Foreign Equivalents for "Mr.'

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 184, 25 December 1886, Page 8

Foreign Equivalents for "Mr.'

Dcjiivo the past twelvemonth a slight change ha 3 been introduced in a detail of mufical criticism. The various foreign equivalents of tho prefix "Mr" have long perplexed critics, printers and readers. We have been expected to -write about Mr Mackenzie, M. Gounod, Signor Vordi, Herr Wagner, Senor Saraste, Pan Dvorak, Per Nordblom and Oospodin Pachrnann. On the Continent these distinctions are entirely unknown. In Germany they would refer to Ilerr Mackenzie, in Italy to Si^nor Pachmann, in France to M. Wagner, etc. Twelve months ago the "Figaro " began to write of every male, of whatever nationality, as "Mr." About the same period, or shortly afterward (as the refoim was avowedly borrowed fiom abroad there is no need to quarrel on the point of time), *he custom was adopted by tho "Daily Telegraph" and tho "St. •James Gazette," but I believe no other paper has yet made tho plunge. The thing jarred a little at first, bub we eeem aoon to have gob used to it. Iv a half-hearted sort of way some of u^ have also adopted the prefix "Miss" tor unmarried lady artist?. But here we hare all stooped. Nobody, co far a? I know, has yet had sufficient courage to refer to Mra Patti, Mrs Nilsson, or Mrs Schumann. It would be perfectly logical to do co, far more logical, indeed, than to use tho senseless prefix " Madam " when writing about an Italian or a German lad/. Abroad, and particularly in France, they carry the matter still further, and tran c late the titles of works into tho lan guage of the country. Thus "II Trovatore " and '* Die Meistersinger " figure as; " LeH Maitrea ChanteurB de Nuremberg." We ourselves in England do something of the sort, and, in referring to Schumann's work?, we almost invariably | translate their Gorman titles into English. Possibly it may be deemed hopeless yet to secure some sort of uniformity in these things. The florr, the Monsieur and tho Signor will probably flourish for some time to come, although writers will he&itate to commit the absurdity of trying to popularise the prefixes •' Pan," " Per " and "Gospodin." And the general uae of tho word "Mr " is at any rate the thin end ef the wedge.

J. A. Symonds "Bon Jonson" in the series of " English Worthies" will be published immediately, Forthcoming volumes in the same series are " Claverhouse," by Mowbray Morris j "Sir Thonaaa More," by J. Cotter Morieon j "Wellington," bv K. L. Stevenponjand "Lord Peterborough/ by Walter BetixnU