Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1858-11-12
The BOn-NIOts of TalleYrand.

A wonderful wit was Talevrand His bon-mots
which for thirty years the delight of Frenchmen
and the rest of mankind marked not merely by the
brcvy which is always the soul of w.t. but by subtey
Of thought and delcacy of expression which constitute
their highest charm Besides this his keenest sarcasms
had usually certain air of good breeding that dstin
guished them, greatly to his credit from the malignant
ests of Rogers and the rough etorts of Douglas Jerrod
othng IN the way of witty and civil rebuke could be
finer than his reprOOt OF young gentleman who was
boastng of the extreme beauty of his mother apparently
implying that it mgh account for the same advantage
in the person of the son: Ceat donC said the great
diplomat, bandy, Monsieur rotre pere qu neah pas 81
blen! at was your father, then, who not hand
some!" Lord Holland in his Foreign "reminiscences
gives another bonmo of Talleyrand which is not to be
found in the old list of his clever sayings AT the time
when the celebrity of Chateaubriand the vanest of all
Frenchmcn rapidly the wane, it happened to be
mentioned in conversation that he was growing quite
deaf and that he complained bitterly of that nfirmitv
Je comprend, said Talleyrand depuis quon cesse de
parter de ti, IL SC croft so,trd! " understand since
every body has ceased talking about him he believes
himself deaf" The only ungallant remark that is re-
corded among his nnumcrabe ests is his saucy comment
on the tender regard that he had entertained for
Madame de Stael i" II tam aUoir aine Mne de Stae
pour connaitre tout lie bonheur daimer une bee" But
his finest witticsm, and as happy sarcasm as ever
from any man, is told in Lord Broughams Times
of George III. This has all the politeness as we'll as
the subtle wit that usually characterized the bon nots
vi laeyfanu NOL long alIef MS Dreacn OF friendship
with Madame de Stael that very intellectual and ey
tremey masculine woman wrote her novel of Delphne
in which she satirzed her former friend in the character
of an old woman, while she intended all the delicate
charms of the heroine to be taken as her own Chan
cling to meet Madame de S. after the publication Of
the book in fashionable assembly, he said to her. bow
ing politely, understand, madame that in your last
novel you and figure disguised females ' The re-
tort certainly sumner and for keen wit was such
as no other man could have made. But never was q
wlndbag 50 handsomely punctqred as when he took the
Of SqTm6 out Of an ego;ca and speech
great orator was descanng in society on the qualities
which minister required to extricate the nation from
its difficulties namely great knowledge genius fmilari
ty with the upper classes popularity with the lower
classes the gift of writing and speaking eloquenty, al
of which qualities it obvious enough he reckoned az
his own. Every body stared with admiration but Tai
eyrand who simply listened attentivey to the end ant
then observed 1t seems to me you have omitted ont
of the qualities of this remarkable man should he no
be very much pitted with the smallpox ~ pique de
petite reroe) This could be other than Mirabeau
ana tne e1ect upon the auditors can only be imagined
Boston Post