Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1882-11-16
Rea dy wit.

hlbIOTy IL Iull OF examples OF the sue
cess attained by qulck-witted men. De
Grammont, when young man, waited on
Cardinal Rchelieu, and surprised the
great minister In somewhat unGlgnlfed
amusement OF leaping on wall. The
cardinal looked annoyed-a less ready
witted man would have apologized aud re-
tired. But DE Grammont was wiser, aud
exclaimed, 81 will wager that can leap
higher than your eminence." The chal-
lenge was accepted. De Grammont was
courtier enough TO allow himself TO be sur
passed, ana the cardinal was his friend
for the future. This readiness is confined
to no rank OF life. Horace Walpole gives
an instance of it in a Paris fishwoman.
The dauphIn having recovered frem q Sc
rous illness, the ''dames de la Halle
waited on the King (Louis XIV. TO offer
their congratulations. "What would have
become OF us had our dauphln dled2" said
the apokcswoman: "we should have lost
our all. 3" "Yes," put IN second fish
woman, who observed the Kings brow
darken at this somewhat eQlIvocal COM
pliment to himself" we should, indeed,
have lost cur all, for our good King would
never have survived bis sons death" Ii
was ready wit that enabled William the
Conqueror TO persuade his followers that
bis fall on stepping ashore IN England,
was an omen of good Instead OF evil for
tune. 81 have taken 'seIsin' OF this land, I"
he exclaimed, rising with his hands full OF
earth; and the ready turn dispelled the
superstltious fears which the accident had
occasloned. The lower orders often pos
sess great readiness at repartee. Few re-
torts are better than thSt of the paver TO
Sydenham the great seventeenth century
physician, The doctor was complaining
Of the bad manner in which the pavement
was laid In front of his house, adding,
''And now you throw down earth TO hide
your bad work" "Well DOCTOR" said the
man quietly, "mine is not the only bad
work that the earth hides" Old biogra-
pliers are fond of including "a ready wit"
among the virtues of the subject of their
memoirs; indeed, dull folks appear 10
have been looked upon In former days
with extreme contempt. DIR. johnson was
very outspoken in his opinion regarding
stupid people. lnveighing against q
worthy but extremely foolish female ac-
quaintance, lady present reminded hum
that she was very good woman, land
trust that we shall meet her in paradise. !"
"Madam," roared the eXasperated doctor,
81 never desire to meet fools anywhere. "
Female galts are Just as much the sub
ject CT fashions caprices as are bonnets
and bustles, or necessity, they must be,
for the width aud length OF skirt, whether
it be bouffant or serpentlne, and dozen
other things, which are regulated solely by
the prevailing mode, determine the proper
caper in pedestrianism. The conventional
girl has 10 bring her adaptabllity Into play
Just as much when she selects her style of
walk as she does in deciding upon the style
of her hat or the stuff for her gown.
Congruty, too, plays an important part in
her street appearance aud is an important
factor In her success The plump girl,
who Is all rich, ripe, round curves and
massiveness, can bound along with quick,
elastic step that would be ridIculously out
of place in her lank and sweetly -@Sthetic
sister. The first can travel with that easy.
springing sway that is as suggestive of
physical luxury and solid comfort as a
pineapple fiber hammock under an apple
tree; the other must gllde-her very ap-
pearance suggests the fralltIes of her struc-
ture and the possibilities of her being
Jared out of shape in the bounding pro-
cess. Between these two extremes OF gait
there is the happy mean, that is much less
obtruslve, as 1t is more graceful, than
either of the others; it ls, too, much more
rare. These three constitute the generic
gaits; the specific ones are as numerous as
the girls who go them
Every woman has peculiarly of gait
essentially her own-a sort of warping of
the general principle to her idiosyncrasies.
1t may result from almost anything, from
bow leg to a splayed foot, but it will
give clew to her character, from which
much may be gathered with proper observ-
alton. TO one who watches the crowd il
becomes question whether, with proper
description of the steps and motions of the
body, 1t would not be possible to classify
each girl with a tolerable degree or accu-
racy. The matter of-fact girl brings down
her feet with such prosaic force that she is
readily Distinguished 80, too is the ro-
mantle young lady, whose step in itself Is
suggestive of rope ladders and mysterious
moonlight. There is a go-out am0ng-the-
heather goodness of gait that will mark
the evangelist damsel ten blocks from
prayer meeting, and the step OF the liter
ary woman has an onomatopSia about it
that proclalms her al once. So 1t is
throughout the whole catalogue of female
traits and no one who studies the subject
with any degree of care can help being
convinced that a woman's walk is not an
obscure factor in the grand results of her
street victories.