The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-07-12

question had been adorned ever since its
erection in tho days Of Louis Nil, by q
very handsome equestrian statue OF the
fourth Henry in all his glory. Many comic
songs have been woven round this statue,
the most popular and most modern being
the one entitled "The Statues VAIL in
which the bronze monarch sets for tn his
woes with the recurring refrain:
Il have no umbrella,
When it's fire / can't go in,
When there comes pouring rain,
am soaked right to the skin
This does not sound profound nor telling.
but such as it is, all Paris howled. whistled
and humned it, in season and out of
season.
Quantities of the slang phrases of Paris
originate in the comic s)rgs. AT one time
a popular melody was set to song whereof
the burden was:
Halo, there's Mathisu.
Old man, how do you do2'
1t had tremendous run, and was killed in
a very odd manner. A miserable murderer,
named Jean Matthew. was guillotined, and
as usual the Place de la Roquette, where ex-
ecutions take place, was filed with q noisy
rabble. The execution was rather late.
which irritated the waiting multitude, and
finally, when the prison doors were opened,
and the criminal appeared. half dead with
terror, and dragged along by two Of his
guards, some one, more irreverent than the
rest, shouted:
Hello. there's Mathieul
Old man, how do you dos'
and the whole crowd took up the song and
danced in time to It's cadence The con-
trast to the wretch shivering on the brink
Of eternity and the unseemly mirth Of the
crowd was so CHASTITY that the horror felt
| by the spectators and shared by those who
heard OF the occurrence caused the once
popular song to be promptly tabooed.
| One OF the most in vogue Of all modern
slang phrases was the peculiarly senseess
remark, You would think it was veal "
This denotes admiration and approval A
| glorious sunset or a pretty woman was
alike greeted by the same enthusiastic re-
mark, You would think it was veal"
This phrase originated in q comic song wi tn
an lnordlnata number OF verses, Of which
the following example will give an idea:
Said the fair Juliet In a tone of appeal.
II not the lark, you would think 1t was veal "
Anything more strangely idiotic cannot
be Imagined, but its very Stiffness was an
additional attraction, and the phrase ran
ike wild fire through all strata Of society.
All these ridiculous comic songs are made
popular through the medium of open air
| concerts on the Champs Elysees Piotur-
esque places they are, with their blazing
fesCtoons of coored lights their succession
Of singers who vie with each other as to
which can possess the worst voice and sing
the most complacently out of tune fnane
ballads. All travelling Americans know
these places, where one can dine sumptu-
| ously in a restaurant at the back Of the in
closure, and then come out to sit on the
high balcony to sip coffee and enjoy the in
tellectual ~ treat afforded by the perform
| ance on the tiny stage opposite. When any
OF the more fashionable songs are sung the
whole audience joins in the chorus, and
keeps the time by tapping their spoons
against their glasses. The result is strangely
discordant; but as the music fills its perpe-
| traitors with intense and soulful enjoyment.
objection would be cruel and heartless, be
sides being utterly useless, and these con-
certs are virtually Liberty halls.
10 return to slang pure and simple. If
one sits up very late and pines for soda
water in the morning hours, his sense of
mdtdtSe is described as ian ache Of the
hair If, renouncing the solution of a
| problem, you give your tongue to cats, y
and freshness Of conduct is denominated as
throwing ones cap over the mill" Should
husband pay attention to another woman
than his wife, The sticks q penknife into
the marriage contract" The dignifed
gentleman who acts as censor and
! judges plays, as does the lord
chamberlain in London, is called by the
strangely uncongruous name of "Anas-
tasia.n Wherefore this peculiar nickname,
no one can tel any more than they can uue
ravel the origin Of the nickname for the
guillotine, which gruesome machine is
called Louisetts. II you rul at full speed
they say you put your legs on your
neck" the fury Of a story is Ruaged
| by the fact that it is too bad
weather to put even ones mother-in-
law out Of doors" A sarcastic way o.
saying that man is stupid is to remark
that where there is nothing the king col
lects no taxes" aud a bow-legged person is
said to ''squint with his legs Ii you buy
things on credit you get them ION your
eye and il you have savings you have put
aside "pear for your thirst and If you
pay cash down YOU have settled "a ruby on
the finger nail" Whyl All! that do not
| know.
| fear we have drifted into what might
be denominated the erudite section of
slang; for, as a rule, profound erudition
and dense incomprehensibilty 60 hand in
| h. d. Under these circumstances we had
! better close the subject.
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