, 1879-09-18

WIZ Nt'tA ltNoS NsNillV lllO luNJ SOI III. LII
Pennsylvania they cliff collection" and
"take up a church, and ride to town
'in q machine" with "horse beast"
drawing the machine. Moreover, If the
horse is lively animal, what some call
"skittish," he will be called in Pennsyl.
vania a "wild beast" Now, all these pc
culiarities are evidently of Scotch-Irish
origin, and by means Of them, and
others like them, we can trace in our
country the movements Of the influence
of this element Of population. X
In all the South conversation is more
cultivated among educated people than
at the North. 1t is Il noteworthy fact,
conversation, considered as an abcom-
phshment, scarcely exists at all in our
Northern States. Scarcely one educated
person in hundred is skillful and
practical talker in general society. This
is all the more remarkable when we re-
member that the whole nation is given
to public talking. Let almost any man
who in a parlor is wholly quiet, or who
speaks in an awkward OF embarrassed
way, once mount II stump, and he will
harangue q crowd by the hour. But at
the South almost every educated person
Of either sex will converse in mixed
company with freedom, tact and intelli-
gence. Conversation is cultivated.
There is al ambition to excel in it.
From this, no doubt, in part, it has
come to pass that pronunciation at the
South is more old-fashioned than at
the North. Conversation at the South
has given the law to pronunciation,
while at the North we have followed
books and changed the pronunciation to
suit the spelling. Thus at the South
it is common, if not universal,
to hear clerk pronounced clark
and James, Jeems, keer for care,
and skeer for scare, and regiment and
summary for regiment and seminary.
And not only do the old-fashioned pro-
nunciations prevail, at the South, but
also old-fashioned phases and ex-
pressions. A young man attaining his
majority becomes "one-and-twenty' in
stead Of twenty-one" Instead of din
ing with friend, or taking tea, they
eat "a meals vlttles" with him. Perhaps
q sufficient number Of illustrations has
been given Of the connection Of our
modes of speech, yet it would hardly
answer to dismiss the subject without
some reference to Westernisms Of life
and speech. Such words as "clearings"
and "diggings" and "openings" point out
sufficiently the character of the Western
country. There is that, however, in
Western language which is yet more
significant of popularity in Western
life. Western people are much i'll the
habit of using words in odd and unex-
pected ways and of instituting grotesque
comparisons and of indulging in pic
turesque expressions. They indulge in
q sort of wild freedom Of speech which
seems very truly to harmonic with the
freedom Of life belonging to new
country. ForI example, they prefer
to call whisky "corn juice" because
therein is the conception of the snake"
of the article, and when they 60 further
and call it "chain lightning" they very
vividly set forth the style of its work
ing. They say of man whose preten-
sions have been exposed or who has
egregiously failed in carrying out his
plans, that he has "flatted out" Then
a man of staunch character is not cnly
"there," but further, and especially, he
is SO safe that che will do to tie too"
A Western man, when travelling, when
he happens to see a church, and desires
to know who is it's pastor, will ask the
question, "Who runs the concern q 1t
is common everywhere to hear the word
"badly" used for "much" or ''gEeatly."
But see the emphasis which Western
men obtain by a little twisting Of the
expression. lie says, 81 want an
umbrella tho worst kind. " Yet, if at
the same time we study the dialects of
other countries, we shall find the people
Of this whole land are one in language,
in higher and more perfect sense than
is true Of any other nation-one also
in race, history, literature, religion,
geography--and that nowhere under the
sun are seen so many unities among
people Of such high and controlling
sort, as exist in reference to American
people.