While in letters of gold—'tis your monarch's high will—
Shall there be inscribed, "Ill to him that thinks ill."'"
Tee Bee.
Old Ship.—It may be of interest to some of your readers to learn that the ship which conveyed General Wolfe on his expedition to Quebec is still afloat under the name of the "William and Ann."
She was built in 1759 for a bomb-ketch, and was in dock in the Thames a few days since, sound and likely to endure for many years yet: she is mostly now engaged in the Honduras and African timber trades, which is in itself a proof of her great strength.
A. O. H.
Blackheath.
The Letter "h" in "humble."—I was always taught in my childhood to sink the h in this word, and was confirmed in this habit by the usage of all the well-educated people that I met in those days, as also by the authority of every pronouncing dictionary in the English language: and to this day hear many people quite as well educated, and of as high station in all but literary society, as Mr. Dickens, use the same pronunciation; but this eminent writer has thought fit of late to proscribe this practice as far as in him lies, by making it the Shibboleth of two of the meanest and vilest characters in his works. I should like to know whether the aspiration of this letter is due to Mr. D.'s London birth and residence, or whether it has become of late the general usage of good society. If the latter, it is clear that a new edition of Walker is required for the benefit of such as have no wish to be confounded with the "Heeps."
Your late Numbers have given some curious instances of Cockney and other rhymes. I am sorry to see that the offensive r not only appears to be gaining ground in poetry, but also in the mouths of many whose station and education might have been supposed to preserve them from this vulgarism. If the masters of our great schools took as much pains with their pupils' pronunciation of English, as with that of Latin and Greek, we should hear less of this.