The sun., 1891-11-30
The Name and Face of slupsky.

The subjolned request from gentleman
In Ohio is natural and proper: and 1t is
one Of many gratifying indications Of the
universal interest In all that personally
concerns Col. ABE SLUPsKY:
ITO rur Epiron or Tux suS-s;r: It seems to that
TuE sus might at this tinio impart information Of
peculiar value to philoogsts and Of great interest to
the public In general BY publishing wha: 1t eonceves
be the derv of tho proper noun, sLCrskr The
work OF research In this matter seems to me- falls to
the lot Of TIE SrS with singular Appropriateness gnce
1t ia the special champion Of both the name and famo
OF SLursKY. "Jous r. LAWRENCE.
"CoLuHsus. Ohio Nov. 81"
We had not supposed that there could be
in the mind Of any scholar the slightest
doubt rs to tho derivation and exact signiti-
canoe OF this molodious and distinguished
name. II carries its origin on it's face. SO to
speak. Wo are not yet aware whethOr Col.
ABE traces his descent directly from the we'll
known Derbyshlrc family Of SLUPsKYs. so
prominent in English political reform move
ments about tho time Of King JOHN, or
whether he honors that branch OF the old
Anglo-SaXon stock which has llourished in
Kent since the dawn OF modern civilization.
Tho Kent branch. as Mr.. LAWRENCE will re-
member. spelled the name as SLABsKY until
some time very late in tho Fourteenth CEN
tury. or very early In the Fifteenth. and it's
stalwart representatives had been mt Hast
ings before WILLIAM Conquestor got there
Very likely Col ABE cares little about such
matters. He Is cmphatically man Of the
last years Of the Nineteenth century. and
does not travel on the reputation OF his
ancestors.
Tho name SLUpsKY signifies one who
causes the clouds to pass away. II Col. ABE
had been Greek god. no would have shared
with ZEUs ono OF tho proudest epithets ap-
piled to that high deity. II Col. ABE had
been an Indian chieftain. he would have
been known to his tribo as Man-who-clears-
the-Hcavens. Slup Ia an old Teutonic base.
allotropically appearing as slap. slop. and
slip. and Its dcrivations. coming down
through the Anglo-Saxon sle6pan. shpan.
and slipan. to glide. slip. pass away. escape
vanish. include vast variety Of modern
English words In common duly usc
from slippery to slops. Sky. as every
tyro in philology should know. Ia tho
Anglo-Saxon scud or scl,pd. n shade
or shadow. hence cloud hence the atmos-
pheric region where the clouds are; all go
back to the Aryan root sku. which reappears
again on other lines Of derivation In the
Greek, in the Latin, and In most modern
languages. To sldpan or slup tho scaa or
sky Is to make the clouds pass away. and
etymologically and tiguratively Col. ABE
SLUPsKY Is tho statesman who can 1T.
Mr. LAWRENCE will now perceive that the
good old AnRlo-Saxon name OF SLUPsKY is
as beautiful and significant a name in it's
way as SHAKEsPEARR.
Passing from the consideration OF Col.
ABEs name to his face. we print this morn
ing an alleged portrait of the statesman
which has recently appeared In the columns
OF our esteemed contemporary. the Satuy-
day Truth and Sunday Eye Of Bloomington.
Illinois. That newspaper presents u picture
which might be the Hon. DE LANcEY
NICoLL. but isn't: or which might be Field
Marshal MuRAr HALsrEAp In his earlier
days. but Isn't. It u distinctly offered to