The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1890-10-23
tl.ABITIJAL 8SW s AIRING.
hoW TO Eject \ Cure of u Bad Habit What Con.
stitutes Bad Languaget

fla BTU AL 4SWEARINc.
Y How to Eject y Cure Of n bad Habit What Con-
stitutes Bad languagei
there is in one Of DIR. George Mac
donald 20 8 novels a very good little boy
VINO has never said q naughty word in
his his life. Unfortunately, this is a feat
s#une IN his character which fails to
elicit the profound admiration Of his
8stcchool-fellows, and a wicked plot is
SctAoncocted to force the good little boy
{ 20 swear. He is held head downwards
over a stream, from which painful
position he is not suffered to escape
s3untll he has more than satisfied his
tto'r.mfleentors by tbs unexpected strength
OF his explosives. What particular
lesson DR.. Macdonald attempted to
g teach by this story we do not know,
and should DO afraid to guess He
could hardly have intended this moral
That boys oughtnot to be so good as to at
tract the envy and mischlevousness Of
their fellows; and. as far as moral
guilt goes, it is obvious that the young
'ss'ter, who, when upside down, came
out with a solemn s.Domn' in broad
Scotch, was not responsible for re-
marks uttered under such circum-
stances OF coercion. The question OF
what constitutes "bad Ian suage" is
rather difficult to determine. There
lsa borderland Of vigorous exclama-
tons which can hardly be dignifed
with the title of oaths.
The reform to which we have called
attention of course enamates from
America, and the plan for curing
#habitual swearers is the copyright Of a
baptist minister who has chapel in
West Twenty-fffth street in New York
Unlike the owners Of copyright, how
ever, this gentleman invites the whole
world to make use Of the property in
his invention. The beauty ofthe most
OF great discoveries lies in their sim
pllclty. and nothing can be more de-
llghtfully simple than the Clergyman
method OF 5anishing bad language
from society. When he is unexpect-
edly stung by wasp, or encounters a
nail on the floor when denuded OF
stockings, or barks his shins badly
against the leg Of a table, he at once
remarks in a loud voice, ''Beefsteak
and onions!' proceeding directly after
ward to observe. Ham and eggs!'
and if the tendency to swear has not
by that time passed off, he adds,
"Bread and butter and plate of ice
cream!" The reverend gentleman as
sure5 the world that, armed with this
simple weapon, nobody need in future
ever swear at ALL "Just as much sat
lsfaction. he quantity observes, sis
derived from saying Pork and beans
as from emitting a sting of swea,
words"
Ii the essence of an oath is the call
ing on outside powers to witness Il re.
mark, or to assist the speaker, then ii
cannot be contended for moment that
Great Cmser!' or ..Great Hail.
stones!i' both American calculations
- are really to be confounded with or.
binary ''sWear words A favorite
transa tlantic exclamation is :.By Col
~" borrowed originally from the
negroes; but can it be said that calling
upon a non-existant and entirely
chimerical divine of this sort of person
is really guilty Of invoking outside
powers? The same thing may be said
with equal truth of 'sBy Gosh!'' Still,
it will be allowed that these exclama-
tions have a somewhat unpleasingly
suggestive sound about them, and we,
therefore, can heartily comm end the
nautical exclam alton stShiver nv top.
lights!' as a good substitute, especial
~ for naval men. Jimmy Cripps!'
and by Hickoryn' are also jlcula-
tions for which a good deal may be
$ i'd. They do not err on the side of
excessive intelligibility but they per-
haps sound little less trivial than the
.'Reefsteak and onions" of the rever-
ond reformer. Buffalo Commercial.