lish language I have been puzzled, not to say | Thus phy changes into fregi, fractum; troubled, by the words beginning with wr, of yw into frigeo. The case is pretty much which the w is never spoken. Another ob- the same with Greek words beginning with servation was this, that the same class of a vowel, preceded by a spiritus asper, exwords have frequently their equally shaped Gripa is the Latin: vespera, toría, Vesta, cλký is and minded, but simpler comrades, which the German Wolke, English welkin (i. e. are careless or deprived of that superfluous something drawn over like a curtain over the head-show of a w. Such are wriggle and sky, as cloud from claudo or cludo, someriggle, wrack and rack, wring and ring, thing that shuts the sky, excludes the sun. wrench and raunch, wright and right, &c.idwp, Goth. watô, Germ. Wasser, water. In The reason for this incongruity may seem all these words the spiritus asper is, in fact, obvious. As the w has never been spoken, the Digamma Aeolicum, whereas in 'Innías, it may have been disregarded in writing too, "Adns, Hippias, Hades, the c is a simple asespecially at a time when the orthography piration or h.* was not ultimately fixed. But the original It can not surprise that r, as a semi-vowel question remains nevertheless unanswered, should have the same prerogative with a vowel. why the w is not pronounced. A third re- Farther, as w, v, f, b, p are all spoken with mark was that the etymology of the greater the same organ, being all Labiales, there is part of those words beginning with wr is in- reason enough for their change in the differsufficiently or not at all explained, even in ent languages, especially in those which are the best and more recent dictionaries. An combined by the great law of commutation. analogy further, with the words, mentioned According to this law, the

above, as wriggle and riggle, &c., is offered

β

46

b, " p,

f,

p.

p," f,

f,

f.

in brim and rim, brig and rig, bridge and Greek 4 changes into in Latin f, Goth. b, Germ. p, Eng. b. ridge, brisk or frisk and risk, (as in their) French ancestors, brusque, frisque and risque,) frigid and rigid, (and the Latin frigidus and. rigidus,) prattle and rattle, praise and raise,

etc.

T

which changes represent exactly the gradual and natural change from the aspirate to the All these words are by pairs as in forma-media and from the media to the tenuis, or tion, so in meaning almost alike or nearly vice versa. The same rule prevails in the connected. I searched long for some reason Hebrew letters-Beth (b,) Waw (w,) Mem to explain these difficulties and came at last (m,) Peh (p,) and Pheph (f;) and in all conto something that looks like a principle, sonants which belong to the same organ of which however I dont pretend to give as speech. perfectly correct, but in the hope that if misUpon this principle, that a w before r, in taken, I will be corrected, and a subject dis- the beginning of a word may often be a kind cussed which really needs some explanation. of spiritus asper or Digamma, which afterI venture to assert, that in words beginning wards changed into the different Labials in with wr, fr, br, pr, not only in the English lan- the different languages; a great number of guage, but also in others, the w, v, f, borp be- words beginning with wr, fr, br, pr, or simfore the rare sometimes analogous and perhaps ply with r, may be easily explained and their equivalent to the Spiritus asper or Digamma origin more reasonably and satisfactorily. Aeolicum of the Greek words beginning traced, than has hitherto been done even by with p This Greek changed frequently in the ablest Lexicographers; moreover the the Latin language into rh, as prop into rke- etymology of many words established, of tor, pópẞos into rhombus, etc. In such cases which the derivation is still unknown. the c seems to be rather the spiritus asper. But the not seldom changes into r, preceded by the Digamma Aeolicum, the Latin v or F, which as capital letter resembles the Digamma F. (and it must be remarked, that the capital letters were the original ones.)

VOL. XX-79.

I will commence with the words begin

* I don't speak here of the third change of the spiritus asper into s, (as 'á), sal, Germ. Salz, Engl. salt, 'édos, Germ. Sohn, etc., because this change was impossible sedes, vip, super, and perhaps viós, acc. vióv and son before r.

ning with wr. I combine wrack and wreck richten to prepare; richten, to judge and to and rack and rag with pny pktór, fregi, frac- direct a. th. Richter, judge; Scharf-richter tum, nau-fragium; (Germ.) brechen, break.* hangman, and the most striking example is Wrangle and brangle, (Swift,) to wring, Gericht, which signifies dish and court of with German ringen; therefore wrangler justice.*

or senior wrangler signifies in the University Wring, wrung, is apparently from the Gerof Cambridge the student who passes the man ringen; ge-rungen, wrung from the poor. best examination in the senate-house, because he has wrung with his comrades for the preference or rank.

dem Armen ab-gerungen to uring out clothes. Germ, Wäsche aus-ringen; ring, German. Ring, probably from being turned, wreathWrap, perhaps from the Saxon rap, Engl. ed. Wrong seems to be derived from ring as rope, Germ. raffen in Zusammen-raffen, to song from sing; strong from string, to take together. make tense, throng from thring. Wrong Wrath from the Germ. rasen, to rage, may have originally signified something French rager, all probably connected with that is not strait, but turned, crooked, and irasci. then used in a moral sense as the French Wreak, wroke or wrenked, wroken, from tort and the German Unrecht, not right, not the Germ. raächen, roch and raächte, gerochen. The English k supersedes the German ch as in weak, Germ. weich; week, Germ. Woche; reek, Germ. rauchen.

straight.

Writhe, writhen, (old partic.) Sax. wriden I derive from the Germaen reissen, riss, gerissen, to distort, to pull, to draw. The "AtWrench, old Engl. raunch, from the Germ. laut" or inflection from long i to short i shows renken in ver-renken, aus-renken, the Engl. that writhe is of Teutonic origin, as the whole ch superseding the k of the German, as in formation and partly the meaning of the bench, Germ. bank; stench, Germ. Ge-stank; word. finch, Germ. Fiuk.

Write, old Pret. writ, written. Webster derives this word and the Sax. writan, etc., and ultimately from the Lat. rado. But the scale of its vowels and their inflections from long i in Pres. to short in the Pret. show sufficiently that it is of Teutonic extraction. as the so-called irregular verbs all are. There seems no verb to come nearer to write than the Germ reissen, riss, ge-rissen, write, writ, (old Wretchless and reckless with the German Pret.) written. Even in meaning they seem rechnungslos. to correspond; the term reissen, though it Wriggle and riggle with the Germ. rin-signifies originally to pull, to draw, has in geln, to move in rings like a snake; gg may have been pronounced as the Greek yy or y*, with a nasal sound like ng or nk.

Wreath, Germ. Reiste or Riste, i. e. tortis de filasse, a twist, as wrest and wrestle from wrist, Germ. Rist, (joint, instep, withers,) perhaps connected with the Greek pia, as the same part of the body is called in German Handwurzel, i. e. the root of the hand.

Wretch is connected with wreck, i. e. fractus, ρηκτός.

Wrig, Germ. rücken, to move.

many derivations the meaning of to draw or sketch, as in Ab-riss, sketch; Reiss-feder. drawing pen. A similar parallel shows the verb to draw itself, signifying to pull, and to sketch, because writing may have been so called from the drawing of the pen or pencil over the paper or canvass.

:

Wright, (as ship-wright, wain-wright, etc.,) I combine with right, which just as the Latin rectus and rego, (which has its origin in ÉpŠE, PÉČE, PEKTÓS connected with pyov, work, Germ. Wroth I derive either with Webster and Werk,) and the Germ. recht, richten, seem others from wrath or from froth (apés ?) from primitively only to signify to perform, direct, the foaming anger, or with more probability adjust and are then used in a figurative sense. from the Germ. adj. roth, red, the color of The Germ. richten, Richter, etc., especially anger; the pronunciation of wrath as rotá seems to strengthen the above supposition; seems to strengthen my opinion, (vid. Todd— thus signifies ver-richten to perform; zu-Johnson's Dict.)

* I notice with great satisfaction, that Webster is of the same opinion. Vid. Break, Webster's Dict.

* And here I may allude to a similar parallel in th Latin language with regard to jus, broth and jus, law,

Now let us consider a few other words, Louis XIV. et un siecle par Alex. Dumas—

One of the most agreeable works of that lively author, Alexander Dumas, is his Louis XIV. et un siecle: no subject could be better

Praise and raise are undoubtedly connected; the Germ. preisen seems to be the ori-suited to the brilliancy of his style; and the gin of to price, or prize, both derivable from the Lat. pretium. Prank, I derive from the Germ. Ränke- courtier of the Grand Monarque. He is at tricks.

I repeat again all these derivations are One of the frequenters of the Palais Royal, grounded on the supposition, that the worf then called the Palais Cardinal, was Racan, before r originates from a cause similar to a man of letters, and remarkable for his abthe spiritus asper or Digamma before the .sence of mind. The Cardinal used to be This w, or f, may have changed afterwards highly amused at the scrapes into which this according to law of commutation into the corresponding media and tenis b, or p; as 'py, frango, brechen, break, wreck, etc., apparently show.

Marie le Jars, demoiselle de Gournay. She| La demoiselle de Gournay, who knew Rawas born in 1565, and at the period to which can only by name, was extremely civil, and the anecdote relates, was about seventy thanked him, that one so young and fashionyears old. In a short account of her life, able should trouble himself about a poor old written by herself, she says that at the age woman like her. De Bueil, who was a man of nineteen, having read Montaigne's Es- of wit, made himself agreeable, and told says, she was seized with the greatest de- divers diverting stories, which entertained sire to become acquainted with the author: her so much that she called to Jamin to siso when Montaigne came to Paris, she sent lence her cat that was mewing in the next a message to him expressing her admiration room. After three-quarters of an hour's of himself and his book. The same day he conversation, which the demoiselle de Gourpaid her a visit to thank her for her partiality, and they immediately were on such terms of affection, that she called him father and he called her daughter.

nay declared was the most pleasant she ever had, he took his leave, overwhelming her with compliments for her courtesy, while she was euthusiastic in his praise.

The demoiselle de Gournay was an author In a happy frame of mind was the ancient and had published a book in the style of the maiden to pursue the thought in which time, which was thought to surpass in pa- she had been interrupted, and which had thos every thing that had been written be-been frightened away. She returned to her fore. It was called L'Ombre de la demoiselle study, but had scarcely entered it, when Ivde Gournay. rande, who watched the moment, glided to her room. He opened the door of her sanctuary, and seeing her at work,

According to the custom then in vogue, she presented her book to the distinguished literary men of Paris, and among others to Racan. When the book was brought, two of his friends, de Bueil and Ivrande were with him ;-Racan flattered by this attention, said he should call on the fair lady the next day at 3 o'clock. This declaration was not lost on his companions, who thought they would have some fun from it.

The next day at 1 o'clock de Bueil knocks at the door of the demoiselle de Gournay. Her companion, Mademoiselle Jamin, opens it. De Bueil wishes to see the mistress of the house. She tells Mademoiselle de Gournay, who was in her closet writing poetry, that a man has called to see her.

"What is his name?" "He did not tell me."

How does he look?"

quid sit paritura ista virgo, and the young]" undeceive this poor man. I have sent my Heinsius Ausa virgo concurre reviris, scandit book to no one but to Monsieur de Malherbe, supra viros." and he did not deserve it, for his unfair criti"Very well! very well!" says the demoi-cism on my writing, and to Monsieur Racan, selle de Gournay, delighted beyond ex- who has just left me." pression by this avalanche of praise. He "Who has just left you," cries Racan. who has just gone away, was making sport "I am Latan."

But it was not the intention of Ivrande to which he so strenuously distorted, that Malet his visit pass as a jest, and at the end of demoiselle de Gournay was unsuccessful in three-quarters of an hour he departed leav- her attempts to comprehend it. Becoming ing her fully persuaded that, this time, she had had an interview with the veritable au

"I know nothing of the others, but I know am the true Latan."

"I don't know who you are," replied Mademoiselle de Gournay; "but I know you are

"Mademoiselle," replies Racan, "to thank the greatest blockhead of the three, and I

"My L'Ombre," says Mademoiselle de from her seat, and with a lofty wave of the Gournay, who began to comprehend the lan-hand motioned him to depart.