"D. C. K-," Philadelphia.—"Can the word 'damage' be used correctly to mean 'expense'? Is its use sanctioned by literary authority? "

"Damage," of course, can be used to mean "expense," but by inference we conclude that " D. C. K." wishes to know whether it may be so used correctly. In the sense suggested "damage" is a colloquialism, and a vulgar perversion of the meaning of the term in law. The word has been used by Byron, by Mrs.Stowe, by Dickens and others, but as a colloquialism. It is vernacular among English commercial men and the middle class. The inquiry recalls the following colloquy between a Boston hackman and his newly arrived English fare: " What's the damage?" "'No damage, sir. I have brought you safely, have I not? My charge is a dollar and a half."