The day book. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1857-1867, 1857-11-25
Boys.

Words are said to spring, in all langua-
ges, dialects and lingos, from the needs of
thought. When the speech ola race has
no term which answers to the notion of
home; when it knows no name which
expresses the idea of Deity, it is fair to
presume that the soul Of that people lacks
the sentiments these words convey. In
the rise and decay, too, of slang epithets
and expressions, the existence of the same
rule is shown The street must have its
own significant expressions, as fanaticism
must have its cant, the several professions
their distinctive and appropriate terms, or
the arts and trades, each to some extent,
its technical language. When words be-
come obsolete, the fact indicates, if not |
the decay of the notions they severally
expressed, certainly modification and
change in them corresponding to the ver-
bal transition. The altered terms ap-
piled, in different periods, to the same
thing only evince new shades in the
thought attached to them.
Instead of the grand old name of wo-
man, with its wealth of meaning its sug-
gestions of honored matronage and sub
stantial housekeeping, the vague and I'M
defined epithet lady is now applied, by
miserable conventionalism, to our mo-
theirs, wives, sisters and daughters. So, in
a like spirit of frippery and nothingness,
not man, but gentleman, is the common
name of all individuals of the male sex.
Now, however much of compliment or
mutual admiration is intended in the ap-
plication of these appellatves--an appli-
cation whose very indiscriminateness we
should suppose would suggest its futility
for the uses of aattery-they surely give
small credit to the nobler and more solid
qualities of our humanity,
There is another word, however, which
seems to be going rapidly into disuetude,
without leaving even shabby substi-
tute as lOcum teaaenS. This is undoubted-
ly because the thing signifed by the
word is itself passing into the realm of
mere reminescence and ceasing to be
an actual and continuing fact. The word
we mean is-Boy.
A pleasant anecdote, to be found in
most Greek primers, tells how DIoGENEs
came out of his tub, at high twelve, one
day, and went stalking curiously about
with big lantern in his hand, answer
ing, when Intercepted as to the singular
oddly of this new wrinkle in his usual
ly-eccentric- enough conduct that he was
trying to find "a man" If the cynic
/ sage were yet extant he would doubtless
be seen hunting, to as little purpose, for
boy. Does anybody know of boy
anywhere within the horizon of his OBJ
servation? Is there anybody, in these
days, who answers to that old fashioned
description, or who would not feel aggriev-
' ed, if not insulted, at being denominated
/ by it? To be sure there is street epithet,
not yet caught up by respectable and
conservative lexicons-b'hoys-usually
applied to fast ''young men" but not es-
pecially applicable to Juveniles generally.
The term does not include all male chill
dren under twenty-one years, but be-
longs promiscuously to certain obstrepor-
bus characters beyond homage as we'll as
In it, Urchins and brats in breeches re-
spond only to the designation Of "young
nen" or "young gentlemen" There are
10 more any boys. /