NOTE.
We have received a polite letter from Mr. ELLER MAN, the author of Tke Duke of Alba, explaining that " Coramba " is not, as we said, a " cant phrase or oath," but "merely an exclamation quite as harmless " as "Bless my soull" or " Goodness me 1 " We scarcely see that the difference between our brief characteristic of the phrase and this milder illustration amounts to a want of "justice": but perhaps " slight oath" might be more accurate, if "cant phrase" is not allowable.
How often the Spaniards use it, is nothing to the question of its use in the novel. All nations, and all classes of people have particular words which they use frequently ; but they are not therefore to be used frequently in fiction, unless the object is to characterize a particular class of person; and even then, cant expletives require to be very sparingly introduced.
Previous page
