The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1882-05-31
Origin of Popular Phrases.
Cincinnati Globe-Democrat.l

Cincinnati Globe-Democrat.]
DARKEST JUsT BEFORE DAwN.-Tbis
phrase originated from the following stanza
IN The Baron Of St. Castiue," written bv
the late poet, Henry W. Longfellow:
But the nearer the dawn the darker The
night,
And BY going wrong all things come right:
Thugs have been mendsd that were worse.
And the worse, the nearer they are to mend.
! PRINTERS DEvIL.-In the early DAYS of
printing in this country, the apprentice 5
duties included the linking of the forms
with bags containing ink or besmeared with
1t. la the operation the youthful disciple
! of Faust generally became so daubed with
the ink that hands and face forgot their
/ natural color, and the juvenile took the
shade, if not the shape, of some being neither
/ celestial nor terrestrial; and hence he was
/ called after the gentleman in black" the
| devil" name which still clings in all ofii-
ces to the printers apprentice.
| PADDLE YOUR OwN CASog-This ex-
presSive phrase first appeared in a poem
written by an Indiana lady, name unknown,
| and published in Harper's Magazine for
May, 1854. The following stauzls (taken
from copy or the number of the periodical
in which it originally appeared, and for
which your contributor is indebted to the
publishers, give fair example Of the
whole effusion of fourteen verses:
Voyager upon life's sea,
To yourself be rue
Aud, what er your lot may be,
Paddle your own canoe.
When the world is cold and dark,
Keep an aim in view;
And toward the beacon mark
Paddle your own canoe,
Leave to Heaven, in humble trust,
All you will to do;
But if you succeed, you must
Paddle your own canoe.
ARGUs-EYED.-A term applied to a GER
tain class of people who are constantly on
the watch and see everything going on
about them. Argus, from whom the ex-
preston originated, was one of the mytho- |
logical heroes of Ovid, and was tabled to |
have 100 eyes, of which two only slept in |
succession. On this account Juno sent him
to watch 10, when Mecury, by command of |
Jupiter, lulled Argus to sleep with the
music of his flute, and then killed him.
Juno then transferred Argus, eyes to the tail
of the peacock.
THE SWORD OF DAMoCLEs.-An express
sion which denotes imminent danger in
fancied security. Its origin may be traced
to Damocles, who was fatterer of the
tyrant Dionysius, and who, to show how lit
tie was the value of grandeur in the midst
Of terror, caused sword to be suspended by
a horse hair over the parasites head as he
sat amidst the enjoyment of the banquet. ,
Sir Thomas Browne says: "There is no
Damocles like unto sell-opinion."
FULL TO THE BRIM.-This is common '
phrase, used erroneOusly to denote a vessel {
entirely fll3d; since a cup may be filled to
he brim, or edge, and not full in the center
or fluids do not form surface perfectly
in vessels to which they adhere 7
o as to wet them but they rise, on the con
rary, around the brim of the vessels. n
Hence, cupis not absolutely full when it Il
pears so at the edge. Fluids, on the other !,
and, in vessels to which they do not ad- >,
ere sink around the brim, and rise in ~
he center. Thus, quicksilver in a glass N
)rms a convex surface. n,
EVERY MAN Is THE ARCHITECT OF HIS L
)WN FoRTUEE.-This eminently true say Z
lg was the professional figure employed by h
.ppius Claudius, the Blind, aud was bor- b,
owed from his occupation as an architect e
l former years. He is said to have intro I
uced it in the appeal by which Rome be- j.:
anne mistress of the world.
SEEING THE LIoNs,-This expression y,
rose from the habit that strangers visiting n
ondon formerly had of visiting the W
lenagerie in the Tower, where lions were te
ept. At the time the expression arose, Al
lese lions constituted one of the great D
sights of London. People in this country, Is
ho visit large cities, and view everything "
interest are said to have seen the lion. R