114 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



disparage the merit of a fellow-laborer, and the spirit of the whole con- 

 troversy was utterly uncongenial with his feelings. It became neces- 

 sary for him, however, to expose a gross literary fraud, when the work 

 just referred to was issued by an unscrupulous London publisher with 

 a garbled Preface, and the utterly false title, " A Universal, Critical, 

 and Pronouncing Dictionary of the English Language, .... compiled 

 from the Materials of Noah Webster, LL. D., by Joseph E. Worcester." 

 A pamphlet setting forth the facts in the case was published by him in 

 1853, and enlarged with a third Appendix in 1854. 



In 1847-49 Dr. Worcester experienced one of the severest trials 

 that can befall a scholar, in the threatened loss of sight, and the actual 

 inability to use his eyes for reading, or hardly any other purpose, for 

 about two years. During this period he had three operations performed 

 on his right eye for cataract, and two on his left, the last of which, hap- 

 pily, was entirely successful. This great affliction was borne through- 

 out without a murmur, in the spirit of true Christian resignation and 

 trust. 



In 1847 Dr. Worcester published an enlarged and improved edition 

 of his Comprehensive Dictionary, which contained, among other addi- 

 tions, a " Vocabulary of Modern Geographical Names," with their pro- 

 nunciation. This volume was still further improved and enlarged in 

 1849 ; and in 1855 it appeared with the title, "A Pronouncing, Ex- 

 planatory, and Synonymous Dictionary of the English Language " ; 

 the discrimination of synonymes being an important and distinguishing 

 feature of the work. It also contained a list of the Christian Names of 

 Men and Women, with their etymological signification, introduced for 

 the first time in an English dictionary. 



The crowning literary labor, however, of Dr. Worcester's life was his 

 " Dictionary of the English Language," published in 1860, in a large 

 and beautifully printed quarto volume of one thousand eight hundred 

 and fifty-four pages. In the preparation of this work, the author was 

 aided by a number of able and industrious collaborators, and in the ex- 

 planation of terms of a technical character he enjoyed the assistance of 

 men eminent in various departments of literature and science, including 

 some of the most honored members of the American Academy. The 

 various appendixes of Classical, Scripture, and Geographical Names, 

 and of Names of Distinguished Persons of Modern Times, were all 

 elaborated anew, and made, it is believed, far more complete and accu- 

 rate than in any preceding work. It will not be deemed invidious to 



