The Democratic advocate., 1876-01-15
So PER ANNUM.

I
no dog in its composition, we can have lit
tie pity for the feline who, yielding to the
feminine instinct, so far transcended the
rules of propriety as to investigate the
mysteries of the sausage machine, and was
drawn into the grinder, and given very
striking demonstration Of the manner in
which the meat is converted into that
toothsomc article.
The saying, "sent to Coventry" had its
origin at the time Of Charles [. Of England
Such Of the royalists as were made prison.
ers by the parliamentary army were sent
to Coventry. And from this fact it came
to be customary to threaten disobedient or
insubordinate persons with being sent to
( Coventry, The phrase has been handed
down by the cavaliers to the soldiers Of the
succeeding generations, until at the present
/ time it is in common use with all classes Of
people and by military men it is used to
denote Punishment from the mess and from
the society of ones comrades in conse-
quencc of any disgraceful act
We often cry "humbug' in these days
of shams, when humbugs seem TO pay bet
ter than any thing else Authorities DIFF
fer us to the origin of this expressive term,
some claiming that it was first applied to
u drone bee, which kept up a noisy hum
ming, but gathered no honey but as these
claimants are unable to give the name Of
the person who first used the word, or even
to assert with any show of proof that it
was so applied, we are obliged to give pre-
ference to the claim of other parties who
assure us that the term is corruption of
two Irish words, ,r'm bog. These words
are pronounced "oombug" and were first
applied in the sense in which we now use
humbug, to worthless money coined at the
Dublin mint by james II. This money
was made of such base metal that pound
of it was worth only Two pence in genuine
coin. In its more general Specification the
term was applied to pewter, brass, zinc aud
other valueless mineral products. From
being used as distinguishing name for
base or counterfeit money, it afterwards
came to be applied to shams and counter
feits of all kinds; aud to-day it is one Of
the handicst, because of the most expires
sive words in our language.
While it must be any thing but pleasant
to a sensitive person who means well 70 be
called humbug, it is considered mark
of honor to be called "a brick" In fact
there is no way in which we can so decid-
edly aud unequivocally express our appro
baton of man to say "hc's a brick.
Perhaps it may be surprise to many tC
learn that this phrase, which is regarded
by the mass as an American yulgarsm, i
of classic origin. Yet such is the case
An envoy from Epirus to King AgesiIau'
asked him whore were the walls of Sparta
Casting his glance to plain not far dis
tant, where his army were marching in re
view, aud with majestic wave of th'
} hand, the king made answer, "there ar,
the walls Of Sparta, for every mans I
J brick" What reply could he haye ren
dered that would have been more forcibl,
or that would have conveyed to the miuC
| of the envoy the idea of invincible proves
6f the Spartan soldiery? Our only re
gret is that at the present time the appel
lution is less meritoriously applied than oil
that memorable occasion.
Ii we see man beset by many Difficult
! ties, planning and working to make al
, enterprise succeed, and he tells us he vii
win success by hook or by crook W
! are pretty certain what he means. Thi
{ phrase is quite old, Itoriginated in 1860
During that year one Of the greatest cou
0 Aagrations Of which we have record swep
over London, reducing great portion Q
f, it to ruins, and utterly destroying the oil
: landmarks. Many disputes arose as to th
Q location of lines between different lots, an
at last the claimants, unable to como
r satisfactory settlements themselves, agree
S to select two arbitrators with the undel
: standing that their decision was to be fins
n in all cases in dispute. The names Of til
J. surveyors in whom this confidence was re
: posed were respectively Hook and Crook
Q "P's and Q's." This admonitory phras
J also originated in the mother country, an
Is is said by some authorities to be at Leaf
n four hundred years old. Chalk mark
IS were formerly made upon the walls of al
n houses, to enable the keeper TO see how i
@ stood with his customers who usual
n bought on credit; and the letters p and
o. were put at the beginning of each man
d name to designate the number OF plnts an
ID quarts he had purchased. If one of h
5, customers happened to be running up
y larger bill than the keeper approved Of,
a became intoxicated, he was told, when
Or ordered another mug Of ale, to mind b
he "P's and Q's,' or in other words, to o'
a serve the number of pints and quar-
,e against his name, and quit drinking beio
70 the account grew TOO large, or he wou
Of get too drunk If many Of our peop
to would mind their P's and Q's, in the i
SO eral sense in which the expression w
I'd originally employed, the country would
" the better for it,
&c, The cross or amark" which persons wi
es cannot writo are required to make in liz
Sc Of their signatures, was not used ancient
as by iliterate persons only, and to this dI