The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1877-07-12

II
they receive, he says, but lIttls thanks
from an ungratefui audience. All
pleasantry should. Of course, rise out of
the occasion, and he Is q poor Joker
who let's it appear that he has planned
his work beforehand. Suspicion il an
afterth0ught when there has been
laughter at the moment. Still suspic-
lon hangs around the sayer of good
things when men think over his
wit. We must always side with the
sentiment hidden In a retort, five are
| to enjoy It. M 49,. ~,
Coleridge, in addition to bis deeper
and loftier faculties, had this power Of
ret0rt attributed to him In early life,
and, as we gather from the history OF
q particular ride, could apply It ac-
cording to the sensibilities OF his op-
ponents. The horse and get-up Of the
rider on this occasion were alike open
to vulgar criticism, and q low wag, APP
preciating the general effect, asked the
poet II he had met tailor Just like
himself. Yes" was the reply, land
he said he had Just lost his goose.n
After this lowly triumph, his road
brought him within hail Of q more
distinguished party Of horsemen. one
! OF whom, q sporting M. p, known to
have been bribed by the Ministry,
stopped an him to inquire the price Of
the answer. ais 100 guineas; a. for the
have not fixed his price," -
A story il told OF the late Marquis
de Boissy, who showed the same dis
regard OF appearances, attended by the
same power Of holding his own under
any guise or disguise. When present.
ed to the late Emperor, his new uni
form not being ready, he made his APP
pearance in an old court costume Of
his grandfather's, q man Of vastly
larger physique than himself The
Emperor received him kindly, but
some Of the courtiers grinned. Prince
Murat, SON Of the unfortunate King Of
Naples, could not refrain u remark on
the drollness of his dress. Eyes" said
De Boissy, "c'est vrai Monseigneur, ct
81 tous ceux Qui vienent lei deyaient
porter les costumes de leurs grandperes
on en- verrait de bien plus droles en-
core;" the point, of course, being the
well-known humble condition OF the
Princes own ancestry.
But elfassertion under difficulties
Is not the noblest field for this weapon
Of defense. Patriotism has stimulated
some of its happiest effects. Thus the
witty Lord Dudley, upon Vienna
lady remarking impudently to him,
What wretched bad French you all
speak In Lond0n!" was inspired by IL
to answer, 1T Is true, madam, we
have not enjoyed the advantage of
tai. !"
And in the same cause Walter Scott
| treasured retort OF his own In MEM
DRY which was not reticent Of more
| intoxicating triumphs. II am afraid"
he said, Mr.. Bolton (the Birming-
ham engilieer) "has not forgotten q
little passage that once took place be-
tween US. We met in public COM
pany, and In reply to the remark of
some one he said, THAT'S like an old
saying-in every corner Of the world
you will find Scot, q rat, and New
castle grind-stone.' This touched my
spirit, and I said, Mr.. Bolton, you
ought to have added and q Biymingham
button There was laugh at this,
and Mr.. Bolton replied, I'VE make
something better In Birmingham than
buttons we make steam engines, SIR"
"a pompous rejoinder, which proba-
bly, helped Sir Walter to remember his
share In the encounter.
That was not bad retort Of M. Van
de Weyer on q diplomatic occasion,
though, perhaps, It would hardly come
under the head Of patriotism, when
Lord Ponsonby, under the instructions
Of Lord PalmerstOn, was at Brussels
advocating the imposition of the Prince
Of Orange upon the Belgians as their
new king. M. Van de Weyer, declar-
ing that the people would have moth
ing to do with 0rangeism, Lsrd Pom
sonby exclaimed, "The people, the
peopiei are you aware that within
eight days could have you hanged at
the first tree in the park by these very
people on whom you rely? ?" Eyes"
was the reply, 81 believe that with
time and plenty of money you might;
but could have you hanged in i've
minutes. and hanged gratis. Don't
let US play at that game" The two
gentlemen laughed and shook hands.
Success in this form of fencing is
often q relief to human nature under
the more irksome or humiliating
duties of benevolence. Croker quoted
an old story Of Fenelon, whose sliavity
of character and manner might posi-
bly, deceive people into regarding him
as q safe mark Of impertinence. He
had often leased Richelieu, and ineffec-
tually as It would seem, for subscrip-
tons to charitable undertakings, and
one day was telling him that he had
seen his picture. aAnd did you ask
II for subscription 2" said Richelieu.
No, saw there was no chance, "ssaid
Fenelon ait was much like you"
The biographers Of saints and Protest
ant WORTHLESS often relieve the some
what oppressive gravity Of their gener-
al toneand matter with these enc0un-
tiers Of wits, pious and profane, In
which for once the sinner looks small
and hides his diminished head.
AZ social engine the weapon re-
quires q heater management than be-
longs to ordinary skillfulness. In
polite hands the repartee may even
Induce the illusion sohappily described
In the couplet;
You feel when he kicks you down stairs
A though he was handing you up.
3 Thus, when the Frenchman exposed
to the wiles Of q mother resolved to win
him for . son-in-law BY parsding all
her daughters attractions, finds her
demanding his opinion Of some per-
adroitly Whispering In her ear, when
eyes for the daughter" This is better
than Charles Lambs blnntness to the
chattering woman, his neighbor at
dinner, who sharply tells him he IL not
attending to her, You don't seem 1t
al the better for what I am telling
YOU" "No, ma'am.v but this gentle
man on the other side Of me must, for
1t all came In at one ear and went out
at the other"
The streets Ia front Of the employ
ment oflices In Han Francisco are 90
obstructod with men seeking work,
that businooo l1rmo have requested the
0fty authofitieo 10 ddyet them away and
keep the streets clear \ ssa YSs1 at
q asnsrsi FIT Hueh I.es and Mr. w