The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1891-07-02
OLD FORMS OF LANGUAGE
Grotesque Expressions Used in tho Ancten,
English.

English.
Some of the words used bv old-fash-
Toned country people, and laughed at
by those who hear them, are not cor.
raP:Hns OF language. but merely sur
vlvals OF old forms-forms so old that
many educated persons have forgotten.
or perhaps have never known, that thew
were once in good and regular standing
as English words
II an Old woman lakes your pardon, ="
she is speaking as the most careful En-
glish scholars spoke for hundreds of
years, down almost to the end of the
sixteenth century. Thus in Wycliffe's
New Testament-about 13S0-we read:
What man of you is, that if his some
axe nym breed, whethir he wole take
hymn stoon?" And Coverdale's trans
lation of the Gospel according to St.
Matthew, published in 1885, has Axe
and it shall be given you."
80, too' when the same old woman
says ''piny" instead of penny, she is
only following the ancient usage. In
William Brownies "Brittannia's Pas
torals, +" printed in 1915, the poet con-
trasts "the ruddy piny with the lighter
rose."
1t amuses the schoolgirl of the pres.
ent day to hear lilacs called 'laylocks:'
but Walter Savage Landor ALWAYS said
'laylocks," following, as his biorrapher
tells us, a pronunciation TRADITIONAL in
many old English families'
When an Irishmaan speaks of his
tader and moder,''' he is guilty of moth
ing worse than talking older English
than we are accustomed to hear. '.Wor-
schlpe thi fadir and thi modir." saws
Wycliffe's New Testament.
The London Athenpum recent,v
printed hitherto unpublished letter Of
the poet Gray, written in 1861. 1t has
to do with the shipping of some goods
to Cambridge, and contains two fragrant
,Amerlcanisms," SO called. The goods,
nc says, may remain packed till he
comes, (which will be in about three
weeks, I guess" and then he adds:
"Mr. Gillian, reckon, will stay for his
money till arrive"
tray was one of the most learned
men OF his time, and person of the
most fastidious taste, yet he ....puessed''
ana reckoned' like any countryfied
Yankee. In other words. these two
Americanisms" are simply English
forms OF speech which have gone out of
vogue IN the mother country. and which
Tor that reason have a novel, "Ameri.
can sound to the modern English
tourist. r. ).
Axe" 'laylock" and the like are
now vulgarlsms, and as such are to be
avoided, but it is we'll enough to know
That they were once as we'll received in
good society as their successors are at
present. Youths Companion.
Wanted It Postponed.
The little four-year-old girl had been
told that God would punish her if she
were naughty, for He was everywhere
and took particular pains with nice
little girls. Never having seen God.
she evidently did much thinking on the
subject of this punishment
One day her mother started to punish
her for something she had done. when
the little one came out with the follow
ing very polite and logical objection:
Mamma, won't you leave it to God
/ to punish me? I'd rather have Him.
Boston Times
A. Wandorer from Boston.
Caller-Excuse me, madam, but cali
here in order to-
Mrs Griggs - Well, what do Won
want?
.Caller-1n order to inquire whether
You have any superannuated vestments
Q dispose Of.
Mrs. Griggs-No, indeed. wouldn't
have wasted time talking to you but /
thought You were the old clothes man.
-Munsey's Weekly.