The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1861-06-12

| Imitation.
1t is the habit Of our countrymen to imi
tate the practices, and, we were about tc
say, the religions Of the whole world. II
this may possibly be attributed our unri
vailed advance in all the clements Of indi
vidual, and national prosperity. With any
amount of prejudice toward Foreigners
prejudice which creeps out in our frequent
elections in the shape Of "Know Nothing.
ism'-wc yet look with cagerness to what
ever. may be done abroad, and in nine cases
out of ten we adopt the transatlantic style
Our misfortune it is sometimes to adopt Q
custom or a name that has no earthly ap
plication to the subject or circumstances be-
fore us. The French names are quite uni
versally significant Of something then and
there present at the time Of their applca.
ton, but the American only consults his
ear as to the suund of it, his ambition as to
the eclat desirable from it, or his interest as
to its paying ,oeU. Trsmont, if we are cor
rcctly posted, means three mountains or
hills, and the name was applied once to a
hotel located in the neighborhood of three
elevations of land, but the popularity of
the original house has led to the building
of fremont Hotels all over the county
some Of them as deeply stuck in the mud
Of the western praires as it is possible to
get them. TO one who thinks Of the mean
ing of the word, the location Of fremont
House in the middle Of leve. plain of
marsh or prairie, excites smile at the ridi.
culous prctension of the owner. Not to re-.
fer to great many instances, in which our
people exhibit the imitativeness of which
we speak, VIC are now thinking Of the very
latest folly which marks the conduct Of
some of our regiments oftroops: We mean the
practice Of adopting ricandiere or "Daugh-
ter of the Regiment" In France, once up
on time, little girl was made an orphan
by the death of her soldier father, and the
regiment Of which he was an officer adopt.
ed her: each veteran contributed to her
support. Upon this story popular play
was written, and about all theatre. gocrs
have the plot at their tongues ends. The
poor child was homeless and friendless, and
it was absolutely necessary that the COM
panions of her honored father should pro-
vide for her. But in the cases now occur.
ring in our own country, what nonsense is
it to pick up little girl with both father
and mother, (wealthy, generally, at that
rig her up in colors, place her on a staging
and 60 through the farce Of "adopting'
her! Don Quixotte could not fight-in-
deed he was not a knight, proper, till he
had "fallen IN love-" and the reader Of that
vcritablc history will remember the toll
some journey Sancho made to Toboso, to
discover the peerless DULcINEA and pledge
his masters eternal devotion. In this age
Of the world, Knight-errantry and all its
relatives arc pretty much wiped out. This
daughter" stuff is step back toward the
times and practices of which Cervantes
writes, and we trust that our people will
nave common sense sufficient to mark it as
unworthy Of the age and the country. The
recollection Of loved one at home, will
nerve the arm and cheer the heart of SOL
iier; but the idea Of having a thousand
men paying their devotions to little four
year old at home, as means Of stimula-
ing them to bravery which the child is
Unable to appreciate is balderdash, too trans
parent for any one to excuse. Quit it.