Ormsary.
_The Verb "to commit"_ (Vol. v., p. 125.).--The verb _to commit_, in the
sense used by Junius, was employed by Lord Chesterfield so far back as
the year 1757. In a letter to his son (Nov. 26), his lordship, after
instructing Mr. Stanhope what to say to one of the foreign ministers,
directs him to send to his own court an account of what he had done:
"Tell them you thought the measure of such great importance that
you could not help taking this little step towards bringing it
about, but that you mentioned it only from yourself, and that you
have not _committed_ them by it."
Lord Chesterfield's _Letters to his Son_ were not published until 1774,
which will account for Walker ascribing to Junius the merit of
introducing into the English language the French signification of the
verb _to commit_.