The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-06-28

mayhap may be able to make some-
thing of him. Here, OF course, 1T
holds its first meaning. acute or
smart. Little by little in the United
States IL has come to mean colio-
qu'aily almost anything that one
wishes TO say in praise. usually with
an implication OF that which is small,
/ well finished and cieyerly Contriyed
1t also means perhaps pretty. with
some especial quality that is interest
ing, original. out of the common. anu
thus expressing extra intelligence
How Cumming Is Used.
Cunning is used in the United States
in the same way. Mrs. stowe speaks
Of some cunning little tubs in the
window She meant that they were
pretty, attractive from their clever
rightness, expressing the Intelligence
of the makel cunning child means
bright and attractive one. Cum
+ ng, too, almost always connoteS
that which NJ small. a cunning house
would mean pretty little house.
convenient and unlike other houses.
All these uses plainly hint the true
meaning OF the word, ability and
Skill. though 1t ia now held 10 be more
correct as applied to ability at work
secretly, for wrong purposes. But the
I original definition of the noun was
simply learning. special knowledge or
I practical skill and dexterity. clever
\ ness, This Is the meaning in, IF /
/ forget thee. o Jerusalem, let my right
1 hand forget her cunning
4 Even Americans now. consider the
h word C0ifdG41aI when applied TO works
/ of skill ard dexterity, yet this use
seems TO be a survival of the early
1 word and rot mere American care
+ lessness. Clever. on the other hand,
n al al n, M - fAiSy1 VII n
/ the adoption, also, of better mean
I ing than the accredited definition al
! lows In the American Yernacular
clever means kind or gentle Then
the possessor Of manual and mental
/ abilities or cleverness was supposed
( to be necessarily kind and gentle. The
clever" horse was probably al hrst
one which knew enough to behave
itself.
The clever neighbor was one who
knew how to come to the aid of his
friends at al sorts of crises Of pioneer
days. Gradually he came to be the
kind neghh0r At least this seems
10 be reasonable explanation of this
Americanism The Boston Post Boy
in l76S In hit Of rh&me set cross
and clever folk together as anti
. theses. Daniel Webster wrote: He
Is what we cali in New England
ffSNPI 1Et4QN. EORA i|aA III ~ hftf1N
hearted, amlahle and obliging' TINS
bears ont the sense of neighborly
kindness touched on above
About CoIloquial ''Clevcrness"
So in Life in Prairie Land: ITS
five mild To the next house and |
reckon YOU Il hardly find EN- up when
you get there. but They're right clever,
and won't make no account Of gitHr
w. If they take you in" Again. He
was a very clever man ana used to do
everything for his nelghbors for Moth
I ing
Bee. meaning the meeting of num-
Der of people at 81 common task Is
one Of the most characteristic Of
American words. It is applied. Of
course. from the community work Of
bees and sprang up I'm the country
when the neighhors helpfullY gather
ed 10 husk corn or quilt and the like,
1t hints alike the activity and the
neighboriness of carly days. The
husking bee or quilting bee were oc-
castons of social importance, These
pioneers Of American Industry had
not time even 10 amuse themselves
except over "a definite task.
The bee WAS usually followed by a
supper, and an evening Of dancing
in the barn or down the wide old
fashioned kitchen. A an apple bee
young folks met TO help prepare the
apples to be dried for the winter. and
a story is told of how youngsters once
hid in the oven the apples they were
supposed to have pared. When the
boisterous country dances began they
shook the room till the oven door
was swung open and out bounced the
apples blushing their confusion.
Backwoods and hackwoodsmen are
words whose adaptation to the
pioneer need Is evident. The colonies
fronted the sea and turned their faces
always eastward TO the motherland
This put the woods at their back and
the farthest woods were the farthest
back The bach woodsmen. moreover.
knew little of what was going on AT
the coast in the settlements that got
news from home. So backwoods-
man began to be one much behind
the times ir manners and general in
rmation.--Christian Science Moni>
tor.