Absurd Names For Honey

Fow more riJiculous pnietices prevail thau the otie tliat gives f'oicign aud inappropriatu mimes to the mnney of oui1 couiitry. One may travel for daya and weeks in some of tlio States and hardiy liear tho words dollar, dime, or cent. IIo pays four shillings íor a flinuer and a eixpenoo for an apple. Tlie liveryuian charges twuuty snilliugs for the uso of a horse, while tlio boys veiid mo'asses candy for a penny a stiok. We have otie proverb about "bcing penriy-wise and pOBnd-fooJish," another ia wliieh allusiun is made to a "tiiiuble sixpence,'' and still anotber in whieh tlie virtuës of ;in "hori85t penny'1 are prizcd. Foreigners, as a elats, use American nauies for moncy rnuch more gcnerally thiin do our old settlers. It is ratlier hard to give a reason for tliis practice of calling thins by wrong names. If there is anytliiirg in whicli our forefathers shoncd wisdom superior to that of tho rulera of othcr eounlries, it wns in tlic adoption of n ciroulating medium so easily reckoued that the inerest ebild could uuderstaud aud compute it. Tlie Biibs' itution of dollars, dimes, and cents, for pounds, shilliogs, and penco as as great an improyemeut .11 its way as was the adoptiou of our simple form of goverument in the place of tue complioated systcm of the Bntish límpire. Jiut it is a litilo sarprising that aftcr the lupee of ncarly a oentury vo still hear tho words shilling and lenny almosl as freely used as thcy were )y our accestors in the dnys of Ueorge "iUernmao Frints, cnly a shilling a yard,1' is secn iu the windows of half of oiïr dry goods stores. Peony collections are taken up n Bübbath schools, and boys are bribed by eixpenco to go to bed early when tliere is cotupatiy at te house. New Eugland can hardlv bo aid to liavo adopted the new currency yet. The Boston man still pnys a f1j1liug for a píate of oyster.-, andgivesfour pi nee ha'penny for a glass of soda In a country store in Yankee laiiJ, "twenty sbillings," "ihreeand sixpence," "ninepence," and "one and threepence" are uscd to detignate lbo prioes of gooda, niuch es they wcre in tho davs of John Hancock. The conlinued use of the words shillings aud pecce, when wo have do coin or scrip of correspoudicg value, is the more remarcable when we iind our Ciinadian neighbors ariopting our decimal curreney, and inducing the Home goverument to supply thcui with a coinage correspondino; wi.h t. It strikes oue as being a little peculiar, afler riding on the Grand Trunk Kailway iu Canada, and hearing dime aud oeut as the priue of a pie or cako, that when he passes the :ine apd comes oto "the States" he hears articles. Goodrich - dear old Peter Parley, of She littlo folks - tells us in that valuitblo volume, the Kecollcctions of a Lifetime, in alluding to the distinctions bctween ihe Jederalists and Democrats, in the days of the Hartford Oonveution, that :he former always used pounds, shilling.", and pecce iu speaking of tho valuo of things ; whilu the lattur employed for :he same purpose the words dollar, dime and cent. Shilling was a word that savored of the aristocrutic; whilu dollar was a plobcian expression. It was gentoel to fay that a thing cost a penny, but low aud vulgar to say it was worth a cent. rerbaps similar motives may havo bad something to do in keepiug up tbis foolish custom ; but whatever inay be the reason for having onco adopted it, there is oertaiuly no causo for longer usiug words tbat have a different -signifi canecí in different parts of tho country ai:d someumes in tho same State, and vvhioh never expressed the valué wbiob is conveyed by the same words when used n Englaud. Our shilling is ordinarily Vl% cents or 16% cents, wbile the Englisb shilling is equivalent to about 23 cents of our money. National pride, if nothing elso, should induce us to correct so fuolish an abuBe of words. Let parcuta and teachors cali tho attention of the young to the tnpropriety ot ttús üiistom, and especially let merebants set a right exauiplo in helping the rt'foriu. i'here is no more propriety in cdtling a cent coined n our niiut a penny, than u calliug a member oí our Congress a ord.