ge The above is the modest name of a recently advanced in the Tientain per, to titid @ parallel to which for simple yet comprehensive grandeur one must go back to the somewhat badly authenticated Tower of Babel or forward to the millennium, when the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the kid, the calf and the young lion are all going to be merry together, and indeed it is in some sort a conaeqtience of the. men of old building their presumptuous Tower; as but for Babel and the confusion on that occasion we should now be happily talking one sweet mother-tongue and stand in no need of dictionaries. But since the event took place which led to the development of various languages, dictionaries have become essential to "pro mote inter-communication" and the scheme we are considering is as fraught with great issues as Volapuk itself. The beauty of it is principally that there is no vagueness nor impracticability about it; all is cut and dry, names being freely mentioned and arrangements suggested which no doubt can be easily carried out. Charity should always, if possible, begin at home, and we have the local sinologues mentioned first, with their "academical training," " exceptional scholarship," uncommon mathe-magical faculty," one being a ripe and indefatigable scholar" and the sixth "an admirable translator." These potential lexicographers are all here, except one, and visible to the naked eye, but the others are scattered far and wide, one even so far as the undiscovered country from whose bourn" it is confidently "expected he will return to help in this great work. It would be tedious to go through the list piecemeal, so let it suffice to say that there are thirty-one men mentioned and described with much wealth and variety of language. And now comes the cream of the business. It is of course easy to fill columns with day dreams, but there is nothing of that sort here, oh no, certainly not, The hour has come, and as the men remains that Chinese magnate of the highest rank and power shall take the initiative on behalf the Imperial Government."
'The men are ready! This does seem nearly too good to be true. What, are the whole one-and-thirty agreeable and willing' like Barkis? °Tis not incredulity that makes us exclaim thus but excess of joy.
Tete oe the sinews of wie he expected to be forthcoming. ' However that may be, this magnificent scheme will.garely not be allowed to collapse -for want.-of funds now that the hour has come, aud the men are ready," and a subscription list headed by the Chinese:. Times and given a fair start by the one-and-thirty couldjnot fail to the best:, support Let us calm down and proceed.
The of the China public.
There can -be original writer was not unnaturally s0 much doubt that ce-operation in this. glorious occupied with the grandeur of the project cerned, sinologues,. and. news-scheme will bring undying fame to all.con-
very pardonably escaped his attention, an in its broad lines, that smaller details have 1 to one of two of these we would ale papers' alike, and even the subscribers ought to feel happy. The reparation.of dress ourselves. To come to the point the Yellow River is not a patch upon it, at once, how is the work to be divided and besides who knows but what under the If there were only twenty-six men read appropriate d some one of the utile the easiest thing in the world woul band may not yet discover the real remedy to give each one a letter of the for China's Sorrow," thus demonstrating alphabet with the promoter's blessing indisputably how knowledge doth grow and leave them all to wrestle therewith from more to more." but there are five more to be accounted for, We have left ourselves little room for a who might be formed into a Committee. respectful consideration of the stupendous. Still this would start a clique, s0 some other lei of the Viceroy and. the Great plan must be devised to take them all in napoleon; if we might venture to, carry impartially. Would not the fairest plan be on a little farther we should—but no, let to lot the one-and-thirty sinolographers a veil be drawn over the scene when.the work week about until the Dictionary is magnate's "disillusions are over" and, he finished? There is no favouritism about sees before him the '"'calamitous results" this and it would not overdo individuals, of the glorious wars" of the thirty-one since each of them could easily spare one sinologues. We fancy His Excellency's week in thirty-one, and we hope none of language would he at once adequate, them will start foolish objections to such a authoritative, and final 3 reasonable arrangement.
For many reasons it will be necessary to follow the practice in the game of "Conse-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.