The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-03
M E N :, w OM EN
 A IN D T HIN c 5


 of my window over the golf links of the Country club toward Red mountain, my eyes were refreshed with as lovely . picture as any one would wish to see.
 
 I dressed. went down and read The Age-Herald and started for town after breakfast, but what was my surprise from view as completely as if it had been enwrapped in dark cloud. Even the Jefferson County Bank building. which usually is able to lift it's marble head above the grime below was ob- scured.
 Now, the southern view was radiant in the light of the sun, while the west ern outlook was dimmed with fog, or haze, or mist I have been careful to use the three words in order to save myself should any weather shark pick me up for using just the simple and well understood term, fog. You can't be too careful when you go into print as promiscuously as I do.
 I am going to limit myself to the word fog" and pass up the terms, mist" and haze" which are also in common use with reference to the de- face layers of the atmosphere caused by solid or liquid particles, as in litera- ture the three words are used almost according to the fancy of the writer. Heaven knows I do not desire to give this article a pseudo scientific air.
 According to the New English Die tionary great English authority, which has all the sanctity in the Brit ish Isles allowed to Worcester, Webster and the Standard in the United States, the word I am backing in its ability to blot out towns and hide ships at sea- appears to be" a back formation from the adjective "foggy," a derivative of fog" used with it's old meaning of aft ermath, or coarse grass, or, in the north of Britain, of moss"
 This word-chasing game Is a great sport and unless you dig deep into the out in the least knowing its real mean ing or history. I confess that until l began to look into it, did not know that "foggage" was legitimate word, meaning rank grass, which remains on land in winter; also grass which grows among grain, and is fed on by horses or cattle after the crop is removed. after grass.
 For example, Robbie Burns, the far mer-poet knew what he was writing about when he sang his song. ITO a Mouse:"
 Thy wee bit housie. too, in ruin; An naething, now, to big Q new ane O foggage green!
 Neither could I have understood Drayton's Moon Calf"
 "one with another they would lie and
 play.
 And in the deep fog batten all the day"
 
 on fogs I would be able to hitch them up with cattle. It's correct to say fog" cattle=-that is, to feed on the winter pasture.
 Now let's look into it's use when it means moss" It would be joke if could prove that a moss back" is a tn ha $o A( tu There is an old Scotch saying: "A row ing (rolling) stane, gathers nae fog.' This is taken from Scotch proverbs, col lected by Ramsay. Here is another ex- ample from Scotland: About this town (Peebles) both fruit and forest trees have a smoother skin than elsewhere, and are seldom seen either to fog or be bark-bound.'' In plain English. meaning the trees were free from moss.
 ss
 There Is also . sense in which it is used as a term of reproach, as can easily be shown when we enter the legal world, for 1t can be made to apply to the "shysterr lawyers who seek to gain by base or servile practices. Here lis couplet from Dryden to establish my contention:
 "Wer't not for us, thou swad (quoth he), Where wouldst thou fog" to get fec"
 It's no trouble at all to understand how the term "pettifogger" came into being. I suppose no ono after this will deny that limb of the law who .fogs' is "pettifogger."
 Alas! There be many who live in fog-land, in state of mental confusion and doubt and perplexity. veritable 'no-man's-land" of bewilderment. filled with shadowy shapes. There Is also au- thority for using the word '-fogEyr in the sense of being stupid. or befuddled or even tipsy. am sure that many of us when in debate with some antagon- ist who was slow on getting our view point, just concluded that he was suf- fering from "fogginess" of the intel lect.
 For all those, however. who are liv- ing in mist of gloom on account oi conscientious doubts of revealed reli- zion, with Leighton, I can only pray and hope That the light of divine truth may shine clear in them. and not be logged and misled with filthy vapors" For there be some who raist fog" concerning miracles about their own heads and suppose 1t extendl