Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-02-07
WITH THE
HIGH SCHOOL.
CLASSICS
By MARGARET BOYD

"She actually said mate for meat
sappen' for perhaps and 'oss' for
horse which to young ladies living
in good Lythery society, who habit
ually said 'orse, even in domestic pri-
vacy, and only said 'apPen on the right
occasions, was necessarily shocking."-
SiIas Mariner.
Centuries before the Christian era,
the Galeadites captured a certain ford
of the Jordan river and tried every
man who wished to cross it by max
ing him pronounce the word Shibbo-
leth, for they knew their enemies
could not pronounce the h in the word.
Those who failed to pronounce the
word correctly were put to death.
Whether pronunciation was considered
vital matter before that time or not
we have no way of knowing; but we
do know that for many centuries
mans training and rank in the world
have been judged by the way he pro-
nounces certain words
At the present day those who say
'fther" for either and ''tOmahtO" for
tomato consider themselves as SUI
perior to their neighbors, as did the
young ladies from Lytherly who habit
ually said 'orse.
We are told that some other Ian
guages are simpler in respect to pro-
nunciation than the .English-they
could not well be more complex. We
have the pronunciation of the Lon
doner who says "bawth" for bath and
of that other Londoner who says
''lidy'' for lady. We have the pronun-
citation of the New Highlander to whom
an idea is always an 'idear'' and the
pronunciation of the Southerner, to
whom a head is a "haid." Then we
have dictionary pronunciation, with so
many RECOMMENDATIONS allowed for each
word that it seems unlikely that
man would miss all the given pronun-
Citations English, wherein man
may blast out rock with "din mite"
or explode a s'bum" or draw an lob
lik" line.
We have a set spelling and set
word order that may be learned from
books, but pronunciation is not so
easily learned There was a time
when the pulpit, the stage and the lee
ture platform served as the school for
pronunciation, but popular evangelists,
vaudeville actors, popular lecturers
have done much to discredit these me
diums with the purist.
Oliver Wendell Holmes would judge
casual acquaintance rather by his
choice Of words than by his pronun-
citation Of them.
ITO love one maiden only, cIeave to
her,
And worship her by years q noble
deeds"
-ldyIIs Of the King
Whether or not man can love more
than one maiden is a question almost
as old as the human race. The philoso-
piers and poets are no more agreed
on the subject than are common NOR
tails.
mo, we never sicken with love
twice." writes Jerome K Jerome.
cupid spends no second arrow on the
same heart. Loves landmarks are
our lifelong friends. Respect, and adj
miration, and affection. our doors may
always be left open for, but their great
celestial master, in his royal progress,
pays but one visit, and departs. We
like, we cherish, we are very, very
fond of-but we never love again. A
mans heart is a firework that once in
its time flashes heavenward Meteor
like it sblazes for a moment, and lights
with its glory the whole world be-
meath. Then the night of our sordid
commonplace life closes in around it,
and the burned-out case, falling back
to EARTH lies useless and uncared for,
slowly smoldering into ashes.
Emerson evades somewhat the ques-
ton of whether man can love more
than one maiden, but seems Of the
opinion that there is little chance that
one will fall violently in love after the
age of thirty. He, however, thought
love quite as potent force as Arthur
believed it, writing: "For, though the
celestial rapture falling out of heaven
seizes only upon those of tender age
no man ever forgot the visitations Of
that power to his heart and brain, and
art; which made the face Of nature
radiant with purple light; the morning
and the night varied enchantments;
when a single tone Of one voice could
make the heart beat, and the most
trivial circumstances associated with
one form, is put In the amber of
memory; when we became all eye
when one was present, and all memory
when one was gone"
Bacon thinks that even one maiden
is altogether too many to love. He
states: "The stage is more beholding
to love than the life of man. You may
observe, that amongst all the great
and worthy persons (whereof the
memory remaineth either ancient or
recent, there is not one that hath
been transported to the mad degree Of
love; which shows that great spirits
and great business do keep out this,
weak passion. You must except, new
ertheleSs, Marcus Aurelius, the half
partner of the empire of Rome, and
Appius Claudius, the decemvir and
IouOivor