Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1878-12-19

Ma0 VIII even WI G&A1 NNf 4#&ES&& I'D #43n0
on Ire north side Of la4 slos: while
the proOer place Cor the hciuaI arrE-
chair will be lftlle 20 th sDmkh Of The
centre table.
Nov, IL Is not dilicull coianecl this
habit with > peculiazity ~ ne lie q
New England people. eompared
with the rest 0f the nsIien. hey are
maritime IN their chars erhnps
New EngIand las twice k7d In her
pecpIa aaoak a he a - 49,
country beAdes9 And ssiI0r-lahgna9s
must, in New England more than else
where, prevail ON shore. And with the
sailor The compass Is, Of course, the
constant guide in matters oflocal direc-
ton. And so, all along the coast, it 10
much more the habit Of the people than
in the interior to watch the changes Of
the wind and weather. On almost ey-
cry court house and church and barn
and clubhouse Of every SORT, in New
England and New Jersey, is seen a
weather-vane Of some kind, with per-
haps the point of The compass indicated.
Almost any man alongshore wIll at any
time tell you the various directions the
wind has been blowing for several days
past, and in bis narrative he will use the
phraseology Of the sea. DAY before
yesterday" he will tell you. 'the wind
was blowing note-east, while yesterday
It had hauled to SOu-west."
The Yankee, as everybody knows, is
of curious and inquisitive disposition.
And this disposition evinces itself not
only in the extraordinary manner Of
questions which he asks, but IN some Of
his frequent and pee uliar expressions.
Tell him what you may, however in
teresting. however wonderful, and you Go
but stimulate him 10 seek for further
knowledge. He still exclaims "Du
tell % al want to know ~ Yet the
genuine Yankee is modest, and, while
anxious for information, is fearful lest
meanwhile he should weary or annoy
the one he questions. And his modes
ty is seen in the very form of his inqui-
ries. He does not come plump against
you, and thrust his questions at you
like so many pointed weapons, compel
ling you to put yourself in battle array,
and enter upon conversational combat.
Rather he gently puts forth statement,
to which you may respond or not, as
you please. Indeed, he even makes
his statement in negatjse form, SO as
to touch you more lightly. If he
chances on you in travelling, and de-
sires to know where you live, oval, /
s'pose you don't come from West
Brookfield !" or from what other place
he may think you do come from. The
following inquiry after a lost hat is
probably an extreme case: Nobody
amt seen nothin' Of no old hat no.
where 7"
In New England the words pretty
and ugly, instead of being limited to
physical attributes, as IN common else
where, are mainly employded TO de-
scribe moral and intellectual character.
Young ladies', however PLAIN or un-
comely of feature, If they are pleasant
in their manners, and entertaining IN
their conversation. will be called in
New England livery pretty girls" A
New England gentleman, living in the
South, told me that lie was once com.
pletely nonplussed when about 10 call
upon some ladies, by the remark OF his
companion. who was a Southerner,
that the ladies, although unquestion-
ably "ugly," were yet Of amiable DIS
position. An ugly person in New
England is an ',unamiable" person, and
a person of simply unagreeable features
is "homely" person.
Connecticut is called '1he land Of
steady habits" but il may be that New
Jersey has equal claims TO this honor
able designation. In these days, when
boys so suddenly become men, when
parental authority is so much set at
naught, perhaps the older communities
OF New Jersey exhibit as fair specimens
of general good order and offamily sub
ordination as are to be found anywhere
in the land. And to this we have tes-
timony in a peculiarly of dialect
among the old-time people in portions
OF that State. They show Difference
to persons Of station OF worth, or to
strangers, by speaking TO them in the
third person. Instead Of saying, "How
do ''you" doi" in inquiring after your
health. they will say, '.How does "he"
do ?" or perhaps viii use your name,
and say 10 you, ''How does Mr.. Brown
do - And such persons are particular
TO demand Of their children that they
shall say she" and "she" in addressing
their fa.her cad mother, and would be
as ready to ehSstise them for daring to
say "you" as for any other token Of
disrespect. ItIs, however, an ominous
fact that this usage is fast disappearing.
The usage IS only a remnant Of those
eourtly times which have themselves
well-nIgh disappeared.
Perhaps q sufficient number of Illus
trations has been given Of the connec-
ton of our sectional habits with our
modes Of speeches, yet il would hardly
answer to dismiss the subject without
some reference to our Westernisms OF
life and speech. Such words as s'clear-
ings." and "diggins," and s'openings, !"
point out sufficiently the new character
Of the Western country.
There Is that. however, Ia Western
language which y yet more significant
OF peculiarly IN Western life. West
ern people are much in the habit of u.s.
ing words in odd aud unexpected WAYS.
and Of instituiing grotesque compare
sons. and Of induIging IN picturesque
expressions They indulge 10 a sort OF
wild freedom Of speech which seems
truly 10 harmonic with the freedom al