Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-23
OK" THE NEW PARIS LANGUAGE.
It's Professor, Whose Strange Tongue
None Understand.

Paris Cor Pail Mall Gazette.
All the philologists of Paris are con-
cerned with the case of the young man who
speaketh In a strange tongue that none can
understand. Learned persons write to the
papers to point out that the man must be
"dago." and speaks low kind of Portu-
guese in usage in certain ports Of South
America. or Wild West Indian escaped
from the tutelage of Col. Cody, who has been
travelling France with his show, or again. a
Polynesian. The examining magistrate
spends linguistic afternoons struggling with
the unknown tongue. It Is said that a per-
son learned In Esperanto essayed but vain
ly, to unlock the mystery. The language of
*" dsfies the Esperanto key. But since
the worthy "juge Construction" has opened
a species Of kindergarten matters have be
come much more interesting. The magis-
trate draws tree, or a house. or bishop.
and the "detenue" gives it name" as the
phrase is in other and less educational
quarters. He has elucidated the fact that
ouT wandering youngster lives In the midst
or rorest-a forest where the tiger roams-
by the side of a river. Two days march
brought him and his parents to the city of
Lispian; thence they travelled to place that
might be Boston, and on the morrow they
embarked at New York on boat with
two tunnels. Thence they crossed the sea,
coming, perhaps, to Havre. After that the
way Of this youth is a mystery-darker
than the forest where the tiger lives.
Ritard, as the youth is called, has been
giving some specimens of his vocabulary to
NJ. lie Juge. A bull is ''ochse;;" COW
"ochsa:" coal "sarban;" boat, "batez:''
harbor, trader" 'Odir' appears to be
the equivalent for God. and "Odoir'' for the
sun. Naturally. our professor of tx" has
become the hero Of the day. The Palats de
Justice has already its own special Ian
guage compounded of seventeenth and
oh anil Il. - IL
so attracted by the sonorous qualities of
*" that members of the bar now address
ons another In a jargon that bears some
resemblance to the unknown tongue. For
instance, "dossier" has become dos
STAR "plaideur' "plaidiar." The hus-
siers have fallen victims to the 'X' mi
crobe, and manufacture words In their turn
and and. even the municipal guards charged
"cabrioletor" for the common or garden
'eambrioleur." am waiting to hear that
the Judges have become affected with this
new disease which plays such havoc with
healthy French.
The prisoner has not yet been able to ex-
press his opinion on his entertainers. Deliv-
cred In full and round phrases. it should
sound very well-something like the lam
gvage OF the pantomime demon In the midst
OF blue flames. To cheer him In his sel.-
tude the magistrate has sent him sweets
and change of linen. It Is satisfaction to
knew that the professor OF tx" realized
that the sweets are for internal use and not
the linen. :.
There is surely a Providence who watches
DER the press. A journalist once predicted
to me that Mime. Humbert would be caught
in the slack season; indeed. that she was
being kept back to decorate the empty
pages of contemporaries. And. in the same
manner. this youth has arrived when Mo-
rocco has begun to pail. and the good
woman who won a million francs In the lot
terry has ceased to be a nine days' curiosity
He has arrived, too. IN time for the revue"
and book writer's are cudgeling their
brains to find new rhymes for this new rival
OF Yolapux- Some one has been mean
enough to suggest that the language rs mere
hrmbug. but until 1t Is proved SO I shall be-
iteve that IT belongs to q real Apache-A
rowing red man OF Bill Cody.s show.