THE NEW ENGLISH ALPHABET.

To the Editor of the Young American's Magazine.

THOUGH I have probably had as little good reason to complain of the uncouthness and inconsistency of our English orthography as any one, having been able to obtain a tolerable degree of familiarity with its intricacies, without the usual discipline of school and spelling-book study, I have never been insensible to its great defects, and have much wished they could be somehow amended. When I first heard of Phonography, I regarded it with skepticism; partly because I suspected it to be one of the humbugs so common in our days, and partly because I had little reason to believe that, however great its merits might be, it could actually come into practical use. An inspection of the Phonographic short-hand, in the first place, convinced me that it was founded upon a more correct and philosophical analysis of the sounds of our language than I had ever before seen published. And experiment, furthermore, seems to afford some proof of the actual possibility of an orthographical reform. So far, so good.

Now, though it may be easy for those to find fault, who have little ability to produce remedies, it may not be without use to find fault. The Phonotypic system of characters, which have been adopted, I cannot feel so well pleased with, as with the scientific principles on which the plan is founded. The forms of the characters are such, that I feel unwilling, as yet, to see them established as the regular English alphabet. The main objection, in my view, is this: that in several instances, characters having different sounds are almost the same in form-differing by little more than a single turn of an unimportant stroke. Thus, for instance, there are three dotted i's only differing by the shape of the bottom of the letter; two or three u's and o's, but slightly differing in shape from each other; and a t and th character, with much less difference in the looks than there is in the sound which they are intended to express. Now, to my view, these things are defects, which not only make it indistinct to the eye, but give it the appearance of a patchwork

alphabet. They are defects, too, which I believe might have been, and perhaps may yet be, easily remedied, so that every distinct sound should have a distinct and intelligibly different character. If such characters have been adopted merely to facilitate reading, by making the new letter suggest an idea of the old one which it displaces, the gain must certainly be too little for what appears to be so great a sacrifice of beauty and utility. If simplicity of character were sought, it could certainly be attained in a more successful way than by placing additional marks upon old forms of letters. In short, easy as the process of learning to read is said to be, by the new system, I certainly believe it could be made still more easy, by the adoption of more distinctly different and simple characters. The excellent and beautiful analysis of the language on which this reform is founded, is too valuable to be smothered in a confusion of alphabetical signs.

If, however, prejudice should have blinded my eyes to any of the real advantages of the new alphabet, or made me inordinately sensitive to its blemishes, I would thankfully receive correction from those who have taken the responsibility of recommending and propagating it.

Since writing the above, I have noticed, in the Anglo Saxon, some discussion of the principles of the Orthographical Reform, from which it appears that its English and American friends differ somewhat in their alphabets. The latter seem fully aware of the difficulty of their undertaking, and do not expect to arrive at once at perfection. They are however determined to go on with their work, though their plan be as yet imperfect; trusting that experience in its practice will be the best means of learning how to improve it, and that at some future time, "when the evidence is all in," the whole subject will undergo a rigid examination, for the settlement of its details, by competent scientific persons. Messrs. Andrews and Boyle, the editors of the Anglo Saxon, and pioneers of the Reform in this country, are certainly deserving of high commendation for the zeal with which they are laboring through the difficulties of such a novel enterprise, as well as credit for the encouraging degree of success with which their exertions have been rewarded.

H.

THE BOOK WORLD.

SONGS OF THE SEA, with other Poems; by Epes Sargent. Boston: James Munroe & Co. 1 vol. 12mo.

This is a very elegant edition of one of our prominent American poets. It contains a large number of songs and occasional poems, many of them well known to the public, and all bearing the stamp of an original and finely balanced mind, gifted with much freshness and vigor of thought, fancy and passion. The collection of sixteen short poems, entitled "Shells and Seaweeds," originally appeared in the New England Magazine, when Mr. Sargent was quite young, and produced at the time a marked impression. They rank among the best descriptive poems relating to the sea. The two finest poems in the book are "The Light of the Lighthouse," and "Adelaide's Triumph"-both of them very beautiful in conception and expression, and worthy to stand side by side with the best occasional poems written in the United States. From the first we extract a few stanzas, full of tenderness and grace:

We might select many gems of fancy and feeling from this beautiful volume, if we had space; but we must refer our readers to the book itself. It will abundantly reward perusal.

SELF-FORMATION; or the History of an Individual Mind: intended as a Guide for the Intellect through difficulties to Success. By a Fellow of a College. First American from the London edition. Boston: Wm. Crosby and H. P. Nichols.

Having formed quite a favorable opinion of this work, from glancing over an English copy loaned us by a friend some time ago, we were not surprised at the appearance of an American edition. So far as we know, the editor is justified in saying in his preface— "it is, almost without question, the most valuable and useful work upon the subject of Self-Education that has yet appeared in our own or any other language. It is perfectly original, both in its plan and execution, and MEETS THE CASE, as no other, among the multitudinous books which have appeared with a similar design, has at all succeeded in doing" This praise will not be so likely to be called extravagant, when it is recollected that there is at present no remarkable book on Self-Culture. We do not overlook the superior essays of Channing-perfect in their way-nor the valuable productions of several other writers in this country and abroad; but THE work—answering with any tolerable completeness the demands of the active classes of society-is yet to come. It should emanate— as Miss Martineau has intimated in regard to books for the improvement of the mass of society—from some one, possessing the literary qualifications, who belongs to or has risen from the business class itself. It is next to impossible for any other man to produce it. We think there are persons in this community who are competent for the task, if they would set about it in good earnest; and we wish we could do something towards provoking the right man to undertake it. The work before us is well calculated to do good, and we wish it might have a wide circulation in this country.

THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON, By Wm. Hazlitt. New York: Wiley

and Putnam.

The publishers are to include this work in their "Library of Choice Reading. Two parts are already issued. It is well known that this biography was with Hazlitt a labor of love. Radical as he was, the character of Napoleon held over his mind a singular fascination; and to the present work he devoted much time and care. His view of the French Revolution, and of Napoleon, is much more favorable than truth, morality and liberty will warrant. The work is deformed with many sophisms, and, if implicitly followed, is calculated to convey erroneous impressions of some of the events it narrates; but it still abounds in acute and original observations, is written with the author's usual brilliancy and vigor, and relates to a subject of exhaustless interest.

A SYSTEM OF INTELLECTUAL PHILOSOPHY, by Rev. Asa Mahan. 1 vol. 12mo. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Kant, Coleridge and Cousin have supplied Mr. Mahan with most of the prominent ideas in his system. The book is interesting as embodying, in an available form, the results at which modern transcendentalists have arrived, in their investigations of the phenomena of human intelligence. The separate faculties of the mind are analysed with great force and clearness, and both the processes and the results can be easily appreciated by a moderate expenditure of thought and attention.

THE FIRESIDE FRIEND, or Female Student, by Mrs. Phelps. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1 vol. 12mo.

In this volume, a large amount of information, on a variety of topics connected with education, manners and morals, is given in a compact form. It is calculated to inspire young ladies with higher ambitions than those which are gratified by the milliner and the ball-room. Mrs. Phelps is a practical teacher herself, and arranges her matter admirably. It is far above the average of such books.

POEMS, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Boston: James Munroe & Co. 1 vol. 12mo.

This volume consists of a variety of striking poems, which the author has contributed at different periods to the Magazines and Annuals of the country. They are characterized by that style of thought and sentiment which is usually denominated transcendental. Many of the poems are rhythmical statemnets of the author's peculiar opinions in morals and religion, and contain much to shock accredited beliefs. Others are exquisite products of fancy and imagination, replete with beauty, grace and power, and flushed with the finest hues of a pure and bright genius. We have seen no volume for many years which contains at once so much to please and to offend the mind. The author is most poetical in those pieces in which he least diverges from the heart's primitive sentiments, and the mind's deeply rooted persuasions.

AMENITIES OF LITERATURE, consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature, by I. D'lsraeli. New York: Harper & Brothers. 2 vols. 12mo.

This is the fourth edition of a valuable and readable book. It consists of a series of essays illustrative of English literary history, and is full of curious information and suggestive thought.