THE MAGIC OF TITLE.

Thames Star, Volume XVI, Issue 5023, 17 February 1885, Page 2

THE MAGIC OF TITLE.

Human beings are strange creatures. The Mikado of Japan has recently created a nobility of five orders, correspondii?|j with the European grades of prince, duke, mirquis, count, and viscount. But the Japanese words which are equivalent to these awe-inspiring titles do not impresi English ears seriously. Thus the syllable Dan in Japanese now signifies something like viscount. Hence, if the famous Dan Tucker should^ visit Japan, he would be received with the most distinguished consideration, and never be told to " get out of the way."

The carious circumstaoce is that a short syllable like Dan, which falls upon our ears with comic effect, should excite deep respect when uttered in the hearing of another people.. Equally absurd is it that the small word duke should double up a son of Albion and reduce him to the last extremity of veneration. Probably, it a Japanese heard the word, it would merely make him laugh. The new titles of the Japanese nobility are Ko, Koo, Hakou, Shi, and Dan. To get the legal right to pertix one of these funny syllables to their names, Japanese heroes will shed their.blood, Japanese statesmeu will wear out their lives, aod Japanese sycophants will break their backs, i .