New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-16
The Miostic British

Inc MlOStlC DIltISn
The disease is not related to myopia,
and, unless you feel that way about it, 1t is
not disease at all. According to the die
tionary, miosis is mere figure of speech.
1t means "understatement so as to in
tensify." 1t is essentially and indisputably
a British manner of speaking, as Mr. Ar
thur Ponsonby pleasantly and proudly
argues in THE Westminster Gazette
Let us give some of his illustrations and
see how they compare with our American
mind and habits of tongue.
There was a British farm laborer, over
come by some desperate sort Of melan-
cholia, who went down to a pond in the
early morning and deliberately drowned
himself. An old friend of his in the village
was asked shortly afterward what he
thought of the event. After pause he
gave vent to his horror and grief in these
words: Its a pretty middlin' affair"
There speaks mind that has abandoned
superlatives and eXaggeratiOns for pains
taking understatement. Where an Ameri-
can would have plunged hard with Gosh
all hemlock." or a burned awful" the
true Englishman hobbled his tongue and
put his idea across by preposterous UNI
LIBERALIZATION.
Perhaps the difference between the two
nations can be exaggerated. Mr.. Ponsonby
cites mot 'arf" and "a tidy few" Also, he
quotes London policeman who in a down
pour remarked to his colleague, Pretty
damp" The reply was, "Myes"-as
though to say there was no need for
strong language. Also, there is the per-
feet illustration out of Punch" Two
British youths are portrayed looking from
the summit of Swiss mountain over
magnificent view. Not bad says one.
WELL" his companion retorts, you
needn't rave about it like bally poet
Alongside these can be set certain
American habits. We qualify all kinds of
adjectves with quite" or pretty" or, re-
tanning a little lingering zest and pep,
some" "Some baby" (Which the English
seem to have adopted, by the way is
mioss and no mistake. Perhaps the habit
is growing on us. But, taking our speech
through and through, we think the dis
tinction holds clearly.
Take the Colonel's habit of speech, for
a good example of Americanese. Every
thing is bully" or perfectly bully or
"corking." Superlatives are his habit. If
anybody ever called the Colonel miostic he
would probably be shot on the spot. The
fapper in Bunker Bean one of the most
intensely American specimens in all our
fiction was as full Of "perfecties" as a
Henry James sentence. Messrs. Creel and
Daniels are only exaggeratng a rather
frequent national tendency when they sink
U-boats by the half dozen. EXaggeration
is not far distant from brag, and brag is
the goal which American eXaggeration has
been very prone to reach. A touch of
British miosis in our Navy Department
would be highly welcome change.
One incident cited in "The Westminster
Gazette" illustrates the kind of miosis
that is a high kind of art. At sitting of
the Parnell commission a witness for the
prosecution made several damaging re-
marks. Thereupon Mr.. Biggar, a Parnell
follower, stood up from his seat in the
we'll and harangued the judges and the
audience for three crowded minutes. He
denounced THE Times" the evidence, the
government and the judges in picturesque
language When he was quite finished Mr..
Justice Day slowly opened his eyes and,
leaning forward, said Thank you, Mr..
Biggar-you have not assisted u.s. Our
own Mr.. Choate might have equalled this;
yet even his satire was usually of more
frank and unrestrained character. The
truth seems to be that, for better or for
worse, we are candid and hurting ma
ton, with no liking or knack for the
subtle business Of restrained speech. Mr..
Ponsonby is plainly not writing of any
thing remotely resembling Americans
when he says:
As nation we are undemonstrative. We
have all been taught at school that en-