The American. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1857, 1857-09-12


to express what used TO be expressed BY many 0
these familiar words
| The speaker referred TO an English criticism OF
our intense phraseology, giving specimens in illus
| tration; also TO the manner In which so many ol
our good old English words had been emasculated
by this unmeaning extravagance.
9th. Our ideas are aggrandized beyond all yeri
sinilitude by superadding other ideas 10 them and
expressing all in an intense phraseology, The
sober hue is lost In the glare and distortion which
seems to suit our character. We cannot give hui
hint Of the varied Illustrations Of the speaker TO
this point:
"A Southern editor wishes To say that the Mis-
sissippi is very low How does he say icy The
catfish are rigging up stern wheelers A strapge
genius describes lake in Minnesota as 80 clear
that by looking into H. you can see them making
tea in China. II any thing s insignificant \ 4 tho
little end OF nothing whittisd down % point ~
any thing II great il beats thunder, or all crca
ton Tfast lightning amt patching. y goes
'rippity. click in no timel Our boys bet their
life on it, and nothing SEQ their dedth on L,
and nothing less
These Illustrations furnished the threshold OF
that hnlor which he illustrated In all its extraya
gance in his siath division. This humor was the
froth and sparkle, showing the depth Of the wave.
Our humor partook Of the exaggeratiye quality
more than any other. Some there were who could
see nothing but absurdty, rant, and hyperbolc In
it; but the speaker contended that exaggeration
was the very essence of fun, and especially Amer,
lean fun. Falstaff's monstering his courage, and
Captain BobadiPs braggadoco, were cited as sam
pies of English exaggeration; and the numerous
grotesaue and varied illustrations which Mr.. Cox
gave from American life would have satisfied the
most sceptical that irreverent exaggeration was
the life of our Homer We give the following ex.
tract on this point;
Il
!" The proprietor OF newly.organized city ont
West, diating on the unrivalled advantages by
water and rail of his magnificent site or the Fourth
of July orator. sweeping the periphery OF creation
togather immense symbols of our everlasting glory
or the poet just fedged, and trying his feeble
pinons on the thunderous symphonies of that al
mighty heft OF water at Niagara; or the young
attorney addressing his first jury and never in the
course of his extensive practice having met such
outrageous injustice as that attempted on his
client or our little boys behind their cigars, and
down on the old man for some parental iniunc-
ton; or our biggest statesmen behind their Sena-
torial desks, and down on all mankind for their
outrages on and presumption towards this great
nation; all find expression in the sacriegious au-
dacity OF our boys. In the reign of terror in
France, while the nien were emitting OIL human
heads and carrying them around Paris on pixies,
the boys were initiating them by guillotining cats
and carrying around their heads on sticks; so, III
America the prevailing irreverence among our
men finds its juvenile counterpart. OF course 1t
was no one but an American who in South
American city, stopped the Catholic procession
which bore along the host to light his cigar from
the sacred taper This sacriegious audaeity was
illustrated by an American company in the Mex-
can war, which during an earthquake was drawn
up in line in one of the churches in the city OF
Mexico. While the Mcxieans were rushing out OF
their houses crying 'Irembior! Iren,btorF with
consternation or drop on their knees in church
to beseech the Virgin with most sacred pusillan.
unity, this American company, at every horizontal
| quake, would be dashed against the church walls
| What are they thinking of? With ready exagge.
ration they ken their situation to one OF the surf
| boats they had used at Vera Cruz. AT every
surge the cry goes round, Shove her of, boys!
Steady, men, keep your places? Now she
rises shove her Off The juvenile counterpart
again appears in the youth who was told the story
OF the two -and.forty children who were torn by
bears for mocking the prophet Instead OF heed
ing the moral, he vent right out and saluted the
first bald-headed individual he met with, Go up
thou bald head Now bring on your bears !!
Why, not long ago, a good man addressed one ol
our Sabbath schools in Ohio; told them of the
better world in tones so pathetic and tears so sin.
cere that he seemed to touch chords OF finest
feeling in their gentle young bosoms, and con
cluded his remarks by requesting them TO sung
Jordan Instead of Jordon's stormy banks he
was astounded to hear, in one unbrokeu chorus
| that .. ...
Jordan am hard road TO trabel.' -
"One would suppose in Christrian country tina
stream, consecrated by such holy memories womb
| not be polluted by the ribaldry Of youth
Jordan whose banks are hallowed by the foot
print of prophet and saint; whose waters rose up
that Israel might bear over that beateous type o
our covenant with Heaven; whose wave mirrored
the clear sky and the peaceful dove descending
| upon the baptized observation-disclosures OF the
| Fathers pleasure; Jordan at the mention o
| whose name, though the twelve stones erected by
Israel have long since mouldered and though the
spot where the body of our Lord was immersed
has no monument for its identity-though the Be
douin roams in its valley, and its calcined soil no
longer smiles with cultyation--t is dear to the
Christian of every cline, as with wistfnl eye he
eazes upon that fair and happy land where HE
possessions lie and with the power OF grace strug
giles through its swelling food to that other bank
where the world Lath no temptation and the tomt
| no terror where Immortality with the dear ones
who have gone before becomes presence and d
transport Jordanl whose flow makes music with
the dying song of praise, whose light silvers the
darkness of the valley Of the shadow, and ellis the
fading vision with the glory of answered PRAYER
and the soul with the reality of that country be
yond where the good Shepherd forever enfolds his
own in the sweet pastures by the still waters
Jordan Aye, and what other eonsecrated associa
ton is not broken up by the ploughsharc Of rant
defiant, Independent Young AmericaS Said no
truly that our humor stops at no sacrifice for 10
fungn
After touching upon our rampant patriotism, ~
exhibited in our Declaration OF Independence -
which he regarded as = most transcendent an,
splendid piece OF rhctoric--the orator referred
seventhly, TO the exaggerations Of our social life
which was turned topsy.turvy by the unnatura
stimulus to riches. Fraud and dishonor we're tn
result. He drew picture Of a land sale IN tn
far West az an example Of the inordinate haste
get gold. s r.a ..f
Personal display, unnatural greed, and tlt
over-estimate OF the value Of money, are th
1 incentives to those extremes Of daily life wllic
| are filing our insane asylums with our overworke
and unrelieved people.
Illnatured people find fault with Miss Flor
| McFlmsey because she trundles that hoop. o
unapproachable circumference; and because, af'e
| fitting from shop to shop through the bazaais Q
| two worlds, in fevered despair she mis- tne "a
with the pitiful wall Of nothing TO wear ms
McFlimsey is but type OF the enlarged area
| Haunting ultraism, pompous pride, and noisy Hut
/ -. n,,9orr,risinp people. w hernve