The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-10-30
Pretty SCeeohas,

meditation, 10 say the. right thing is an
enviable gift still, and may be made a
wonderful instrument Of Cancellation
and pacification. The worst of it is that
persons possessing the power of rcpartee
are apt to make a hostile rather than an
amicaLle use of it; and, indeed, most of
us covet it rather as a whip to sting with
than a feather to tickle. Caustic
speeches are sure to draw, and the most
amiable people, who would not them
selves hurt their friends feelings on any
account, chuckle over them as much as
others. Therefore they are continually
chronicled, but pretty speeches lack the
same pungency, and are passed by as ill.,
sipid; yet I think there is a fine SAVIOR
about one or two that 1 remember
said by George the fourth to the officer
of marines, for example. 1t may be fa-
miliar to you, but will really bear repe-
tition. There was an empty bottle on the
table, and the king told the servant to
''take away that marine" A guest sit
ting next to the king whispered in his
car that an officer present belonged to
that branch of the service. George the
fourth ascertained his name, and then,
addressing him aloud, asked if he knew
why an empty bottle was called a ma
rine. "No, your majesty" replied the
officer because" said the king, sit
has done its duty, and is ready to do it
again" Which was nent way of get
ting out of a rather awkward phrase as
one can well imagine. Ladies, however,
are the fair and proper recipients OF
pretty speeches, and the man who gets
them is sort of poacher. The Due dc
NivernOis made an ingenious one to
T. Il no, mr.
to persuade him to withdraw his Opposi-
ton to some measure she had set her
heart on. at is no use, Monsieur lie
Due" she said, ':you are only injuring
your influence, for the king has made up
his mind, and I have myself heard him
say that he will never change" "Ah
madame, he was looking ct you" replied
the duke. Could any but Il Frenchman
have ever conveyed determined resistance
in so polite form? There WAS an inge-
NOUS amount of devotion implied in the
remark of IL love-sick millionaire, when
the object of his affections becam cccstatic
over the beauty OF the evening star.
ooh, do not, do not praise it like tn: t!'
he cried, 81 can not get it for you" 1t is
no wonder that Tom Moore was ever
such Il general tavorite, if he often said
such charming little things as he wrote.
l think the very prettiest, quaintest quip
ever penned is in one of his love songs.
The lover can not deny that he has paid
to others homage before he saw the pre-
sent object of his affections; in fact, he
learned lip-service very early.
''That lesson of sweet and enraptured lore
have never forgot, I'll allow:
| have had BIZ rOie very often before,
But never by heart until now"
Irishmen generally do manage to say
prettier things than others can. They
have a certain confidence or assurance
which enables them to blurt out what
ever comes uppermost in his mind; that
is why they make bulls. A man who is
always shooting must miss sometimes.
The more cautious Englishman or Scotch
man escapes the biunders, but scores
fewer hits, and does not often marry an
heiress, l believe CasselFs Magazine.