In
examining the English Books, that were printed between the
Restoration and the Accession of George the 2'd, we may observe, that
all _Substantives_ were begun with a capital, in which we imitated
our Mother Tongue, the German. This was more particularly useful to
those, who were not well acquainted with the English; there being
such a prodigious Number of our Words, that are both _Verbs_ and
_Substantives_, and spelt in the same manner, tho' often accented
differently in Pronunciation.
This Method has, by the Fancy of Printers, of late Years been
laid aside, from an Idea, that suppressing the Capitals shows the
Character to greater Advantage; those Letters prominent above the
line disturbing its even regular Appearance. The Effect of this
Change is so considerable, that a learned Man of France, who used to
read our Books, tho' not perfectly acquainted with our Language, in
Conversation with me on the Subject of our Authors, attributed the
greater Obscurity he found in our modern Books, compared with those
of the Period above mentioned, to a Change of Style for the worse in
our Writers, of which Mistake I convinced him, by marking for him
each _Substantive_ with a Capital in a Paragraph, which he then
easily understood, tho' before he could not comprehend it.
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