The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-10-19


that term carried with it the courtesy title
of aEsouire;v as. for instance, In the case
of members of tie House OF Commons, par
risters. attorneys at law. civil servants OF
certain standing, holders Of university de-
orees. musicians, and others too numerous
To rarticularize in this place.
Little more than half century ago ,he
title of esquire still had a distinct meaning
and importance Of its own, when were
clearly understood by the majority OF Eng
0lishmen. simple as well as gentle. lts
Conventional as well as its true signiiS
cance has all but fallen into oblivion during
tho present reign, which has witnessed
Greater development and wider generalika-
tion Of democratic sentiment than any otnei
historical period Of like duration chronlcled
in the annals Of this country. NOVA
DAYS the annex OF ''esquire." appended 10
a mans name on the back Oh ie'teI
or In printed Subscription ns, -
freely conceded Ia "nObOdies, ANU ~
therefore no longer distinctive ..
bodies.- IL is the custom. In Wrlting W
wealthy tradesman, whether he mas re-
tired from business or not, 10 an ACTOR vi
public singer, playwright or novelist, snip
broker or yestryman, 10 address MIN as
esquire. The title is applied without .ue
least discrimination TO all sorts and cOndl-
tions of men. SO long as they are t0leraDly
well off. As far as its application Is con-
cerned at the present day, IN mnel. ,hno
cases out of a hundred, II IS an anacnrou-
ism, or. mere properly speaking, an ano'lia-
ly. II may be described as reilc VI lse a,S
of chiyalry, grotesquely out OF keeping WIN
modern institutions and tendencies, anu
preserved no one exactly can tell why.
Oddly enough there is no equivalent los
il among the titular distinctions that Old
tain currency in any and every Other bl-
ropean country. Esquire" is purely
English absurdity. neither perpetrated nor
comprehended by any Continental people
In Franch every person OF the male Sen
from President 10 peasant, from uuhe "
dustman, is Monsieur" the French SYM
onym of our British Mr.. In the way OF titles
of gentility our yiyaciOus nelghbOrs DO not
90 below eyalier'-knight, as we
should call il, for lack OF word expressing
the titular dignity conferred with foreign
deeoration-and even that predicate must
be preceded by the inevitable "MOnsleur'
Thus. literally translated INTO our
yernacula, the proper way 10 au-
dress a member OF the Legion OF Honor
is mir. the Knight" whereas a letter I'll
rected let us say, 10 jacques bonhoiltne'
Ecuyer," would probably never reach its
addressee, however correctly the name oi
the street and number OF the house IN when
he resided may be given. "Mr. the Mar
ouisv and Mr. the Police Agent are iOr-
muls equally correct in their application 10
the persons thus respectively described. As
a matter of fact, the predicate "MOnsleur
is essentially democratic in It's nature, nav
ing nothing about il of the feudal HaNof
that turks i'm the word Esquire" Indeed.
As il is used and understood in France at
the present day, it may be regarded as
legacy of the great revolution, previous 10
which it was only applied TO persons VI
icnditiOn," and even figured as the dlstlhc-
vote title Of the next brother to the KING
similarly, in Germany. Austria, ltaly:
and Spain. the preflXes "llerr," "sienor,
and ..Senor' represent in some sort our nom
critic term. 'Esquircf' without In any way
corresponding to its special significance
which as we have pointed out, is vague
rather than precise. In those countries
there are two sorts Of title, besides those
indicative of military, naval, ecclesiastical
and academical rank; that Is to say, tltles
of nobility. which include the particle
.'Von." "Di =" or DE" as the case may be,
and official titles, such as MT. IrlNy-O p
PERI CONSIDERABLE "Mr. Castle
Captain-and ChamberGentleman, or Mr..
Preaching Office Candidate and-CO-kec-
tor" In Prussia, more particularly, Titles
of this latter category are cumulative;
Chancery-C Jerk Lieutenant-of-the-R
and MIR. Country DIs.rict-Tribunal-COun-
r-Captaiu-on-t -Retired-List"-an are
assumed by the wives and relicts OF their
proud pOssessOrs. as in the cases OF Mrs.
administration Inspector" and Mrs. VIA.
owed DecaDitator." It il de ridueur in adj
dressing any Of these dignitares by letter
or word Of mouth to give him the full bene-
fit Of bis many-jointed predicates, when
are every one Of them genuine articles 81
their kind, by no means enthusiastically COM
pounded. but culled from authentic an
nOuncements published In the columns 81
Berlin newspapers.
such hon0rihc designations are as absurd
i'm their wav as our shadOwy and I'M
Unsuitable "Esquire;" but, having some sort
of official reality behind them, Of which our
titular annex is fOrlorn. they do not give
rise 10 controversy or dispute, SUCH as &C.
Cured the DAY before Yesterday between
the clerk Of the Chelsea estry ana the
chairman Of the bench Ofmagistrates sitting
in petty sessions at kensinetOn, 10 whose
scrutiny the special jury lists were SUD-
mitted as prescribed by law. IL was the
opinion Of the presiding justice that the
speciai iurylnen ought not 10 be described
as splain Messieurs," but rs "Esqulres,
from whose ranks-held BY his worship to
include bankers, merchants, and "protes-
sional men"-that particular juror ought %
DE selected, in order $50 assist the Judges OF
the land in the trial OF civil actions between
iege subjects Of her Majesty. Accordingly to
the yestry clerk, different view OF the mat
ter is entertained by the present Attorney
General and the magistrates Of very gem
tlemanly London parish-st. Georges Han
over square. The lists, however. were
directed ~ be revised in accordance with
the opinion entertained by the kensington
bench. which would hence appear to have
arrogatcd 10 itself the right Of deciding VINO
is and who is not an esquire in the eyes oil
the law.
The issue thus raised is a curious one.
We wonder whether the legal advisers OF the
Crown will deem It worth their while 10 sell
tie il one way and anOther.-LCndon Iele-