e said it!

"_If you saw that sunset painted in a picture, you'd never believe it
would be possible!_"

* * * * *

It must be borne distinctly in mind that _it is not merely because
this remark is trite that it is bromidic_; it is because that, with
the Bromide, the remark is _inevitable_. One expects it from him,
and one is never disappointed. And, moreover, it is always offered by
the Bromide as a fresh, new, apt and rather clever thing to say. He
really believes, no doubt, that it is original--it is, at any rate,
neat, as he indicates by his evident expectation of applause. The
remark follows upon the physical or mental stimulus as the night the
day; he cannot, then, be true to any other impulse. Originality was
inhibited in him since his great-grandmother's time. He has "got the
habit."

Accepting his irresponsibility, and with all charity to his undeveloped
personality, we may note a few other examples of his mental reflexes.
The list is long, but it would take a large encyclopaedia to exhaust
the subject. The pastime, recently come into vogue, of collecting
Bromidioms,[1] is a pursuit by itself, worthy enough of practice if one
appreciates the subtleties of the game and does not merely collate
hackneyed phrases, irrespective of their true bromidic quality. For our
purpose in elucidating the thesis in hand, however, we need cull but a
few specimens, leaving the list to be completed by the reader at his
leisure.

[Footnote 1: For this apt and cleverly coined word I am indebted to Mr.
Frank O'Malley of the New York "Sun," who has been one of the most
ardent and discriminating collectors of Bromidioms.]

* * * * *

If you both happen to know Mr. Smith of Des Moines, the Bromide
inevitably will say:

"_This world is such a small place, after all, isn't it_?"

The Bromide never mentions such a vulgar thing as a birth, but

"_The Year Baby Came_."

The Bromide's euphemisms are the slang of her caste. When she departs
from her visit, she says:

_"I've had a perfectly charming time."_

_"It's SO good of you to have asked me_!"

"_Now, DO come and see us_!"

And when her caller leaves, her mind springs with a snap to fasten the
time-worn farewell:

"_Now you have found the way, do come often_!"

And this piece of ancient cynicism has run through a thousand changes:

"_Of course if you leave your umbrella at home it's sure to
rain!_"

B