The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-11-08
GRAMMAR's BROKEN LAWS.
FoibIcs Of Speech In Refined Social Cir
cles-A Brief List.

I CDIeclbu-itt~, u .ttc OittHutl. Cui rtil
made man and the wife he has tinkered
into "a match article court, as orna-
ments 70 their drawing room, eminent
scholars and literary lights, domestic and
foreign; admire intensely in them the
facile propricty of expression in which
they are themselves defsient, and never
suspect the effect Of the contrast they
offer Does the inability to discern the
difference lie in the ear or the intellect!
| have called this insensibiity the most
singular Of the paradoxes connected with
our subject MAY | fetract the state
mcnt and substitute the anomaly Of
people. 'born we'll and bred well, educated
according to the most approved methods,
and moving in refined social circles.
whose foibles of speech approachin mum
Der and rival in Nervousness the direct
lingual faults Of ilhteracyl
People who drop the final from par
ticiples, and other words ending in "ing,"
with the constancy the cockney exhibits
in misrlacing h.
People who say "hc don't like it,"
without a suspicion that the conjo!ned
Authorization stands for "hc 90 not
like it,.
People vino inquire "you readyl' "you
going:n and sometimes 'whcre You
beenW
People who never by any chance say
"between YOU and me. bnt with the
steadfastncss Of q holy purpose, between
you and IT.
People who pride themselves upon the
elegant accuracy Of every sentence
formed 10y their lips, and tell you in cul-
tivated euphoniousness Of accent, Il have
travelled some in" England, Russia, Tur-
key, or Australia, and Il have not
coughed any all night"
Pcopls who have been on intimate
terms with Lindley Murray and his col
leagues for forty years and not learned
that amt is not tolerated by any Of them,
being an un-parsable word.
People who consider the fact that they
were born south Of Mason's and Dixson's
line warrant for ignoring the dictum,
"After the words like and unlike, the
proposition TO or unto is understood"
and cruelty our cars 10y telling Us on all
possible occasions Il feel like / should
DO, so-and-so, and ''lIc looked like he
meant it," Who as unsteady and
audaciously say, Il am heao better" or
"a heap worse"
heard DID,. F. F. V. say in a ser
mon, ut does seem like the Lord has
some great and gracious purpose TO
fulfill in" etc. And a few minutes
thereafter, Il expect that this IS the
proper Interpretation Of this passage"
There are people, on the other hand,
who, born and brought up in the shadow
Of Yale, roll the phrase: Il want that
you should, like q savory and insoluble
morsel under their tongues, and not q
few, who. as Mr.. Howells Minister Sewell
regrets, will-albeit they are Harvard
graduates-say, to the close Of well spent
lives, Il don't know as.
Pcople-this final count is written with !
groanings uuutterabe who with the |
best intentions conceivable benevolent |
and syntaxicab. never let slip an oppor-
tunity of using the pronoun they when I
the antecedent noun is in the singular |
number If person thinks they can |
do that" If anybody has lost any
thing. they can apply at the desk. IL
was talking with some ono the other day, |
and they said, etc, etc.
None Of the phrases cited as foiblcs Of |
speech trench npon the debatablc ground |
Of language. One and all, they are |
glaring defects, flaws in gems which |
lessen their value iuetrieyably. The |
critical Inspector instantly discounts the |
intelligence or conscientiousrc Of him
who tenders them.
That those who are guilty Of lapse Of
this sort know better does not cxculpate |
them or relieve the listener who respects |
his noble vcrnqcular too truly to condonc |
the umseemly familiarities that approx
mate insult. When the dclinquents are
those who assume to instruct others the |
foible becomes guilt.
\ distinguished author. at reception |
given in honor Of her visit to q certain |
town, pressed the hand Of q sister writer !
who was introduced to her with the cor !
dial you and 1 had ought to have met |
before"
An eminent lecturer upon scientific |
subjects remarked at q dinner party, |
The hall was not sufficiently het to-
day
The principal Of collegiate institute !
announced during the commencement !
exercises that the presentation to himself |
Of u memorial from the pupils was q
change in the programme made en-
tirely unbeknownest to himself
He was taken by surprise by the tes-
tnonial, and the luckless phrase escaped |
him when of his guard. 1t should have !
been impossible for him to make use OF |
it in any circumstances. If he had never |
said 1t before he would not have said 1t
then Marion lIarland in Once Week. |
SIourning Costume Of Coroaus.