Page images
PDF
EPUB

Table of the Alphabet.

A as in the English words far, father, &c. (But see the note on the vowels.)
B as in English, French, &c.

[blocks in formation]

E as in the English word there; and also short e, as in met, &c.

F as in English, &c.

G English g hard, as in game, gone, &c.

H an aspiration as in English, &c.

I as in marine, machine (or English ee); and also short i in him.

K as in English.

[blocks in formation]

(the same).

O English long o, as in robe; and also the o in some, among, above, &c., which is equivalent to the English short u in rub, tun, &c.

As, however, we cannot accustom our ears familiarly to distinguish, nor our organs of speech to utter with precision, all these slightly-differing sounds, so we need no distinctive characters to represent them to the eye; but it will be sufficient in practice to have characters for the principal sounds (as we may call them) in each series, just as, in the prismatic series of colors, we content ourselves with a few names to denote one principal shade of each color, without fruitlessly attempting to devise terms of theoretical nicety, to describe the innumerable shades on either side of the principal one from which we set out. If we now recur for a moment to the series above denoted by A, we find on one side of it a series which we denote by the letter O, and, on the other side, a series which we denote by the letter E. In the former we begin with the sound of o in morn, which might be written with au or aw (or with a alone, if we had been accustomed to write this word with that letter, as we do the word war), and then we proceed to the sound which it has in more, till we arrive at that which it has in move; which point may be considered, practically speaking, as forming the end of one series and the beginning of another, which is represented by the letter U; and these two contiguous extremes are sometimes represented by o and sometimes by u; that is, our oo. It we now take the other side of the series, represented as above by A, and set out from the sound which that letter has in the word fate, we enter upon a series, of which the letter E may be called the representative, beginning with its sound in the word met, which is the short sound of a in fate; and this series, proceeding imperceptibly through various gradations, at length vanishes in the simple, unequivocal sound of ee, which foreign nations denote by the third vowel, . The following table will perhaps make these remarks more intelligible:

[blocks in formation]

Now, in writing the Indian languages, it will often be found extremely difficult to decide, in each series of the vowel sounds, to what extent, on each side of the principal or middle point (as I have called it), we shall use the same vowel character, or when we shall have recourse to the letter which is the representative of the next adjacent series. From these considerations in the case of the vowel A, though we have no difficulty in using it to denote the sound of a in far, yet, when we proceed in the series to the full, broad sound which it has in fall, we feel a repugnance (arising from old habits in our own language) to denoting that sound by the single vowel, and are rather inclined to express it by cu or aw. If it should be thought that it might be denoted by o (as in for), it will be obvious that this would only be throwing the same difficulty into another series, and we should then have to decide again, how far the letter o shall be employed in that series, on each side of its principal sound of o in more. Now this broad sound (aw), though found in the European languages, is not commonly represented in them by the letter 4; and, therefore, foreigners who should attempt to read any Indian language, in which the simple a was employed to denote the sound aw, would inevitably be misled, and pronounce the a in father. It has, therefore, seemed to me better, in an alphabet designed for general use, to employ aw to denote this broad sound, and to reserve the single letter a to denote its common foreign sound, as in father. I should use aw, and not au, because the latter has already the established power of a diphthong in the foreign languages, equivalent to our diphthong ow in now, how, &c., but aw, being a combination not in common use, would attract the attention of the foreign reader as a new character, and would not lead him into error. Mr. Du Ponceau, after much reflection, prefers using a alone for the sound of aw, and then denoting the sound of a in father by the diphthong a. His opinion much diminishes the confidence I have had in my own; but as my plan was founded upon the idea of taking the common European sounds of the vowels as the basis of the alphabet, I have thought it would be too great a departure from it, if I should give to the vowel a any other than suck common sound.

[blocks in formation]

A as in ang (sounding the a itself as in father).

E long, as in eyng (pronouncing the ey, as in they); and short, as in the word ginseng; Portuguese em final.

I long, as in eeng; and short, as in ing; Portuguese im final.

long, as in oung (sounding the ou as in own); French on; Portuguese om final. This character will also be used for o short nasalized, which is very nearly the same with ong in among, as this latter is equivalent to ung in lung, &c. Walker's Dict., Principles, No. 165.

U as in oong; Portuguese um final.

See

To these should be added a character for the nasal awng or ong, which corresponds to our o in for, nor, &c. And, as I have proposed to denote this vocal sound, when not nasalized, by aw, so it would be most strictly conformable to my plan, to denote the same vocal sound, when it is nasalized, by ay or ay. But perhaps the letter a itself, with the cedilla (g), may be used without inconvenience for this broad nasal sound; and we may still, in the common vowels, reserve the simple a to denote the sound it has in the word father, and not the sound of aw. For it may be found, that the first nasal sound in this table is not common in the Indian languages; in which case it would be best to use the simple q for the broad nasal here mentioned. g

[blocks in formation]

English u in pure; French iou.

YU to be used at the beginning, as iu may be in the middle, of words.

DJ, DSH, or DZH,

DH,

......

DS, DZ; TS, TZ,

GH,

Additional Consonants.

English j and dg, in judge; French dg.

as in the English words this, that; the of the modern Greeks.
English ts in the proper name Betsy; German and Italian z; Ger-
man c before the vowels e and i; Polish c before all the vowels;
Russian Tsi. These four compounds being nearly alike (as Mr. Du
Ponceau justly observes to me), the ear of the writer must direct him
which to use, as the respective consonants predominate.
See kh, below.

GZ, or Gs, English x in example, exact.
Hw, English wh in what, when.
Kн, guttural,

like the Greek x; Spanish r, g and j; German ch; Dutch gh. I
have given the preference to kh for the purpose of expressing this
guttural sound; but gh, pronounced as the Irish do in their name
Drogheda, &c., may be better in certain cases where this guttural
partakes more of the flat sound, g, than of the sharp one, k. It may
be observed, that gh has been already used in some of the books
printed for the use of the Indians.

KS, English x in maxim, exercise.

KSH,

xi in complexion; xu in luxury. The formation of this combination would be obvious; but as the sound is actually often used in the Delaware language, I have thought it best to notice it.

Kw, English qu.

LY, OF LI,

NY, or NI,

TH, ᎢᎦ, TZ, TSH,

ᎳᎢ,

ZH,

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

... as in the English word steelyard; French I mouillée; Spanish ll; Portuguese lh; Italian gl before i.

...

.. as in the English proper name Bunyan, and the words onion, opinion, &c.

[merged small][ocr errors]

in the English word thin; Greek 9.

See ds, above.

English ch in chair; Spanish ch in much; Italian c before e and i;
German tsch; Russian ч.

as in the Delaware language.

.. ass in pleasure; French and Portuguese j; Polish z, with a comma over it (2).

WRITING PENS. (See Pens, Writing.) WRY-NECK (yunx torquilla); a small European bird, related to and having some of the habits of the woodpeckers; but the tail is soft, and cannot serve in any way as a support; and it never strikes the bark of trees with its bill. It also differs widely in its appearance, the plumage being mottled somewhat in the same manner as that of the whip-poorwill. The name is derived from a habit of twisting its neck in a singular man

ner.

WULFILAS. (See Ulfilas.)

WURMSER, Dagobert Sigismond, count von, Austrian general field-marshal, was born of a rich Alsatian family, in 1724, and, having early entered the Austrian service, was engaged through the whole of the seven years' war; at the close of which he held the rank of major. In the war of the Bavarian succession (see Bavaria), he commanded an army in Bohemia, and, in 1779 (Jan. 18), gained some advantages over the Prussians at Habelschwerd. The peace of Teschen (q. v.) soon after put an end to hostilities. On the breaking out of the war against France, Wurmser commanded a diyision of the Austrian army, and passed the Rhine March 31, 1793. After gaining some unimportant advantages, he was compelled to recross the Rhine, towards the close of the year, and was recalled from his command. In August, 1795, he rejoined the army, and captured Manheim Nov. 22. In the summer of the next year, he took the command of the army of Italy, and forced his way to Mantua, into which he threw himself Sept. 30. Here he was finally obliged to surrender to the French troops, after a siege of nine months. After his return to Vienna, he was appointed to the command in Hungary, but died before he could leave Vienna, of the consequence of his privations and sufferings in Mantua, in the summer of 1797.

WÜRTEMBERG, or WIRTEMBERG; a

[ocr errors]

kingdom of the western part of Germany, bounded by Bavaria on the east, and Baden on the west, and bordering on lake Constance on the south. It is of an oblong form, extending from lon. 8° to 10° 30 E., and from lat. 45° 36′ to 49° 45′ N. It forms part of the old circle of Suabia, and covers an area of 7240 square miles. It is divided into four provinces, the Neckar, the Schwarzwald, the Danube and the Jaxt, with a population, in 1829, of 1,562,033 souls, of whom 1,506,270 were Germans, 2400 Waldenses, and 9100 Jews. The religion of the great majority of the people is Protestant: there are, also,.478,444 Catholics. There is one university at Tübingen, with, in 1830, 887 students; and there is also a considerable number of lyceums, gymnasia and high schools, with 2187 common schools (Volkschulen). The chief town and royal residence is Stuttgart, with a population of 31,000: the other principal places are Ulm (12,049), Reutlingen (10,180), Heilbronn, Tübingen, Hall, Esslingen, Ludwigsburg, Rothenburg and Gmünd. The great natural features of this country are two ranges of mountains, one called the Black Forest, or Schwarzwald, extending along the western frontier, the other called the Suabian or Würtemberg Alp, an insulated range of rocky hills, destitute of wood, beginning at Rotweil, and traversing the kingdom in a north-east direction. On these lofty tracts, the climate is cold and bleak; but the rest of the country is agreeably diversified with hills of moderate elevation, and pleasant valleys, which enjoy a mild and pleasant climate. The principal rivers are the Danube and Neckar, also the Enz, Muhr, Kocker, Jaxt and Tauber. Würtemberg, with the exception of the two mountainous ranges, is one of the most fertile and best cultivated parts of Germany. It produces the various kinds of grain; wine, the best qualities known abroad under the name of the Neckar wine; fruits of various kinds. The minerals are iron,

silver, copper, coal and porcelain. The Black Forest produces abundance of pine and fir, considerable quantities of which are exported. The revenue, in 1830, amounted to 27,887,145 guilders; the expenditure to 27,868,136 guilders, the public debt to 28,604,350. The standing army, in time of war, is composed of 16,824 men, the peace establishment, of 4906, the contingent to the forces of the German confederation, of 13,955. The king of Würtemberg has the sixth vote in the German diet, and four votes in the plenum. The government is a constitutional monarchy: the constitution was adopted Sept. 25, 1819. The king shares the legislative power, and the right of imposing taxes, with the estates, which consist of two chambers or houses, and possesses the entire executive power. The crown is hereditary in the male line, but, in case of the failure of males, passes to the females. The upper chamber is composed of the princes of the blood, of the heads of the mediatized families, and of members called to sit by the king. The lower chamber, or chamber of deputies, is composed of thirteen deputies, chosen by the nobility, who have the right of judicial jurisdiction, six deputies of the clergy, deputies of seven towns, and deputies of the sixty-three bailiwics of the kingdom. The reigning king, William I, born 1781, ascended the throne in 1816. By his third wife he has one son, Frederic, the crown prince, or heir apparent, born 1823. His predecessor on the throne was Frederic, declared king of Würtemberg in 1805.

Würtemberg, History of. The origin of the kingdom of Würtemberg, more properly Wirtemberg,* is as follows. Lords of Würtemberg are first mentioned toward the end of the eleventh century: down to the middle of the thirteenth century this family seldom appears; but from that time, the Suabian history is full of their conquests and compacts. The counts of Würtemberg were not, like other counts of the empire, originally officers of the emperor. They were the proprietors of extensive domains, and, by way of honor, called counts. The emperors infeoffed them at a later period. Besides the revenue which they derived from their estates, they received a considerable income from convents, towns and villages, which they agreed to pro

* Würtemberg was originally the name of a castle near Stuttgart. Hence it became the name of a family, then of a duchy, and at last of a kingdom.

tect. This branch of revenue was charged with the expenses of the government. Separate from this was the income of the patrimonial estates of the family. Suchi a separation is seldom found elsewhere, especially at so early a period. Taxes were to be raised only when the revenue was insufficient. This state of things began with count Ulrich, who acquired distinction in the middle of the thirteenth century. Germany was then without a head. The kings and emperors of Germany, from the death of Frederic II (q. v.) to Rodolph of Hapsburg (q. v.), were mere shadows. Ulrich died in 1265. His successor, count Eberhard, doubled the possessions which he had received from his father. He had many feuds with the emperors Rodolph, Adolphus of Nassau, and Albert of Austria. The emperor Henry of Luxemburg put him under the ban of the empire, and he was attacked from all sides, so that he fled to the margrave of Baden. But Henry VII died in Italy, and Eberhard recovered all that he had lost. His son Ulrich purchased new territories, among which was Tübingen. (q. v.) His son Eberhard der Greiner, a knight known all over Germany, purchased, during his reign, from 1344 to 1392, about twenty towns in whole or in part, and a number of villages, &c., and maintained what he had acquired in a constant struggle with the free imperial cities of Suabia. His successors continued to increase their possessions almost down to the elevation of the Würtemberg territories into a duchy, profiting by the spendthrift habits of their neighbors, and seizing the wealth of the convents and free cities when they found opportunity. But the chief cause of the gradual rise of this family was the circumstance that its territory remained undivided. The first division took place in 1442; but it lasted only to 1482, and, by the treaty of Münsingen, in the same year, the indivisibility of the territory became a family law. The emperor Maximilian, in 1495, made it a duchy; and Würtemberg became now the name of a country. The dukes soon acquired importance as members of the empire. To Eberhard, the same duke who made the family law just mentioned, the people of Würtemberg owe the first steps towards a constitution founded upon compact. Eberhard had, in consequence of a family quarrel, convoked deputies of the citizens for the settlement of public affairs, in 1482. On this occasion, it was solemnly stipulated that every thing done in future by the

rulers of Würtemberg for the advantage of the country, should be done with the cooperation of the prelates, counsellors and deputies. The country nobility was excluded at its own desire. Lutheranism was introduced under Christopher (q. v.), and through him and his successors the "permanent delegations" (standing committees) and the separate treasury acquired completeness and stability. Frederic, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and Charles, in the middle of the eighteenth, attempted to overturn the constitution, but in vain. It was not till 1806, that the government became an absolute monarchy, after the constitution had lost much of its efficacy and estimation in the last years of the reign of Charles. The thirty years' war, so ruinous to all Germany, was particularly disastrous to Würtemberg. Between 1634 and 1641, the population sunk from about 330,000 men to 48,000. All who were able left the country: great numbers were destroyed in battle or by famine and pestilence: towns and villages lay deserted and in ruins. To the Swedes, under the government of the chancellor Oxenstiern, and to the Swedish ministers at Osnabrück, Würtemberg owes her restoration, which was effected by the peace of Westphalia. (q. v.) But the reign of Louis XIV was also a time of great suffering for this country; Melac, and other monsters, burned and devastated it. During the reign of duke Louis, Würtemberg was under the government of a mistress, like France in the time of Louis XIV. From the war of the Spanish succession to the wars of the French revolution, the country was free from foreign enemies. Only once, in the second Silesian war, foreign troops marched through it; and duke Charles took part with Austria against Prussia in the third Silesian war, with the hope of being assisted by that power in suppressing the chamber of deputies. But his attempt at absolute power was defeated by the aulic council of the empire, under the guarantee of Prussia, Hanover and Denmark, and the government became still more limited. The duke at once changed the character of his administration, diminished the expense of his court, and, during the last half of his reign, did much good. He patronised arts and sciences, though in a somewhat military manner. The Charles academy (see Schiller, and Dannecker) was founded by him. The population rose to 600,000. The religion of the country had suffered by the circumstance

that, from 1733 to 1797, the princes were Catholic. Under the reign of duke Charles Alexander, a Jew, named Süss, ruined the finances, of which he was minister. He was hanged by Charles's successor. Through a Prussian princess, the mother of Frederic Eugene, Protestantism became again the religion of the rulers. During the government of Frederic, the French republic took possession of the Würtemberg territories on the left bank of the Rhine, and repeatedly occupied the duchy. His son, subsequently king Frederic I, was indemnified by an additional territory, containing 12,000 inhabitants. He himself was made elector. (q. v.) In 1805, he took part with France in the war with Austria; in return for which he was made king, with sovereign power, and received an addition to his territory, which gave him 200,000 new subjects. As soon as the empire was dissolved, the new king became a member of the confederation of the Rhine (see the article), and, as such, took part in all the wars of France, except that with Spain. Subsequently to the last war between France and Austria (1809), the population of the kingdom was increased to 1,350,000. After the downfall of the French empire, the king secured all his acquisitions by joining the allies. Since 1815, Würtemberg, though a small kingdom, has formed one of the larger states of the Germanic confederacy. Frederic I was a tyrant, and that to a degree which is rare at the present time; yet, like many other tyrants, he was a man of talent, and judiciously promoted the good of his subjects, where it was in accordance with his own objects. He died in 1816, and was succeeded by his son William I. When Frederic I assumed the royal title, in 1806, he declared himself absolute sovereign. The peace of Presburg (q. v.) made him such in fact. The people of Würtemberg, in the confusion of the new order of things, took the oath of unconditional obedience, instead of the former constitutional oath. Only two or three persons made some opposition. But when the king went, in 1814, to the congress of Vienna, some voices demanded the old constitution. At this congress, the king, supported by Bavaria, opposed Prussia and Hanover, which expressed themselves in favor of the establishment of representative estates throughout Germany. But he soon declared that he intended to give a new constitution, and offered one in 1815; but it was rejected. The representatives of the people demanded the old constitution,

« PreviousContinue »