----The inventor of a new word must never flatter himself that he has
secured the public adoption, for he must lie in the grave before he
can enter the Dictionary.--_D'Israeli_.
_Mr. White_:--I am an odd old fellow, and fond of etymology, and
frequently amuse myself with tracing to their roots, words in familiar
use. Having been confoundedly puzzled of late by the term CAUCUS,
which is in every body's mouth, and not being able to satisfy myself
as to its origin, I have determined to have recourse to you, and will
be infinitely obliged to you or any of your readers for a solution of
the difficulty. If it be true as D'Israeli says, that the inventor of
a new word cannot be secure of its adoption by the public, for he must
lie in the grave before he can enter the Dictionary--the man who made
the aforesaid word must be still living, though at a very advanced
age. I rather suppose however that D'Israeli is mistaken, and that the
inventor has been dead a long time, and lived to see the general
adoption of his word, notwithstanding it has as yet no place in any
Dictionary that I have seen. Supposing it to be an English word, I
consulted Walker, and was mortified to find that he took no notice of
it. I then made sundry combinations of other terms, but could light
upon none that seemed at all plausible, except the words _calk us_,
which, united into caucus, may produce a kind of _onomatopoeia_,
descriptive of the assemblage in question; for to calk, is, according
to the abovementioned lexicographer, "to stop the leak of a vessel;"
and inasmuch as a caucus is urged by the admirers of Mr. Van Buren, to
be the means of stopping all leaks in our political vessel, there
seems to be some show of reason in this derivation. Upon further
reflection, however, I concluded that the word must be Greek, and
having recourse to Schrevelius, found the paronymous term _kakos_,
malus. This I presently rejected, though apparently descriptive of the
pernicious tendency of a caucus, because the institutors of that
pestilent oligarchy would hardly have selected so barefaced an
epitheton, such a cacophony, if I may so speak. On further search,
upon meeting with _kaukis_, I was so much delighted with the near
resemblance of sound, as to jump up and cry out _eureka_; but
moderated my rapture on discovering that "_genus calceamenti_," the
explanatory terms in Latin, could not be tortured to any manner of
application, unless indeed it was intended to indicate that the
members of a caucus would be willing to stand in the _people's shoes_,
upon the occasion of electing a President of the United States; or
unless we observe further the _aliter baukos, jucundus_; for it is
literally a very pleasant and right merry way of getting rid of the
difficulty of a choice by the people. So far the Greek. As for the
Latin, I have consulted every Dictionary in my possession, from
Ainsworth and Young, up to _old Thoma Thomasius_, printed _Coventriæ
Septimo Idus, Februarii 1630_, and can find nothing resembling our
Caucus, but the three headed robber _Cacus_, who by paronomasia, might
be considered as the grand prototype of that modern monster, which has
stolen, if not the _cattle_, at least the property of the great
American Hercules, and will keep it, unless he rise in his might, and
crushing the political thief, resumes his original rights. Now, Mr.
White, I am disposed to rest here; though not quite so well satisfied
as Jonathan Oldbuck was about the locality Of Agricola's camp, from
those mysterious initials which the mischievous Edie Ochiltree so
wickedly interpreted to mean "_Ailie Davy's lang ladle_," and not
"_Agricola dicavit libens lubens_," as _Monkbarns_ would have it;--but
do observe, sir, the singular coincidences between Cacus and Caucus;
the one a three headed rogue--the other a sort of political Cerberus;
the first slily taking away the cattle of another--the second
insidiously cajoling the people of their rights; the former hiding
them in a cave, where they were discovered by their bellowing--the
latter betrayed by a bellowing from Maine to Georgia; and finally
Cacus demolished by Hercules, and Caucus easily demolished by the
Herculean force of public sentiment.
I acknowledge, however, that I am not entirely satisfied,
notwithstanding this "_confirmation strong_," and hope you will
speedily relieve the perplexity of
Your most obedient,