spoken. If Volapük were an ideal tongue in all respects it would avoid this insufficiency of the other languages, by providing an economical means, as a part of its system rather than as a mere addendum for the ready representation of its sounds in writing. Adequate written representation seems to have been either not thought of in the construction of Volapük, or considered as immaterial. As the language, even if it shall be adopted to the extent that its most sanguine promoters expect and all Vpans. hope, will have greater curreney as a written than as a spoken language, the manner of its representation in writing becomes highly important. It is now extravagant in writing. It ought to be economical. Why should not a easily-formed system of simple geometric signs be used instead of the expensive Roman letters? Why should the sound of the letter M, for instance, require so much material for its representation? The tendency of the times is ever towards simplicity and economy, in language as all other things, and as well in the manner in which words are written as in their number and length. In the advancement of the arts and sciences the Old English text was found to be too clumsy for every-day use, and had to give way to a simpler form. Why should not Volapük–the language of the future, and a great step towards economical thought expression, adopt the simplest form for the written expressien of its words, as a part of its system, and in harmony with its economical purpose? Is not the present plan susceptible of improvement, and is it not eminently proper that Volapük should be the pioneer in the improvement of written language? No reason can be assigned in answer, except that it would be inexpedient, even if feasible, to overload the system while it is seeking to establish itself.
While from the above partial and somewhat exalted view of the-subject it would appear that there is possibility of improving the manner of writing Volapük, it is questionable, on the other hand, whether any plan depending upon the restricted simple geometric signs could be made sufficiently facile to be practical. As no such radical change
