Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-04-29

strong q term for the iilegitimate of
spring of folly and Incidence. In the
last W I'd Ia wrapped the secret Of the
i vilIsiuous practice. What Mrs. r. W.
Bsllsmy c.re, in an aduni able essay
lately published-"Our Duty TO Our
er-tongne"-is among the least
considered Obligations In the calendar OF
our hovs and our girls. l. Is easier to
lay hold OF q resdy.made phrase that
lies near the tongue than to formulate
thought into correct snd forc.-
BILE words. Just as censure is chesper
thsn 5iscrimlusiing prsise and ore desrer
thsn dirt. A child should be taught With
the forming of his eerliest sentences that
lsnausce is the vehicle Of ideas, and that
ne dishonors the thing carried by neglect
of that which bears il. Thought is to
speech what the soul is to the BODY. Oar
GIL should dread to cast discredit upon
her intellectual powers by rob'ng what
she thi1ks which is what she Is y in Sec
ond -hsnh rags, "a much as she would
shrink from debasing her c'esn body by
app1rol nicked MP In an old clothing store
In ChttA N To- Baxter street
The nsbit OF slang ia so fssrfully con-
tse'ou1. and 90 nearly incorrigible when
fairy contracted, that one is an z I'd at
the suuher and char 4cter of those who
yield to It. The sIovenly thing comes to
tho liDs against the will OF the speaker,
VINO hiss fstter d herself that she only
uses It In thu deshsbUle speech psrdons-
BILE (n her estinstiop) when she Is with
her familiar friends. I am continually
reminded OF the fable Of the uaughty
child, from whose lips dropped toads and
fz,rds, while 1 hearken to the "com-
psng" prattle OF our pretty 'society girl"
She Is on her promotion, and would fain
express herself in neat and dainty terms
that would commend her to the admira-
ton Ct her auditors. In effect, the
best she can do Is to utter
s'ilted platitudes, altogether in
adequate to convey her meaning,
and uncharscteristic OF what may be
yivscious idess. Thought Is q wild
thing, that requires long ard patient
drilling. Oar Girl may be decorous OF
tongue while on her guard, although not
fluent. she may not hope to emulate the
brilliant woman st her side, who has
thought IL worth while to study CONVEX
s.tiop IS one OF the foe as well as useful
arts, but she plod5 on reasonably well
until she becomes animated or enthusi-
sstic, when "out fies," not ga trope,h
but the slang which is the everyday habit
of her speech. Bitter modification tc
nerself and those who love her is so fire.
qnently the result OF the experience that
Hisdom n gbt be bought By it.
Madame Rcamier Is reported to have
assigned as the secret Of her we'll bred
elegance Of department her rule of be-
having while alone as il under the eyes Of
others. II Our Girl would lay TO her
speech with her family aud intimate
friends the rule and plummet she essays
TO apply when conversing with corapara-
tive strangers, she would successfully
overcome habit which degrades her
more than she dreams OF. She ought
not to feel 1t 10 be inks 1me to abandon
slipshod TAX, but she ooes, and, by the
very admission Of the fact, announces her
slavery to what sober reason condemns
She msy be sprightly and graceful, have
sweet voice and clear articulation, but
this one defect is fly in the sla5aster
vase Of ointment. When she yields to
the trick Of tongue uuconsciously, the
case Is s,ill more hopeless.
CYGosIra did not mean TO say to me
yesterday thatIshe was "aIl broke up''
over Amelie Rivers "Vrginis of Vlr-
ginia," CT that her brother was "quite
gone on" . Baltimore bale. Mr. did she
know that she was guilty OF the strocious
Vulgsrity of speaking Of this Attachment
as "nutusl mash"-surely the most ua
pleasantly suggestive figure that ever re-
ceived the stamp Cf tie mysterious and
Ubiquitous Conservatory Of Slang. But
ali these bstrschisns did slip through the
ivory gates and 70 cred portieres. and
the Imagination Of the "msshed" flies
still pervsdes my memory of the inter
view.
II "silence be gold.p and speech sill
vern," siam must be the bressiest OF
pinchbeck, and the passage OF such coin
should be treated as q socisl misds-
meanor. MARION HARLAND.