An Appeal and a Protest

WHILE our learned friends the philologists are trying to invent a new pronoun, by the use of which we may get rid of the awkwardness of “ his or hers,” " he or she,” many readers and writers of the English language would thank them very heartily if they would make, or discover, a mode of address which could be applied gracefully and naturally to both married and unmarried women, precisely as Mr. is applied to men.

The women who write books would be especially grateful for this. If John Smith should print on the title-page of his book, “ By Mr. John Smith,” he would be ridiculed and laughed at. It would not be “ good form.” Plain John Smith or Theodore Roosevelt is à lamode for good Americans, whether they be Learned Blacksmiths or Presidents, married or unmarried.

But if John’s wife Mary writes a book, what then ? It is of no possible consequence to the readers of that book whether she be married or no. Yet unless she stultifies herself by taking the public into her confidence and announcing that she is Mrs. Mary Smith, the chances are that the first man who reviews her book will enlighten his readers as to the merits or demerits of Miss Smith ! If Mary happens to be a whitehaired grandmother, as is quite possible, this is not exactly pleasant.

On the other hand, if John Smith’s daughter, just out of college and in the bloom of her youth, has the good luck to “ get into ” — the Atlantic, for instance, she must sign her name Miss Polly Smith, or it is ten to one that she will have the matronly Mrs. applied to her forthwith. Neither is this quite agreeable, if Polly is a sensible girl just out of her teens.

We were introduced to the Cheerless Reader at our January feast. Just at this point I hear him exclaim : “ Much ado about nothing! If a woman has done any work worth mentioning or remembering, such a blunder could not be made. If she has n’t, what does it matter?”

To which it is only necessary to reply that in a recent issue of a well-known city journal mention was made of Miss Julia Ward Howe, Miss Kate Wiggins, and Mrs. Sarah Orne Jewett! There might easily have been one misprint overlooked by the proofreader, but hardly three.

Please, Messieurs the Wordmakers, coin a word for us ! Or perhaps we might go back to the usage of our greatgrandfathers, who spoke of Mistress Evelyn Byrd or Mistress Anne Craddock precisely as they spoke of Mistress John Adams and Mistress Dolly Madison.