THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE [To the Editor of THE. SPECTATOR.] Sin,—May
I add a note to Mr. Horwill's good-tempered warn- ing on collecting contemporary usages. His long labours had been rewarded, in the notices I had seen, with such vague and trivial approval that I felt obliged to review his- dictionary at a length which, it turned out in proof, was twice what 'it could be. I hope he will forgive, therefore, the uneasy articulation of at least one of my printed arguments. I first began to wonder how contemporary some of his usages Might be while I was listing the books and dates of.the authors he quotes from. When in doubt I. appealed to several Ameri- earls with some special knowledge who independently remarked, " You Can still use it but you think of 1005." For the usages I instance Mr. Horwill has produced dates . which• seem to confute me.. I have no doubt there are thousands of middle- ged people who could be found to call a • book, 'a person, a party " elegant " where now a million.. others would say " " rare," ..', keen," or any of a half-dozen .modern, variants. I myself know hale farmers who still ." calculate." s But, curiosities (even with .the seal of ",a University .Pies ") do not make a.usage nor.the circulation of old coins a currency. My regret was not so.. much .,at the inclusion of tottering usages as at the omission of alternative universal ones. • A regret which confirms me in thinking this to be not so admit.- ably a dictionary of Modern American •Usage as, a dictionary of Anglo-American Usage ; and as.such (to insist on a deletion... I was sorry to miss frOra my. artiek).." the most courageous and patient work yet done on the subject by an Englishman."
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