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Altogether, it seems to me unlikely that the world will let English supplant French for international purposes, and likely that French will be ousted only when the world shall have been so internationalised that the children of every land will have to learn, besides their own traditional language, some kind of horrible universal lingo begotten on Volapuk by a congress of the world's worst pedants.
We are now sick of such a multitude of languages and wish all the world spoken Volapuk.
"Jerry," remarked Peggy, breaking the brief pause that had fallen between them, "did you ever hear of Audubon?" "What's that? Do you mean the language for everybody to learn, so that Japs and Dagoes and us folks can talk together, same as if we'd been raised 'longside each other?" "Oh, no! That's Volapük you're talking about, Jerry. Audubon was a man." "Oh!" Apparently Jerry had lost interest.
The idea impressed everybody as a good one, and enjoyed a considerable popularity for a time. But practically this was soon found to be a clumsy and inadequate form of speech, also that many other drawbacks attended its adoption. But the main idea held good; and since that time Volapuk, Bolak, Esperanto and Ido have appeared, but without meeting with great success.
There is a phrase current at the present day, belonging to slang, that universal language of the masses, "the Volapuk of the melting-pot." It comes to us simultaneously with the affinity-wave and the soul-mate quest; and it is both pertinent and timely, although by no means always wisely applied. Life is a succession of experiences in the quest of immortality.
For three days he worked hard at tree-felling himself, and he only desisted from this labour on the discovery that the sight of his hunting-crop brought more trees to the ground than all his strokes with the axe. This hunting-crop was called "Volapük," because every tribe understood its meaning, and during the march Baden-Powell found it of inestimable value.
The reason given is that this language has been adopted by the Spoeleic Rite, which I confess that I had not heard of previously, but I venture to think that the doctor has concealed the true reason, and that Volapuk has been thus chosen because it is a diabolical invention; a universal language prevailed previously to the confusion of Babel, and the new language is an irreligious attempt to produce ordo ab chao by a return to unity of speech.
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