American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-10-26
Affected Nomenclature.

The usual wall at the names OF Amerl-
can towns, mountains, lakes and rivers,
we see appearing again, after short in
terval of rest, in a lett from a cores
pondent of the Ers,oao Post who has been
visiting Colorado, and who greatly mourns
such names as Longs, Gray's, and Pixies
Peaks for three mountains which are
much finer than these names. Certainly
the ALTERATION in Pixies Peak is not pleas
ant, but how Gray's Peak would sound
would depend on the merit of the poem
in which it was used. Poetry does much
more towards making ordinary names inn
presSive than fine names do towards max
ing poor poetry good. The writer speaks
of the advantage that Byron had in writ
ing about Mount Blanc, but we over here
have the White Mountains. and as we can
hardly be expected to give French, Ger
man, and italian names to our hills and
streams, and pronounce them accurately,
we must content ourselves with the Eng
fish language and such Indian names as
may seem fit. AT times one hears regrets
that more of the Indian names have not
been kept, and in many cases it would
have been much better ii they had been,
while i'm many cases it is very well, indeed,
that they were dropped; think, for exam
pie, of the names of many of our gum
boats during the war-uncouth combina-
lions, which must have been anything but
inspiring to either sailor, horse-marine, or
poet. In new EnSlduu, where the STOWbu
of separate parts of one town has made
the distinction of North and South, ETC.,
announcement, there has lately been many
changes of names, and most high-Step-
plug are the titles which have been often
chosen. Then in New York there are a
number of people who want to change
the historic name of Dobb's Ferry to
something or other 'son-HudsOn,' as gross
an affectation as was ever imported into
this free country. The Erening Post writ
er imagines a mountain yelling his lOf-
ty head in helpless rage when the ire
mendOus name with which God or Adam
first called to him out of Paradise is
changed for that of some local politician
or militia general Such rage on the
part of the mountain is unreasonable,
however, since, however well he himself
knows the name given him in his bap-
tism, no investigation by mortal man can
discover it.; it is wholly lost. Still it was
very improbably French name. or an
italian, or a German, however sonorous
such may be in general. All this is part
of a widespread affectatiOn, Il yearning tOr
elegance, vain belief that any brand-new
village staring with white paint, can be
made as interesting as any town or city in
Europe by mOuth-filling name. A lit
tie rudimentary knowledge of the ety.
molOgies of the best known names of Eu-
rope might console our new-fangled god
fathers of old places. What is Naples but
Il shorter form of Newtown? Take the
Pyrenean Eaur-5onnes, Eaur-chaudes =
how many refined selectmen in any
American watering-place would endure
names of only that degree of pretense?
In Germany we doubt if there is any
such affectation; the Bavarian pronOunces
his Schweinfurt or Schweinheim without
finding them offensive, and indeed. the
world over, people are content with
good descriptive name. and are willing
that spade shall be called, if not a spade.
ut any rate. ian agricultural Implement
Our young ladies would have it tripod,
at the least, or rood, or a teccallis. We
should ill exchange our Red Banks, and
Lynchburgs and Sulphur Springs and
High Bridges for the finest OF Glenmarys
md Charlemonts and Melroses.-The Ma
,iou