New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-17
SELECTIONS FROM THE WAIL
THE SPEECH OF THE QUAKER

MISTAKEN Use OF THEE" AND THOU" AT
TRIDUTED TO WELL. KNOWN WRITER'S.
TO the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: II is passing strange what singular blum
dcrIng is made by those who ought to know better
when they attempt to use the coloquia "plalnness
Of speech OF the Quaker It ought not to be dill
cult to follow the strictly grammatical forms OF
speech ms How art thou?" or rs thy FAMILY
wcll?" which in common Use one or two gen
eraiions past among the Quakers and are no"
very largely adhered to- although the present gen
Grafton has dropped into the use OF thee In the
nominatlvc '1s thee WE'LL" etc. always In the SIN
cuIar number. But 1t will be readily seen how ab-
surd IT IS to quote such a man as the poet Nh't-
tier saying do thee think so?' and what arc
thee reading now" Yet Miss Charlotte Fiske Bates
In "rhe Cosmopotan'' for January and Mrs. Eliza-
beth Stewart Phelps in "McClurc's Magazine for
July both giving personal "reminiscences Of Mr..
Whittier and claiming 10 have been on intimate
terms of frier dshp with him. quote from conversa-
tlons with him and from personal letters. SEN
tcnces which Mr.. Whittier could not possibly have
written spoken.
Certainly Of all others he was neither an gno-
rant nor an iterae man; yet fancy his writing to
Miss Bates as she quotes What do thee read
nowadays" and again. abiding TO something else.
But I dare say thee have forgotten; only think
how young thee are compared with me. IT Is
needless to say that Mr. Whittier wrote
Miss Bates was quoting from memory and had no
letter before her
Mrs. Phelpss memory Is quite az much at fault,
for she tells OF her conversation with Mr.. Whittier,
and tho encouragement he gave her as warm
friend and quotes his reply to protested Atheist.
who did not believe In Immortality because he knew
tina. he had no soul himself: Friend. thee are
right / am willing to admit thee have no soul.
but speak for myself" And again. Of his poem
'Ichabod" she makes him say: Il am afraid was
too severe; do thee think was?"
This is the moro singular that they are not illlt-
crate women and certainly should know the reason
for this popularity of speech. Of dress AS the
Book of Discipline phrases it: Are friends careful
to observe painness of speech, behavior and APP
pare" following the injunction Of the Master, Let
thy yea be yea and thy nay nay and this plain
of speech is not only grammatical but beauti-
full in Its simplicity the writer has heard ii used
from his boyhood and Mr.. Whittier may be
supposed to have spoken. quote from letter be-
fore mo written by my grandfather to a per
sonal friend, who made preenson 10 literary ex-
cellence IN any way. but spoke and wrote as his
friends and associates did. Writing Of some ques-
ton Of mutual Interest he urges thai spirit OF
and says II know that thou knowest those things
as wei as !. and perhaps thou wilt say PHYSICIAN
The simple secret of the use OF thee and thou"
lies I'm the effort ut entire simplicity. and the
Quaker addresses all men precisely as French and
German people do the members of their own imme-
is the whole secret. and there Is no conceivable
cause for these ladies misquoting Mr. Whittier eX-
ccpt that they never heard the plain languagstof
Friends spoken. Il would he no more absurd for
the writer to tell of his visit to Mr. Mathew Arnold
I'm England who shook him by the hand and said.
How IS YOU George. My books * so popular In
Amerlea that am glad to see yo9 ho A at,cd n ,,
ladies from whom have quoted. TO both Of whom
| arr indebted for some very pleasant hours read
ing and much noble thought II may seem very I'M
reasonable TO compare the above interview with the
great pr phet of high culture and their recoections
of the great Quaker poet. Yet one Is no more I'M
derng any less excusabc. for one who makes pre-
tension 10 he a leader In thought II not "A teacher.
than her utterly ignoring the author OF Thanatop-
sis" among the great poets of America
writers I'm question not too old In literary life
IN learn that II H. very dangerous 10 attempt to 70
produce any coloquial pecullrtyr WIN whicn we
are not thoroughly at home, Familiar In our
mouths as household words The writer once at
tended materldlZlnG scance, and was gratihcd
Nii n the appearance OF his father who had passed
over some years before but who spoiled It all by
his greeting How thee. my boy?
No speech is more beautiful nor moro generally
Friends and the PECULIARLY Is so simple that II Is
hard TO understand how such an absurd travcsty
can be made OF II by the writers of even average
intcliceucc unless # be that what Is written is
cvolved ont OF their own inner consciousness. and
I, a. far less the rcsul, Of observation than is
erally imagined. Possibly this Is the fact though
Mrs Stowe made no such mistake. Inc Talk among
her Ouakers in Uncle Toms Cabin" Is natural as
II this f. off red in a spirit OF brotherly love and
kindness becoming one VINO loves ms Dirthright--
membership and association with FIiends-and
uhon II pains beyond measure TO hear the sweet
language OF his boyhood 50 distorted as to make II
ridiculous. and put In the mouth OF the great t
simple purity of the language In which he clothed
the noble thoughts which the Almighty gave him
~ w, work. Aug 90 1896