El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-03

N/ When Felix Walker of Bun
w combe county, North Caro-
lima in 1871. frankly declared that
the address he delivered in congress
was not for his auditors but that nc
was speaking for BuncOmbe' he gave
to the English language a slang
phrase which has travelled around the
world. 1t was one of a long line OF
collOquialisms which have gone to
swell the mother tongue, and Henry
Thomas Buckle stated no more than the
truth when he said that many slang
words and phrases are but serving their
apprenticeship, and VIII eventually be-
come the active strength of our Ian
guage' Modern slang is enriched dur
ing national political campaigns in the
United states.
More than 100 English dictionaries Of
slang have been compiled from that OF
Thomas Hartman. Esq, in 1873. to the
monumental English Dialect D1ctiOn-
ary," in six large volumes, edited by
DR.. Joseph Knight, which has ap-
peared only recently. As early as 1916
John Pickering made a collection of
words and phrases supposed to be pecu-
liar to the United States SherwOOd'S
early gazetteer Of Georgia contained
a glossary Of slang words current IN
the southern states. !
Slang in general is a subject which
has engaged the attention of many men
of various minds Martin Luther edit
ed, nd wrote preface for, the "Liber
VagatOrum." translated into English
by John Camden Hotten as The Book
of Vagabonds and Beggars, with a
Vocabulary of their Language Lu-
theirs edition of this celebrated Work
appeared in 1928, but ii appeared orr
c-inalIy in 1914 and may therefore be
regarded as the earliest important col
lection of slang in any language
Thomas Moore diverted himself with
Tom Cribb's Memorial TO Congress-,
a humorous poem Astounding in slang
and puCilistic terms, with a burlesque
essay on the classic origin OF slang.
Old Thomas Haman. who compiled the
first slang dictionary in our language,
was a worthy and pious man. whose
glossary was merely incidental to his
work of suppressins thievery and vag-
abOndage in the spacious days of great
Elizabeth He was followed so years
later by Thomas Decker, who wrote
The Bellman Of London, with its
sequel "LanthOrns and Candle Light,
which contains a "Canter's Dicuon-
ary."
The Parent of slang Dictionaries.
The real parent Of our slang die
ticnaries, however, was that of the
facetious Capt. Francis Grove, who, n
1855, compiled his Classical Diction-
airy Of the Vulgar Tongue" vulgar
it was, to a fault, but it was practically
the only original work OF the kinu
since the Elizabethan Hartman Rob-
ert Burns was a boon companion OF
Crosse and whatever obligation to him
he may have contracted by borrow
ing from his dictionary was more than
Cancelled when he wrote ram
O Shanter" for the captains sepciaI
delectatiOn.
The first dictionary of what may
be called slang was compiled by John
Camden Hotten in 1859 and as cOntri-
buttons of any cant, slang or vulgar
words not mentioned in the dlctlon-
ary' were invited from all readers, thu
work grew in successive editions I'M
til it has attained to very consider
hi 10
Dialect Dictionary of DR.. Joseph
Wright is a scholarly and imposing
work and finds its only rival in the
seven volume Dictionary of Slang and
s Farmer and the late w. f. Henley
distinction is technically made be-
tween slang. on the one hand, and
what on the other hand is variOuSly ]
known as cam. flash. Peddler's French, !
St. Giles Greek. etc. Cant, etc. may be
said to refer to the old secret IAN
guage OF gypsies, thieves, tramps and |
beggars. Slang is that picturesque I
flOtsam of the streets, the vaudeville |
stage, the political campaign, banded /
about by rOoterS and street gamins and !
humorous writer's until 1t atta1ns a I
general currency. To the former be- j
long the secret signs and symbols I
which the hobo of our own day. after 4
the fashion of his fellows from time 1
immemOrial. Chalks upon gate posts /
and barn doors Cor the guidance and 4
admonition of his comrades who shall 4
come behind. chart of a begging /
district. with the character of every /
house marked, drawn up by an English /
Weary Willie is reproduced in one OF {
the most popular of the modern slang
dictionaries. cross mark, for ex-
ample. signifies mo good" while
square indicates, beware Of the dog
Is Language of the Streets.
It is slang. or the language of the /
streets, which holds the greatest in
terest. however, and the subject IS
full OF surprises. Disraeii said the
purest source of neOlOgy is the revival
of old words" and Dr.. Latham main
tanned that the thieves of London
are the conservators of AnglO-Saxon-
ism When Col. Roosevelt used the
word 'molIycoddle' it attained a new
vogue. and Yet nothing is more GER
tain than that it dates back TO at least
1901. and while the public press was
debating his beaten to a frazzle" the
people of the southern states were
going along quietly in their familiar
use of the phrase just as they had
done for more than century crack
article in the sense of first rate. was
not elegant enough for the fastidiOus
DR.. Johnson and yet il was thoroughly
But what are you doing here dressed