cxcu 
LIFE OF WILSON. 
own authority for stating, that he adopted this mode of spelling at 
the particular instance of the late Joel Barlow, who vainly hoped 
to give currency, in his heavy Epic, to an innovation, which great- 
er names than his own had been unable to effect. 
Some ingenious men,” says Johnson, have endeavoured to 
deserve well of their country by writing honor and labor for honour 
and labour, red for read in the preter-tense, sais for says, repete for 
repeat, explane for explain, or declame for declaim. Of these it 
may be said, that as they have done no good, they have done little 
harm; both because they have innovated little, and because few 
have followed them.” 
The recommendation of the learned lexicographer above 
cited ought to be laid to heart by all those whose “ vanity seeks 
praise by petty reformation.” ‘"I hope I may be allowed,” says 
he, “ to recommend to those, whose thoughts have been perhaps 
employed too anxiously on verbal singularities, not to disturb, 
upon narrow views, or for minute propriety, the orthography of 
their fathers. There is in constancy and stability a general and 
lasting advantage, which will always overbalance the slow improve- 
ments of gradual correction.” 
As it must be obvious that without books it would be impossi- 
ble to avoid error in synonymes and nomenclature, so we find that 
our author, in these respects, has rendered himself obnoxious to 
reproach. 
That he was not ambitious of the honour of forming new ge- 
nera appears from the circumstance, that, although he found the 
system of Latham needed reformation, yet he ventured to propose 
but one genus, the Curvirostra, the characters of which are so ob- 
vious that one is astonished that so learned an ornithologist as 
Latham should have contented himself with arranging the species 
appertaining to it with others, the conformation of whose bills are 
so dissimilar. It may be necessary to state that the Crossbills had 
been erected into a separate genus, under the denomination of 
