, are almost
poetical. To speak of the "casualties" in a battle, meaning the number
of killed and wounded men, seems almost heartless; but to say a man
"fell in battle," though it means the same thing, is almost poetical,
because it suggests an idea of courage and sacrifice. The expression,
"Roll of Honour," is a euphemism, but poetical. It suggests the one
consoling thought which relieves the horror of the bald expression,
"list of casualties."

Another cause of the use of euphemisms, besides the superstitious fear
of bringing misfortune by mentioning it too plainly, is the fear of
being vulgar or indecent. Through this feeling words which are quite
proper at one time pass out of use among refined people. English
people do not freely use the word "stomach" in conversation, and are
often a little shocked when they hear French people describing their
ailments in this region of the body. In the same way, names of
articles of underclothing pass out of use. The old word for the
garment which is now generally called a "chemise" was _smock_; but
this in time became tinged with vulgarity, and the word _shift_ was
used. This in its turn fell out of use among refined people, who began
to use the French word _chemise_. Even this, and the word _drawers_,
which was also once a most refined expression, are falling into
disuse, and people talk vaguely of "underlinen" in speaking of these
garments. The shops which are always refined to the verge of vulgarity
only allow themselves to use the French word _lingerie_.

Again, the faults of our friends and acquaintances, and even the
graver offences of criminals, are matters with which we tend to deal
lightly. Such offences have gathered a whole throng of euphemisms
about them. When we do not like to say boldly that a person is a liar,
we say the same thing by means of the euphemism a "stranger to the
truth." Other lighter ways of saying that a person is lying is to say
that he is "romancing," or "drawing the long bow," or "drawing on the
imagination," or "telling a fairy tale." A thief will be described as
a "defaulter," and we may say of a man who has stolen his employer's
money as it passed through his hands that he is "short in his
accounts."

Especially among the poorer or less respectable people, to whom the
idea of crime becomes familiar, the use of slang euphemisms on this
subject grows up. A person for whom the police are searching is
"wanted." A man who is hanged "swings." Th