"WELWETS, WACABONDS, AND VOMAN"

While attacking American English becomes one of the standard duties of distinguished guests, an English professor has risen to the defense of the cockney used by Mrs. Gam and Samuel Weller. Instead of being the immorial personifications of London's proletarial, both spoke in the purest English style, which a few centurles earlier would have been positively patrician.

The article quotes at length from diaries and letters written by Lords and Ladies of various periods. One letter begins dearest creature", another describes the "Horried torter" of a lady's dying lap-dog. Sam Weller's "wessel of wrath" finds full vindication in a diary of the sixteenth century which discusses "welwets, wacabonds and women" with no hesitation whatsoever. "Ojus", too, and "sparrowgrass" are not only in common use but are even preferred by the standard dictionary of 1790. "Cockney", continues the article, "that noble blend of East Mercian, Kentish, and East Anglican, which was written by Chaucer, printed by Caxton, spoken by Spencer and Milton, has, in a modified form and with an artificial pronunciation, given us the literary English of the present."

But cockney is not alone in tracing its antecedents to ancient royalty. If England is going to resort to etymology to prove even her slang good English, common Americans are equally justified in defending themselves. Clerk is supposed to rhyme with lark in the best English, yet no less a writer than Chaucer coupled it with world. Plebian "ain't" appears in Thackery, apparently quite good form. While if the beaux and macarouss of Pope's day were to appear today and tald as they did in the drawing rooms of London, and ordinary American might well imagine they were telling more Pat and Mike stories.

It is difficult to say what turn the language will take next. Perhaps the rest of the country will follow the example of the people in a small, secluded New Hampshire village where alone W. L. George found correct pronunciation, and with them adopt once more old with them adopt once more old Elizabethan wages.