Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-02-17
PROVERBS OF THE NATIONS.
What the Various Peoples say OF Them
selves aud OthcrS.

selves and Others.
In Spain il is said: The Englishmani is
n drunkard. the Frenchman Il scamp, the
| Dutchman a butterman and the Spaniard
n cavalier" and again: lit is best 10 be
born in Italy, to live in France andt TO
die in Spain.
The Russians say: "EnGlishmen have
their wits 1T their fingers ends, French
mon at the ends Of their tongues"
Ii is sail in Poland: What the Ital-
ian iuvcnts the Frenchman makes, the
German sells, the Pole buysand the Rus
slams take from him.
The Italians say: when trouble
comes the German browns il in drink.
the FrcncLman talks it down. the Span
lard meets il with tears, the Italian goes
To sleep til it is past
Among the Germans England Is said
10 bc the paradise of women and the pur-
gatory If servants. but a far worse place
than that for horses.
About the French say the Italians:
'.Thry do not tell what they intend 10 do,
nor read what is written. nor sing the
notes st before them" and a German
SAYS: ~ lirnchman is a good acquaint-
ance. Int a bad neighbour a truth which
Prince Bismarck is never tired of i'm
pressing on the people, and urging them
accordingly 10 cnlarge the standing army.
The negroes in 4 French colony say
''Monchr lNonsieur) Connaitout pas con-
matt lout"-M.. know-all don't know
at all.
Perhaps the Greeks fare worst Of all in
the opinions II those who havet do with
them. if We may judge by the sayings
concerning them that pass from mouth
10 mouth. Among the southern Slav
races this is especially the case. They say:
'Thrcc Turks AMI three Greeks make up
six hpathGns;'' and "A crab is not a fish,
nor a Greek a true man." and again, "A
Greek speaks the truth once year; > and
one more, "A Gypsy cheats a Jew, a
jew a Greek, and a Greek the devil
The Ncnetians say: He who trusts
the word Of a Greek is more fool than
the mailman" Even in Normandy the
repute Of the Greek has passed into a
provcrb, and lie VINO obtains something
quite unexpectedly is said To have got
pail 10y Il Greek
Holland and Flanders have both been
places of refuge for bankrupt and fraud
ulent Frcnchmen for a long time. and as
such are regarded proverbially in France.
'GO tD Holland means evade paving
your debts. And 10 say of a man II
est Dc Eandrrs,' is the same as saving
lac is a ruincl man.
Mynhe,r Van Dunck, though he never
was drunk, slipped brandy and whisky
dailv-for the Dutchman's draught must
be deep as the rolling Zuyder Zee. That
we all know, and to drink like a Dutch
mar is everywhere proverbial.
OF Italians it is said by the French
''Half n is too much in the house,
and the |lliyrIan says of the Italian. what
the Englishman and the German say Of
tie Swiss: He would sell his own father
for gold.r
The jew shares with the Greek the
p~rerogative OF being the best abused Of
all peoples. proverbially.
The Pole says:
The Grrman cheats the Pole.
TIE Italian cheats the German,
The S%paBiIrl syindl's the Italian,
The jew dc.rauls the Span.arl,
But only the drvil can get the better Of the Jew.
The German says: The jew cheats
even while praving;" and the inhabitant
If Lesser Russia: THE jew did not
learn to cheat; he was born with the
faculty"
To build castles IN the air is rendered
in French, having a castle in Spain.
Compliments that mean nothing are
called Spanish coin; and in Italy, poison
is designated systematically Spanish
figs. because SIaniards are supposed to
poison those they desire TO he rid Of with
fruit in which arsenic has been inserted.
The Swiss is not known proverbially
for his patriotism, but for his mcrcenary
nature. NO kreutzer, no Schwitzer, "
is a common saying in Germany, and
Point d'argcnt. point de Suisse is the
French version Of the same. One even
ing when a distinguished Genevan ac-
tress AMI a Swiss company were perform
ing William Tell in Paris they had an
empty house. The actress came forward
and said: II see-the proycrb is re-
versed. Today it is no money, plenty of
Swiss"
We speak Of carrying Goals To New
castle when we wish To designate the
ahsur1ity Of sending something 10 where
there is su~I"rtluity; in Russia they speak
Of sending % % Lapland and in Ger
many Of divpatching deals to Norway.
In Holland, when they desire TO say that
a man j. in his element, they describe
him as being like a goat in Norway
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