WORDS AND THEIR AUTHORITIES. 175 



err in being too precise and methodical, and it may be that 

 the Londoners converse with more rapidity and ease, or 

 carelessness, than others. That what are shown to us as 

 peculiarities of cockney dialect are mere vulgarisms and 

 slang, not altogether peculiar to the metropolis, is very true. 

 Agreeably to Walker, the educated English often give the 

 dound of a to e, pronouncing Derby, Darby ; clerk, clark, &c. 

 This at first seemed very odd ; but when I returned home, 

 our own way had become foreign to me. Vase is universally 

 vawze or vaze ; route, rute. With us, except in society which 

 has a more than ordinary European element, these, and some 

 other foreign words in common use, are Anglicized; and 

 though when one is accustomed to the more polite sound 

 there may seem an affectation of simplicity in this, I cannot 

 but wish that the custom was more general. The French 

 almost universally adapt foreign words of which they have 

 need for common use to the requirements of their habitual 

 tongue, changing not only the pronunciation but the spelling : 

 they write rosbiffor the old English roast beef, biftek for beef 

 steak. So we write and pronounce cotelette cutlet ; why need 

 we say &quot;angtremay&quot; for entremets? or if we choose that 

 sound, and like it also better than &quot;side-dishes&quot; why not print 

 it &quot; angtremay ?&quot; We write Cologne for Koln ; why not 

 Leeong for Lyons 1 or if Lyons, let us also speak it Lyons, 

 and consider Leeong an affectation except when we speak it 

 in connection with other plainly French words. The only 

 rule with regard to such matters is, to follow custom. Sin 

 gularity is impertinent where it can be gracefully avoided ; 

 but as there is more tendency to Anglicize foreign words that 

 are in general use in America than in England, and this is a 

 good and sensible tendency, let us not look for our rules to 

 English custom. Let us read Venus de Medicis Venus de 

 Medicis, rather than stammer and blush over it because we 



