The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-19
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

for using the word gent" the in
ference being that this was bad
English or slang. ! was reading In a
Sunday supplement recently an article
pertaining to controversy as TO the
exact location OF the playhouse owned
and operated by william Shakespeare In
England.
The author OF this article substantiated
his argument Ms TO the exact location
by quoting extracts from legal records
now on file In archives OF the London
city government.
These records. quoted supposedly YER
batim, reror to the playhouse at such
and such a place as being owned and
operated by William Shakespeare and
other gents" As a reader of THE sun
am writing for your opinion as TO this
word gents" ms being good English.
+. L. Hicks.
oddly enough, everybody is right: Il
Is wrong to use gent, and It IL equally
right to use gent---which calls for elu-
cidation. At the time OF the Globe
Theatre archives and in the present
time the abbreviaton gent 10 property
used by others when need arises to de.
scribe the social status OF the person
20 whose name II 10 attachable. Yet
when read aloud the abbreviatIon IL
I never by any person OF cultivation pro-
nounccd as the single syllable as which
Il strikes the eye, thus William Shake
speare. gent, a perfectly good and really
necessary form OF law, would always
be read william Shakespeare gentle
man. In a precisely similar case no one
would ever dream OF trying TO speak Of
Ponsonby de Tomkyns. Esq. as EslSw.
That gent pronounced as q monosylable
is a vulgarism il paralleled In Bleak
| House." when Inspector Bucket addresses
| Sir Leicester Dedlock. Bart. and Dickens
contrives to show that the Bow Street
officer uses Bart as n rhyme to goose
berry tart.
am very much interested in finding n
sketch OF william Smith. who was the first
| teacher OF the New York Free School,
which ultimately became the New York
/ Public School No I. He introduced into
| New York the Lancastrian or monltorlal
! system OF teaching. Little or nothing Is
/ known OF him, Judging from my III sue
cess in the libraries. while II is Just posi-
! Bile that with your many sources OF in
formation you may he able 10 throw some
light upon this Individual w. NJ NJ.
The correspondent IL quito accurate in
the statement that biographical details
are lacking Smith and a few pupils met
on May 10. 1906. at q house in Madison,
then Bancker street. After the hrst few
experimental days the attendance In
creased TO forty-two and then outgrew the
accommodations. On April 2s, 1907, the
school was moved to a building on Chat
ham street next door to tho almshouse,
and in tho new quarters tho teacher and
his family had their dwelling. The history
OF the school Is accessible. but details OF
the life OF the teacher will be welcomed.
Kindly toll me which town has a min,
printing dimes having the letter r.
A READER
The question goes far to prove the
gross inferiorty OF the newspaper to the
tongue as a means OF communicating
information. OF late the story has ron,
by word OF mouth that any person who
should present to Henry Ford n collec.
ton Of dimes whose mint marks should
spell out the word Fords would promptly
drive away in a motor OF that well known
make. II should be evident that no news.
paper would ever publish that statement
for Mr.. Ford says ths, no such ofrer
was ever authorized Furthermore, II,
mint signs r. Al least twice in thi.
paper full accounts OF this delus!on hay,
been published. Mr.. Ford has done all lr
his power to prevent the spread Of 10,
fake; probably every paper in tho coun
try has given II publicity Y, all 10 Do.
end: the questions come By every mail.
think you are mistaken as to the
"oX sermon being OF the wild west Meth.
od.st Cor negro minstrcD character o
composition. ! heard it used as a tenn
perance address in 1877 by a minister il
HackensaolS. who palmed II or as hi
own product. short time thereafte
THE SUN exposed him as a rather brilliau
fraud and moral scoundrel The Rev
DR. c. II. Kuebler OF the First Prcsby
terrain Church. Hackensack, is quite sur
II WAS originally preached by a Congre
gational minister in New England. Il va
issued by the American Tract Society o
New York city but that house inform,
me that II Ii out of print Il. X BIRD
In Edward Eggleston's THE Hoose
Schoolmaster" there Is n character calle,
Brother Bosaw.' a Hardshell Baptis
preacher, who delivers "A discourse on tn
text, For the OX-ah knowcth his mas
ter and the ass-aA n.s owners crib-ah.'
!. has been many years since read tn
story, but | am quite sure that Brothc
Bosaw's effort was not temperance ser
mon. LEoS c. PRINCE.
wonder n THE Sun can tell me any
, thing about the schooner Despatch. ear
ryng two crews. which sailed from Liv
erpool to Savannah about the year 1870
or 1909. I would like TO know abou
the vessel and its captains Mt that time
Particularly II there was one Jamc
or John Paul what traffic was she en-
gagged In and any other information re
garding her, found the name In a,
official list Of tho vessels OF war OF IN
United States. C.. HIP.
Hamersly's General Naval Rcgiste
notes the Dispatch OF Atty tons r~,
guns purchased in 1914. and sold IN 1890
a date considerably later than that men
toned In the question. The name o
Paul does not appear In the navy record
earlier than 1928.
An inquiry was made and answered II
the columns OF THE SUN some eighteen .