St. Landry democrat., 1888-06-23
SLANG AS A WEAPON.
Antiquity of Many of the Expressions Now
i'm Common FIso

Antiquity of Many of the Expressions Now
in Common Use.
The use of slang affords an excellent
field for emotions, and an infinitesiual
David can demolish the biggest sort Of
a Goliath in half a dozen Sharp and
jagged words. There was time once
in the United States Senate, when
Charles Sumner had delivered mas.
terly eration on Bleeding Kansas
which no one of his contemporaries
cared to answer. Only an exhaustive
| speech or an apt arrow of epigram
could fill the bill at sight. Stephen A.
Douglas, the "little giant" saw his
opportunity, and remarked in the hear.
ing of the entire Senate that the speech
'would be all well enough if every
body had not known that the Senator
from Massachusetts had been practic-
ing it for days in front of his looking
glass, with little nigger holding a
candle The Senate was convulsed
with laughter. Sumner was speech.
less with rage and his Grafton was al
ready answered.
The old English writer's rejoiced in a
vigorous style of Anglo-Saxon which
took the form of slang in proverbs.
One can not read their works without
realizing how old are many of our
common sayings. A large number of
our slang phrases antedate Shake
speare by two centuries and English
men Of the time of Edward III. con-
densed their sturdy wit in the pithy
proverbs that are heard in our homes
at the present day.
OLD Chaucer, father of English
poetry, who died in the year 14OO,
makes use in his ''Well of English Un-
detiled" of many familiar expressions,
such as "Wet the whistle" the sup
posed Yankeeism II guess" Blow"
in the sense of inform. Not worth a
bene," Right here" Murder will
OUT etc.
To him can be traced the saying,
'1n at one ear, out at the other"
though, in the quaint language of his
day, he said: "One ear it heard, at
the other out it WENT To Thomas a
Kempis, who died in 1471, we are in
debted for the household proverbs,
"Of two evils the less is always to be
chosen" and "When he is out of sight.
quickly also is he out of mind.'
Thomas Tusser, who died in 1880, when
Shakespeare was lad of sixteen, gave
us, Better late than never ''Look
ere thou leap, see ere thou CO." 'It is
an ill mind that turns none to good"
and christmas comes but once year."
1t was Chaucer who first put in print
the favorite couplet of pert children
How do you do? How do you dor
None the better for seeing you!
for in his "Troylas and Criseyde," a
niece makes reply to her uncle's in
quiry as to her health. 'Never the
bet for you, fox that ye ben." In his
'Romaunt O. the Rose" written more
than five hundred years ago, occurs
the line, Brent child of fer hath
much drede," which now reads: "a
burnt child breads the fire, and the
common slang saying, "Two's COM
pany, three's crowd" appears in the
same poem:
For tway In number is bet than three.
The original of Shakespeare's "All
that Glitters is not Gold" is found in
the prologue of the "Yeoman's Tale
reading thus:
But al thing which that shineth as the gold,
Is nought gold as that have heard told.
The latter half of the last line might
readily be transmitted into the modern
slang expression: $50 I've been told"
The old fathers of literature are the
self-confessed fathers of slang as well,
and it must be conceded that there are
times when the use of Anglo-Saxon
vigor of expression becomes positive
virtue.-Rare Bits.