The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-06
CURIOUS POSITIONS.
A Little Essay on Supine Prone ness and
Other Beauties.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN-Sr: You
have already conferred great boon
upon those OF US who like to take our
English straight by handing a knockout
10 the absurd and misbegotten Welsh
'rarebit."
why not carry tho good work a step
or two further and put the rollers under
some of the other pet blunders which are
habitually perpetrated. not only by the
vulgar throng'' but also by those who.
protesting the trade Of letters, ought to
know better?
We have nowadays a school OF contem-
porary writer's whose work appears in the
better class OF popular magazines and who
enjoy more or less favorable reputation,
bu, who. unfortunately. seem 20 have
learned their English exclusively by ear.
Not only In the daily papers always
excepting THE Sun. which, Il Is a pleasure
to testify. Is one of the few papers in the
country still written IN EnSlish). where
the haste of reportorlal work may with
justice be pleaded as an excuse for occa-
s.onal m!scues, but also IN magazine
stories and articles OF the better class.
where one has right 20 look for more
carefully considered diction. one is likely
10 encounter such half baked expressions
as different than "ob,ivious to- and
many others equally illogical and Tilt
crate.
but TO confne ourselves TO one thing at
n time: there is one word in particular
which occurs with amazing frequency in
the work of the class of writer's referred
10 in such context AS betrays most
surprising conception OF its meaning.
That word liz prone"
Let me cite a few Instances In a recen.
article in q leading weekly one Of the
most popular AID entertaining of these
writer's, describing the plight OF two sea-
sick passengers on an ocean liner, says
side by side the stewards stretched them
prone on their chairs and tucked them
In" Personally I have never seen just
that form OF treatment adopted. bu. under
the circumstances It must be admitted
that the position has its advantages 1t
is but Just to add that the writer IN ques-
ton is a humorist.
In another recent story a prizehsht
Is thriling.y described. eliminating in the
remarkable and painful spectacle OF the
champion lying prone on his back" in
the centre OF tho ring From this we
may leg!timately draw ths conclusion that
he was, In technical language. knocked
galley west and crooked.
In still another story the heroine was
lost In the forest. and when the search
party at last found her she, poor child,
was lying prone, with her face TO the
stars" Poor child. indeed And yet
such appears from the story 10 have been
her wonderful powers of recuperation
that next day she was almost as good as
new. not even stir in the neck.
The extraordinary anatomical contor-
lions so described are apparently quite
common In contemporary fiction, and even
In the news Of the day In some in
stances. II 10 true, the victims were dead
when found In this uncomfortable posi-
ton, but In most instances they appear
10 have suffered no more serious after
effects than the lrishman who. after
bout with John Barleycorn. put on his
overalls hindslde before and fen OF tho
ladder. In response TO tho anxious in
qu'r1es OF comrade who ran 10 his as
sistance he replied, gazing down In per
plexity upon his person, mo. OF amt kilt
but Oh sure got hill av n twisht"
Prone on his back O Temporal q
Moriarty VIII not some one prophesy
to these Philstincs' Or must wa go on
with apologies 10 Patrick Henry lying
supnely on our faces until we are bound
hand and foot? GEORGE WEsrEpvrLr.
NEW YORK, April 1.