Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-11
MalnPrOpjsEslS.
From Macn11 lan's Magazine.

From Siacni1 lan's Magazine.
No malaprOpisms are commoner than the often
msUscd words circumstance" and incident. >
both being written indiferently as signitying
mere matters of fact. Whether circumstance
Is, in any ease, en- allowable expression may be
doubted. Circumstances stand around; and am
one thing that stands around, unless It be ring
fence or for, is hardly conceivable as a posi-
bility. But the gravity of the error lies In a
distinction less captiOus. quarrel or acct
dent in the street is not circumstance"
but 1t may be explained or excused or &C
counted for by circumstances. a fire breaks
out in a.huilding and burns it to the ground
This il not an incident" it is fact. If any
body were to jump cut Ofthe window while the
fire raging. that would be properly
described as an incident. And again. if the sup
ply of water were to fail il the turn-cOck were
SLOW quick in coming if the engines were
early or late. any of these things wOuld be cir
cumstances, for they would surround the tact
and mOdfy its results. ''Etfluy!nm." with its
plural. is noun often misappied. and Yet more
frequently restricted to Que OF its many applca-
ti0ns. BY 'efilGyia" is yulgarly meant evil
OdoTs. and. of course. an effluvium NAV be an
outflow OF foul air. But it may Just as well be
stream Il pure water. Many writers employ
the adjective "sumptuary." as If it belonged
exclusively To dress. whereas it NAV
relate To all matters of luxurious living: and if
the Old Sr!mI tuary laws should be revived they
might reach the epIcures who waste their patri-
Mony on pete de Joe gTds, opera boxes horses.
Carriages, Jewels aud rare wine as well as the
extIavagant wearers of costly attire .'Deci-
mate Is Il verb which. with its adjective parti-
cIplc. "declnated.' is ludicrOusly mistaken: Its
original significance was grave and often terri
bic; for it meant no less than taking the tenth of
amaI's substance. or shooting every tenth man
In mutinOuS regiment the victims being called
out by lot. This appalling character of decma-
tiOn lay in the likelihood that innocent persons
slain III cold blood. might suffer for the guilty
the conditions: and = regiment which has taken
part in a hard fought battle and comes off the
neld only decmated. that is to saw with nine
living and unscathed for each man left on the
neld. might be accounted rather fortunate than
The reverse, We come now to holocaust" the
use of which noun often betrays ignorance quite
rs gross. Thus the dreadful loss OF life by the
sinking of an excursion steamboat on the
Thames was recently spoken of as a holocaust -
BY which remarkable misprision of etymoiopy
The Thames was set on fire indeed.
The Prince Of Wales and Roy al Favor
Olive Logan writes from London as fol-
lows:
Ispoke of the Prince of Wales last new fancy
This Is Miss Chappell, the niece of the we'll
known music publisher of Bond street She Is.
Indeed a beautiful girl and deserving OF q hap
pier fate than that of being admired by the
Prince. / suppose these preferences shown to
young ladies by His Royal Highness are felt to
be-and by no one more than the objects Of
fhem-a serious social miShap. Good girls like
Miss Chamberlain and Miss Chappell are In no
actual danger, for these are not the days of the
Merry Monarch. Virtue has rights which even
royalty is bound to respect; nevertheless there
IL an Odium which will finger when q woman is
known To have been admired by the Prince and
respectable girls. but particularly their parents
feel this very keenly. / know of a Young
Scotch girl who recently came to London on a
visit TO some relatives aud soon after her arrival
che met the Prince of Wales at a ball. where he
paid her u great deal of attention. and the next
day sent her magnificent bouquet. with his
compliments. Her relatives We're so alarmed at
the affair that they sent the girl straight back
BY the first train to Scotland, out OF harms
way.