Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-04-06
w ORIGIN or TIE TERM "MIss."
A Word That Iriumphsd Over Evil Asso.
Citations.

London Spectator.
Miss" is commonly assumed to be
an Authorization of "mistress',- land
this may be true; but ii was not cor
ruption, nor form unconsciously in
troduced. John Evelyn has left a
record of the date and circumstances.
In 1862 he goes to see the "fair and
famous comedian called Roxalana, from
the part she performed" and learns
that she has "been taken for the Erie
OF Oxford's mlsse, as at that time they
began to call lewd women In 1866
he speaks of the "fowle and indecent
women who became misses and some
times wives of the young gallants. {"
Again Evelyn witnessed drunken en-
tertainment in 1911, when the King
attended. with "a misse, as they call
those unhappy creatures.
Never did word undergo q stranger
revolution 1t would have been the
deadliest of insults to call young lady
Miss at that time. But here is a
very strong illustration of the rule that
terms really wanted will gain n place
IN the language, be the objections what
they may. Hitherto there had been
no distinguishing title for young
girls, saving those ranks of life
where "Matlemoiselle'' = more com
monty, "Demoiselle" was current.
Elsewhere a married woman and her
daughter had mistress" in common.
we do not recall any illusions to the
Inconvenience which must have fol-
lowed, but the eagerness with which
Miss was. accepted, in spite of the
grayest disadvantages, is the best proof
that 1t was felt. An attempt had
been made apparently to naturalize
madame as the title of married
woman, thus freeing mistress for
the use of girls exclusively. But it
never succeeded with the middle class,
and 1t had become old fashioned in the
time OF the Stuarts; nevertheless, some
OF US can recollect old villagers speak
ing OF the great lady of the neighbor
mood, in the days of their youths, as
Madame So-and-so." But there was
little help there, and the embarrass
ment must have grown continually as
social intercourse became more general
III is not extravagant to suppose that
inc custom of designating mans wife
as MS lady was an effort to escape
u. One must turn half hundred
pages OF Evelyn's Diary to find the
name OF q married woman, unless she
had title Of nobility-aiways il ia
his lady" But in the upper circles
: Miss" won its way slowly. We may
venture to say that it does not occur
in Lady Mary Stuart Wortley's CORE
spondence, nor does Madam, y applied
to an English woman. Little girls and
their grandmothers are MRS. " alike
1t is to be observed, however, that
Pope uses Miss" freely in the same
era, Lady Mary and Others Of her
rank may probably have learned of the
shameful origin of the word in youth
and eschewed it on that account. whilst
Pope would never hear the story unless
by chance. N"'e'' :
Steele, in the Guardian, addressed n
girl of Is as Mrs" and Lady Bnte
left 1T on record that she, born in l7ls.
remembered some old ladies who always
CALLED her MRS" in the nursery
Under such circumstances il Is no
wonder that miss" triumphed over
It's evil associations. A word was
never SO badly wanted for the con.
venience of life and the purposes Of
civilized society. os VI