The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-01-05
No Slang in the Old South.


News and Courier.
Now we turn Our old-times ka-
leidoscope again, and its combina-
tons fall into a figure that looks
very much like the word slang.
Forty-fve or fifty years ago in the
south there was nothing like slang
absolutely nothing-and we are
exceedingly proud to say so. IT
there was, one cannot remember 1t.
The nearest we can come to any
such recollection is this: We re-
member hearing an accomplished
lady sing F'Schubert's Serenade" at
an evening party. That pure and
elevated style of music was just be-
ginning to dawn upon our people.
We remember leaning against the
piano., as d very small boy, and gaz-
ing at and listening to the lady with
unbounded delight. At the end of
the song a young man said: Eyes,
that is very fine, but rather high
falutin.' % At this everybody near
the piano started and stared, while
the singer, with the peculiar grace
and softness of southern women,
said: "EIigh-fluting, did you say? |
do not quite understand you." The
young man tried to explain the
meaning of his slang word, high
falutin," " but nobody relished it, and
nobody laughed. They all thought
it awfully coarse to use such
word.
In these days, however, slang is
actually a distinctive language, all
pervading, expressive, convenient,
funny and atrociously vulgar-al-
most as vulgar as the chewing gum
habit. The slang of the present day
is almost endless in its variety and
coarseness. And, strange to say, the
most amusing, and perhaps most
shocking, slang nowadays is that
used among young men and young
women of the best and highest clas-
ses.
During the past early spring we
were walking on the streets OF a
very large and very gay city, not
two hundred miles out Of South
Carolina, with a youthfu1-yellow-
haired niece by our side. The young
girl had paid a visit in this city two
months before and had made many
friends. We had arrived in the city
the night before, and like country
people, were out shopping quite
early. AS we passed through an
extremely fashionable and aristo-
cratic street, mostly of private resi-
dences, we heard sharp, sudden
noise, as of a window sash being
thrown up. And so it was.
An exquisitely beautiful and slen-
der girl, white as a lily, in an ex-
quisite blue embroidered wrapper,
stood in the upper window on the
opposite side and cried out to the
yellow-haired girl at our side:
"Hello! hello! Glad to see you back.
You seem to be getting pretty con-
siderable pull on this old town. The
truth is, the boys all treated you so
nicely when you were here before
that am afraid you consider your
self the only tin can on the dump,
but wish you to understand that |
am gooo many on the dump N.Y.
self "A good many on the dump!
Then followed a considerable and
very loving chat in this peculiar
style. And as we passed on the
slender girl in the blue wrapper
cried out again: 'You must be sure
to stay to Mrs. -s swagger ger
man. She's going to give the swag-
gerest sort of german on Thurs
day night"
Then, going further and ap-
preaching the court house, we met
a good-looking, graceful young fell
low, who, when he saw the yellow
haired girl, ran forward with hand
extended, and in reply to the girls
query as to how he was, said: "Oh,
I am not many. I am trotting be-
hind. I am still On the beach, but
not many" Then the girl said:
'"Oh, yes you are you are the shin
INCEST pebble.'' Then the boy said:
"But why did you send back my
ring? I tell you I was ratified and
tatooed and doubled up when that
ring came back" Then the girl re-
01ied. "T did not like to keep the