Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-01-15
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

Colonel Benton and the Dear Creatures
Again.-An unknown correspondent favors u
with the following learned criticism upon Col
Benton's very last very learned phylologlca
disquisition. We duly laid out the Colonel II
enc connection not long since, with the supe
rior briIliancy Of the Hon. John Barney's dis
QUESTIONS upon things which so occupy the
Colonels mind at this time. To-day, we sub
NIT, we have him q as cold as steel" through
the superior latin-ity Of this unknown writer
who spouts two quotations from works com
piled to furnish such illusions for the use o.
gentlemen somewhat rusty in the classics, and
as many puns to the ColOnel's one,
TO THE EDITOR OF The STAR.
Our House, w ashington, Jan. Ia, 1857.
Mr. EDITOR AS one Of those interested
in the ultimate settlement of the intricate
question lately raised by the Colonel as to
whether persons of tho female gender should
be called Ladies' or Women" NAV |
ask the accustomed courtesy Of the Evening
Star for the insertion of an individual reply
to the letter on that subject published in the
1ntelllgencer of yesterday. Considering the
long and distinguished service he has rem
dered the country, connecting bin, as il does,
with all that is pure in patriotism, and wise
In craftsmanship, we are sorry to see the Col
Ouel bent on dimming the present lustro of
his fame by descending from the grave con-
sideratiOn Of the affairs of civil to those of pet
ucoat government. " Ne SHtOr ultra crept be.
dam, il O maxim, the Roman origin of which,
independently Of any peculiar applicability
1t may have, should at once have entitled it
to the COlonel's consideration.
IL the first part of the COlonels letter we
have the following: There is certainly moth
ing to which the maxim of Shakespeare more
fully applies that pose by any other name
would smell as sweet We cOncsde to the
Colonel, if be desires it, that sweetness is a
quality which the gentler sex, by whatsoever
name they may be called, emnently possess
But with all his "StrORg preference for the
now Questionable term IcoRsn, the Colonel
could hardly have intended to intimate that
the term Lady, when applied, is ever sugges-
tive Of anything but q most fragrant Odor
Indeed, we are unable to see what strength
at all the Colonel's position derives from his
introduction OF the maxim of Shakespeare for
ever he will cOneede that the sweetness of the
fair sex, so far from depending on the use of
the terms tcoBEaH or I4dY, is, In fact, exclu-
sively regulated by the application Of those
odorous preparations Familiarity known in the
fashionable world as Lubin's Extract and the
celebrated Oil Of Burgamot.
lno SolJucl, NuO OU OIUcE TOPICS Is go pre-
eminently distinguished for the iuctdus
ordo" of his competition, seems to be I'm MT
Irons when he attempts to enlighten US on the
subject which be has now undertaken; and we
would DO totally at a loss to explain this sim
gular phenomenon, except for the solution
which he himself has furnished. The letter
was written, to use his own language, "cuT-
TeHte oGtGw0 that is, while the pipe was
circulating, and doubtless partook Of the foggy
character Of the
What pity that a man who, in lectures md
otherwise, has heaped such bitter denuncia-
tons upon the consumers Of the freed, should
himself privately indulge in the filthy prac-
tice which he publicly processes to despise
After all, bGoGStt6tHg is evidently no. can
hned to the members of temperance societies
But the great error which strikes the atten-
tion Is that the Colonel, whilst he attempts to
maintain his position by a comparison Of an
Client and modern philology, totally disregards
the cardinal rules handed down to us by the
very ancients whose wisdom, morals, religion
and language be pretends so much to admire
de desires to have the word Lady stricken
from the lexicon and discarded as unmeaning
jargon. Now what is il that authorizes the
selection Of one term over another for the ex-
precision Of our ideas IL is the conventional
ism Of the people who speak the language Of
which such term forms part. 1t is long es-
tablished use
'sMulta renaSccntur, quae IAN cecidere, cadent1ue
Quae nuncsant in holore, vocabula 81 violet usus
9uem penes arbilrium est, e. jus ct norma To-
quendi."
He admits that the word lady comes down
10 US with the sanction Of the highest authori
ties In our language and he also admits that
the word has rs peculiar meaning-that in
other countries II indicates rank, station, dig
nifty and every thing that enobles the female
character. Ii would therefore seem from his
esgerness TO have the use Of the word aboI-
lshed that the female sex Of our country, in
feIlor TO that of other nations. possess hone of
those dIgnlhed qualities symbolised by the
"oid Iaag- The course of reasoning pursued
IN the Colonels letter leads US inevitably to
thss conclusion, and we are at a loss to know
now ne Will ever De able TO reconcile the mat
Ter with The ladies go as to escape the terrible
consequences Of female vengeance.
respectfully, CHEsrERFIELp.
Jas s. Green Tho election of this distin-
guished gentleman t. the Senate Ct the Uni
tel States from Missouri, ID to-day a subject
Of very general congratulation among the
democrats Of Congress, with many of whom he
served, 1t will be remembered, in the lower
House Of the National Legislature. While
thus serving be was ne less distinguished for
talents as debater than for his steady adhe
renee to the cause Of strict construction His
election shows that We were not in error in the
views we have Of late expressed with refer.
ence to tie state Of parties in the Missouri
Legislature.
The Delaware Senatorial Elections
NILNrNGIoH, Del Jan "a 1887