The record-union., 1899-05-08
SAYINGS OF THE POOR.
Pithy Expressions Of Unconscious
Humor and Impressiveness.


A. French servant, who had, no doubt,
had a hard week, gave an excellent in
stance of the translation of an English
phrase. 1t was a case of conveying u
me that there had been a superiority
of work, which, if it continued, would
prevent his taking advantage Of a gen
eral holiday. "Hein! Alright al
right But Madame does not KNOW,
perhaps? Monday Throwing indignant
fingers toward me) till twelve l have
not been on re back. Tuesday again,
and wiz siz lonche; and once more
Wednesday 1 have not been on re
back All of which was only very
good way of putting our expression of
being on ones feet all day.
Among the poor people such sentences
are legion. One must wonder if they
are invented at the moment, or if they
are sayings This, in expression of the
oldfashioned view of modern ser
want: 1T isn't she isn't a good enough
girl. She's willing and she's strong.
But Eighty. Why, she leaves the house
ten times for every once she comes in
The wisdom of a mother or grand
mother can be quoted with effect and
prove most disarming to criticisms.
There was for instance, the girl SER
want who would meet any attempts at
correction or blame with: 'There Z
know For mothers often said, Well,
of all the girls I ever did see-you are
one" And this there was no deny
ing.
Charles Dickens understood this
power of phrases made from nonsense
| 4, l.
result, so unanswerablei and conclusive.
His books are filled with instances of
the nature of Mrs. Crupp's sympathetic
answer to young David's sorrowful IN
bosomings:
Don't, Mr.. Copperful-not another
word! I'm mother myself.
He would have liked the story of the
needlewoman whose services were en-
gagged by the day, and who had a habit
of emphasizing her conversation with
the words las sudden as l sit here"
Arriving in the morning, she sat till
evening at her work. and was rooted
institution in the house. But in her
fine determination to put convincing
reality to what she said, she would
speak as if she had at that moment ap-
peared through the ceiling.
OF this force of expression, whether
achieved by straight or inverted meth
DDS, slang" gives many instances. And
the American phrase that questions the
security of an object or cohesion of a
scheme with will it stay put ?" is, to
my mind, its ugliness apart, a very pat
tern of concentrated meaning. Among
the cottagers this power of expression
results, as We have seen, from their use
of simple language; of those plain
words that state their case, unhamper-
ed or weakened by any search after ex-
traordinary effect.
They will tell you the story of an
accident or of sorrow in the language
OF the Bible, and one is reminded, by
their almost crude simplicity of nara
ton, of the quiet strength in the de-
scription of the death of the Shuna-
mites son:
"* And when the child was
grown it fell on a day that he went
out to his father, to the reapers And
he said unto his father, My head, my
head. And his father said to lad
Carry him to his mother. And when
he had taken him and brought him to
his mother, he sat on her knees till
neon, and then died.
And she went up and laid him on
the bed of the man of God, and shut