, that while their acquaintance with it was imperfect, difficulties, fmall in themselves, operated as great ones in obftructing their proG 2 grefs.

grefs. A book, for example, ill printed, or a pronunciation in speaking not well articulated,, would render a sentence unintelligib.e, which from a clear print, or a distinct speaker, would have been immediately comprehended. If, therefore, we would have the benefit of seeing our language more generally known. among mankind, we fhould endeavour to remove all the difficulies, however finall, that discourage the learning of it. But I am forry to obferve that, of late years, thofe difficulties, inftead of being diminished, have been augmented.

In examining the English books that were printed between the restoration and the acceffion of George the Second, we may obferve, that all fubftantives were begun with a capital, in which we imitated our mother tongue, the German. This was more particularly useful to thofe who were not well acquainted with the English, there being fuch a prodigious number

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number of our words that are both verbs and fubftantives, and fpelt in the fame manner, though often accented differently in pronunciation. This method has, by the fancy of printers, of late years been entirely laid afide; from an idea, that fuppreffing the capitals fhews the character to greater advantage; thofe letters, prominent above the line, disturbing its even, regular appearance. The effect of this change is fo confiderable, that a learned man of France, who used to read our books, though not perfectly acquainted with our language, in converfation with me. on the fubject of our authors, attributed the greater obfcurity he found in our modern books, compared with thofe of the period above mentioned, to a change of style for the worse in our writers; of which mistake I convinced him, by marking for him each fubftantive with a capital, in a paragraph, which he

then easily understood, though before he could not comprehend it. This fhews the inconvenience of that pretended improvement.

From the fame fondness for an uniform and even appearance of characters in the line, the printers have of late banished also the Italic types, in which words of importance to be attended to in the sense of the fentence, and words on which an emphasis fhould be put in reading, ufed to be printed. And lately another fancy has induced other printers to use the round 's inftead of the long one, which formerly ferved well to distinguish a word readily by its varied appearance. Certainly the omitting this prominent letter makes a line appear more even, but renders it lefs immediately legible; as the paring of all men's nofes might fmooth and level their faces, but would render their phyfiognomies lefs diftinguishable. Add to all these improvements backwards, another