Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-24
ESQUIRE.
Who Should Be Addressed as EsQuire?-
We Are Really Misters-A Legal Test.

what 10 an esquire nowadays? We all know
the derivation Of the word and the significance
attached to it In the old chivalric times. when
the ''ecuyer,"a youth of gentle birth and a
candidate for the spurs and chain Of knight
hood, was attached to the personal service Of a
dubbed knight, whose colors he wore. whose
shield he bore, whose charger. arms and ac-
couterments were his peculiar care. To at
tain knlghtly rank it was not only necessary
to be born in the German sense, but to have
been carefully trained in all warlike and social
exercises, and to have passed through two
preparatory stages of chivalric Instruction
that Is to say, pagchood and squirehood
BY the time his term of novitiate had been
completed he qualified, at tho age of
nineteen or twenty, 10 fill up any vacancy
that death or promotion to knlghthood might
create among has masters esqulres, IN when
capacity 1t was customary that he should serve
for several years-indeed, until some consplc-
nous feat OF valor o. his own, or special recon-
mendatlon on the part OF his chief, brought
him immediately under the notice OF 70!
prince.
The advancement OF a young gentleman to
the rank of esquire in the household of a great
nobleman or wealthy territorial maSnate vas
not inireGucntly accompanied by grant OF
iand whence, probably, IN Later times, the
squirearchy came 10 be identified in common
lanu-ownlng interest OF this country. still
later, when still existing tables OF precedence
were first formulated, the title of esquire Was
recognized the birthright of men born IN
certain stations OF life. and as a dignity
appertaining to a large number of official
and professional posltlons-consequenty ac-
quIrable by persons OF plebeian origin whose
talents and industry had enabled them to sur
mount the social barrier separating them from
gcntiefolk by birth. The term gentleman by
N N a
rank implied by that term carried with II the
courtesy title of ''Esquire; as, for instance, IN
the case of members Of the house OF COM
mons, barrlsters, attorneys-at-law, civil sery-
ants of certain standing, holders OF unlyer-
SHY degrees, physicians and Others too numer-
Gus to particularize in this place.
Little more than half "A century ago the title
OF esquire still had distinct meaning and i'm
portance of Its own, which were clearly under
stood by the majority OF Englishmen, simple as
well as gentle. Its conventional rs well its
true significance has all but fallen into oDliv-
ion during the present reign, which has wit
messed greater development anu wider gem
eraliZatlon of democratic sentiment than any
other historical period of like duration chrUnI-
cled III the annals of this country. Nowadays
the annex of esquire" appended to a mans
name the back of letter
or printed subscription list is
freely conceded to ''noDOdies," ana is,
therefore, no longer distinctive of some
wealthy tradesman, whether he have retIred
from business or not, to an actor or pubic
singer, playwright or novelist ship broker or
yestrynIan, to address HIM esquire. the
title is applied without the least discrimination
TO all sorts and conditions of men so long ds
they are toleraDly we'll OFT. AS far as its appli-
cation Is concerned at the present day IN
nlnety-nlne cases out of hundred IL Is an
anachronlsm, or, more properly speaking, an
anomaly. 1t may be described a rehc of
oh
with modern institutions and tendencies and
preserved no one exactly can tell why.
Oddly enough there Is no equivalent for II
among the titular distinctions that obtain cur
rency In any and every other European coun-
try. Esquire" is purely English absurdlty,
neither perpetratei nor comprchended by any
continental people. In France every person
OF the male Sex. from president to peasant,
from duke to dustman, is Monsieur, the
French synonym OF our British MIR. In the
way OF titles OF gentility our ylraclous neigh
bors do not 30 below 'CheyallCr knight.
as VIC should call it. for lack OF a
word expressing the titular dignity conferred
with foreign decoration-and even that pred
icate must be preceded by the inevitable
Monsieur" Thus literally translated into our
yernacuiar, the proper way TO address men,
Der OF the Legion of Honor is MIR. the knight,
whereas letter directed, let us say, to .'Jac-
ques Bonhomme, Ecuyer," would probably
never reach its addressee. however correctly
the name of the street and number
of the house in which he resided
might be given. Mr.. the Marquis" and
MIR. the Police Agent" are formula
usually correct in their application to the per-
sons thus respectively described As matter
of fact, the predicate Monsieur" is essentially
democratic in its nature, having nothing about
it of the feud;ll flavor that turks in the word
Esquire" Indeed, as it is used and under
! stood In France at the present day, 1t may be
regarded as a leveling legacy of the great rev.
olution. previous to which il was only applied
to persons Of condition." and even figured
as the distinctive title Of the next brother to
the king.
Similarly in Germany, Austria Italy and Spain
the prcfixes Herr" 'Signor," and ..Senor''
represent IN some sort our honorIfic term ''Es-
quIre, without in any way corresponding to
It's special significance, which, We have
pointed out, Is vague rather than precise In
those countries there are two sorts of title be-
sides those indicative of military, naval. eccle-
slastlcal and academical rank; that is to saw
titles OF nobility, which include the particle
Won" "DI or DE, as the case may be. and
Official titles, such "Mr. Privy Up
Consistorial-Councilor," Mr.. Castle
Captain nd-Chamber-G cntleman" or Mr
Preaching Office Candidate and Co.
hector" In Prussia more particularly. titles
OF tins latter category are cumulative-for ex-
ample: Nj. PenSIoned-G overnment-Cha ncery-
Clerk LieutenaEt-of-:h e- Reserve" and Mr.
Country-District- Tribunal-Councilor- Captain
on-the- Rctlred Llst'-and are assumed by the
wives and relcts of their proud possessors AS
in tE9 cases OF Mrs hallway Station nspec-
tor" and Mrs. -Decapitator" liz is
de rigueur in addressing any of these dignita-
ries by letter or word OF mouth to give him the
full bcrefit of his many jointed predicates
which are, every one OF them. genuine articles
of their kind, by 10 means Enthusiastically COM
pounded, but cullod from authentic announce
ments published in the columns of Berlin
newspapers
Such honorific designations are as absurd in
their way our shadowy and unjustifablo
''Esquire;" but, having some sort OF official
reality behind them, of which our titular an
mex is fcriorn, they do not give rise to con.
troversy or dispute, such as occurred the day
before yesterday between the clerk of the
Chelsea yestry and the chairman of the bench
OF magistrates sitting in petty sessions at Ken
sington, to whose scrutiny the special iury
lists were submitted as prescribed bv law II
was the opinion of the presiding justice that
the special jurymen ought not TO be described
as ''plain Messieurs," but as 'Esauires," from
whose ranks-held by his worship to include
bankers, merchants and professional men
that particular variety of Juror ought to
be selected in order Ito assist the Judges of
the land in the trial of civil actions between
hege subjects OF her majesty" According 10
the vestry clerk, different view of the matter
Is entertained by the present attorney general
and the magistrates of very gentlemanly
London parish-St. Georges, Hanover SQUARE
The lists however, were directed to be revised
in accordance with the opinion entertained by
the kensington bench. which would hence an
pear to have arrogated to itself the right of
deciding who is and who is not an ESQUIRE in
the eyes of the law.
Th.. %h,,z -