An entirely separate system of letters is extremely desirable for the uniform representation of sounds which are diversely written in different languages; and the employment of such a phonetic alphabet—as it does not interfere with old associations-can excite no hostility among the most conservative of scholars. The physiological letters of "Visible Speech" are designed to serve this international purpose, without disturbance of established usage in the writing of any language.

The Roman alphabet is, however, susceptible of being used for phonetic initiation. A little nursery book published by the author, about 30 years ago, (entitled " Letters and Sounds") introduced a method which was tested at the time, in many families and some private schools, with results rivalling those obtained with the Phonetic Primers then recently published by Messrs. Pitman & Ellis. In the latter, a system of phonetic types was employed, but in "Letters and Sounds "the common alphabet was used. The full orthography of each word was printed, to accustom the eye to the presence of silent letters; but the latter were shown in subordinate type.

This little book having long been out of print, the following outline of its method may be of some future service. All the early lessons were illustrated by pictures illustrative of the sounds of the letters; such as a boy holding out his hurt hand (0); a girl holding up her hands in wonder (eh! =a), etc.

The first lesson introduced the letters a, o, s, and connected them in a little reading exercise made up of the words so, sa", ·so". The second lesson added the letters m, p, i, and in the reading exercise made use of such words as a'm, mo, ma, mam, pa", ap, mop", soup, apes; the words being worked up into sentences with the pronoun I. The

third lesson introduced the letters h, sh; and furnished such new words as ha3, ho, high, height, home, hope, shame, show. The fourth added the letters t, k; and swelled the vocabulary with such words as oat, oak, site, sight, sake, soak, smoke, shak, stak. The fifth lesson introduced the letters ƒ, n; adding such words as fi, fo, fight, fok, safe, foam, na", know, night, own, namo, *nife, son, steam, ston, etc. The sixth lesson introduced 1, e, and added largely to the available vocabulary. The seventh presented u, th; the eighth, v, z; the ninth, r; the tenth, b, d, g; the eleventh, y, 00, w, wh; the twelfth, q, c, ch; and the thirteenth, i, g (soft).

In the fourteenth lesson, the "short," or second sounds of the vowels were for the first time brought forward; and reading exercises filled up the next two sections; after which the alphabet was completed by the letter x. Additional sounds, such as ah, aw, er, etc.; and the different sounds of c, g, ch, etc.; were subsequently introduced, one by one. The little learners were delighted at being able to read, from the very first lesson; and before half of the twenty-two sections had been gone through, they took pleasure in picking out words which they recognised in ordinary books.

This method has since been imitated in school-books now in extensive use; the difference being that, in the latter, the silent letters are printed in a light, thin type, instead of in the "superior" small type used in "Letters and Sounds." Were some such plan adopted generally, in the nursery and the primary school, and in teaching illiterate adults, we should hear less of the need of "spelling reform." A better initiatory use may be made of present materials; and, after initiation, the pupil's eye becomes his teacher in the art of spelling. Nevertheless, many orthographic anomalies exist, which should be re

moved in order to facilitate the learner's task as far as possible.

A complete reformation of spelling is not to be hoped for, seeing that it would antiquate our whole literature; but the inconvenience attending our present orthography may be obviated in another way: namely, by teaching children, first, to read from purely phonetic letters, and then — using the latter as a key-introducing at once the ordinary letters, in words, presented as pictures, as wholes, incapable of analysis letter by letter. The eye would thus become accustomed to the significant variations of orthography, which are never practically learned by rule.

XXI. VISIBILITY OF SPEECH.

The art of reading inaudible speech from the motions of the mouth is one which is sometimes of great importance. Many persons totally deaf exhibit a surprising facility in understanding what a speaker says. The facility is surprising because many of the motions of speech are made at the back of the mouth, and cannot be seen; and of the visible actions of the tongue and the lips scarcely one is free from possible ambiguity of interpretation. An examination of the physiological letters of "Visible Speech," that is letters by which the organic actions of speech are symbolised-will show what elements are liable to confusion by the eye, and also, precisely, what is the amount of such possible confusion.

When a deaf

Those elements which have the same outline in the physiological letters look alike in speech. Thus, p, b and m are seen to be indistinguishable by the eye when spoken; so also are t, d and n; and k, g and ng. reader, therefore, sees a speaker pronounce the word pay, he cannot be certain whether the word is not may or bay; but he knows that it is one of the three, and the context in which the word is used directs him to the right selection.

The number of words from which a speech-reader has to make immediate mental choice is often perplexingly large in the case of monosyllables; and these are, therefore, the most difficult words to decipher. Thus when a speaker says the word man, the visible action may mean any one out of no fewer than the twelve words: man, ban, pan, mad, bad, pad, mat, bat, pat, manned, band, pant. The right interpretation will, in such a case, test the ability of