Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1880-09-25
YOUNG MEN" REPLIES TO "LEX-
INGTON."

see the nervous and excited manner in which
"LsXington" seeks to remove the charge of
slander from the peculiar production OF his IRE
sponsible pen. which appeared IN your issue Of
the 2lst ult. After two weeks OF profound and
| searching investigation in the hope of tind-
| Ing some unguars;ed point which would gram
| atically admit of such construction as to en-
| able him to creep unceremoniously from the
| insidious snare into which his own misguided
diction has cast him; he is compelled to tacitly
| relnquish all pretence of argument and after
ascertainng that his screen is unquestionably
| secure, he belches forth his pueriie and abusive
epithsts as though he had right reserved to the
| vulgar vocabulary OF the English language.
His first charge is "misconstruction,' to refute
| which we will simply submit certain
quotations from his article to the thinking ele-
| ment Of your patrons. and If we have not quoted
his identical language We beg to be corrected.
"Knowing their inferiorlty, they driven to
seek their associates among lower and more
| congenia class" "Pareuts are more culpablc
than the unfortunate young men themselves.
| who. by their neglect, have been, as it were,
| driven beyond the pale of virtueus and refined
| associalIon''-''a 'and the time Is ut hand when
| they will have abundant cause to congrat-
\ ulate themselves and the community upon the
| improved habits and morals ofthe young men OF
| Lexington. when the places which now attract
| them will be deserted,' &c. Only Il few drops
| from his slanderous bucket and in support of our
| former construction we charge that he has
srandcrcd not only the young men whose char
acters are their fortunes; not only the parents
| who with eager and earnest vigilance have
| guided and directed them but that he has in
suited and slandered the entire society in viii ch
they move. and we earnestly ask that any one, net
excepting the "classical'' (?) gentleman him.
sell, will show us wherein he can gramnatically,
logically, rhetorlcally or even with C ear view
OF ordinary common sense arrive at AM cOncu-
sien, however lar-tetched it may be. hat Will
| not corroborate our charge. AS to his intention
it was not our plovince to determined, but we
rather think that being uuduly charged with
| rhetoric and deficient in argument he sought to
strengthen his tagging argumentative powers,
and in SO doing allowed his splenetic lumor to
assume command of his brains and % incau-
tiously betray the real sentiments Of his heart.
Oh! strange, misguided Lexington. - do you
acknowledge to this people that in selecting the
language above quoted, that you meant to con-
grstulate the young men, that your "c.ssslcsl
and finished' education, your thirty years ex-
perience in ''reiined female society," aad your
marked ability for consIrulng the English
| language, have led you to rush with arms eX-
tended and eyes streaming with tears Of grail
tude to embrace the young men, and having
found them to turn upon and SANDER them, ol
did you like Iscariot intend to imprint upon
their cheeks the kiss of betrayal that those who
sought might find them. You did not intend it
Then as duty you owe to the English language
pray determine TO write no more articles fol
the paper until you can tell what yeu want, ane
like Sancho Panza you can say "perhaps hav,
hit the nail on the head.'' But since you ert
so ''matured by age'' and ''modeled by expe.
rience' Us to entertain such utter Contempt iol
cur article because it was written by IL youne
man, perhaps you will give us one Of you
''classcal'' constructions which will expose
our ignorance, thereby not only adding greatly
to the dignity of the English literature, but re-
futing the ''silly" charges which We hav,
eonscientiously preferred against you. How
seriously deranged his nervous system become.
because we compared him to characters in
HeatIen mythology. Now. Mr. "LeXlngton, D
candidly, are you sure that you are not reiig
lOusly reialed2 ? 'Tis true it slur upon oil,
Paris, after having honorably disabled hi
enemy, to compare him with cultivated ant
classical" (?) gentleman, crouched down be
hind an innocent screen, discharglng his calum
NOUS battery at the character Of tOiling young
men and refusing TO unveil his immaculate fuc
lest ''virtuous and refined" society may ceas
to be respected. but he Will surely excuse us a
he is generous and desires not 10 cIristiatiti
degraded. And he feels more intensely insult tee
because We graduated in what in his vug q
rhetoric he would designate free school
Yes we attended the public school and above ul
things else she taught us to write what we in
| tended Gratefully do we turn to old Almt
Mater and thank her that she has not instructe,
us IN that branch OF "classical'' Literature
which would enable us to apply the Dor. o,Uet
dictiOn of stdnder when we intended simpi
To congratulate. We further admit tn
charge that we are young but would respectful.
submit whether it is more degrading to be
things yet to learn but We hope sincerely thu
We may never be OF that class which is ''ign0,'-
ant in spite of erperieMce." We may not We
nave learned to turn back and slandey younl
men under the preLense OF congratulate nor in
our aerial flight to have received undue instruc
ton from ''refncd female society," but W
pray that We may never have stamped upon on
shoulders the smaring truth-'ignorant il
spite of experience Come, Lexington
open unto us the ways Of virtue anu morality
but betray us not with the kiss of Iscariot
Open your paternal arms to erring young men
and with countenance beamlng with that I'm
maculste and spotless purity for which you al
wont. send forth the noble declaration '.Ho al
unto ME and be ted, for desire to offer anothe
hearty ''cOngratulatlon.
Respectfully, YOUNG MEN.