Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-09-12
A ROLAND FOR AN OLIVER.

phrase, but one of the oldest of proven
bal expressions, dating apparently as
far back as the latter end of the eighth
century. We are told that the Emperor
Charlemagne, in his expedition against
the Saracens in 778, was accompanied
by two pages, named Roland and
Oliver, who were so excellent and so
equally matched, that the equality be-
came proverbial-.I'll give you a
Roland for your Oliver" being the
same as the vulgar saying: "Tit for
tat;" that is: "I'll give you the same
GENERALLY in q retaliatory sense] as you
give me;" or the moro classical one OF
Quid pro quo, TO be even with one. Its
proper adaptation, however, as under
stood at the present day, will be much
better explained by few humorous
illustrations.
A very clever reply to a somewhat
satirical remark was that given TO
Louis XIV. by Cardinal Richelieu, who
was nobleman as we'll as a priest. A
celebrated Archbishop of Paris, Tar
douin de Beaumont de Perefixe, was
appointed preceptor TO His Majesty.
One day he preached notable sermon
before the Court of France, which
touched principally upon the duties OF
the nobility "Ahi" said the King TO
Richelieu, ''the preacher has thrown a
vast quantity of stones into your garden
to-day." "Ycs, sire," answered the
Cardinal; sand few have fallen into
the royal park" A courtly amount of
etiquette of expression is observable in
this answer, with which we may pre-.
sumo that even royalty itself could in
nowise be offended.
Equally as good is the following, in
which we shall carefully note by the
way that praise has different effects on
different minds. The Emperor Alex
ander of Russia, during the occupation
of Paris, was present at the anniversary
of one of the hospitals. Plates for con-
tributions were passed round, and they
were borne by some of the patrons
wives and daughters. The plate pre-
sented to the Emperor was held by an
extremely pretty girl. AS he literally
gave his louis-d'o rs, he whispered !:
"Mademoiselle, this is for your beauti-
full bright eyes" The charming little
damsel politely courtesie1, and imme-
diately presented the plate again.
"What!" said the Emperor in amaze
ment, "moreP" eyes, sire," said she,
~ now want something for the poor"
1t is related of Mr.. Hamilton, of by
kebar, a well-known farmer, that, visit
ing the palace of Hamilton on q certain
day, and brought into conversation with
the late Duke, His Grace--always so
plant and courteous in his dcmeanor,
and pleased with the humor of the old
farmer-said, in a jocular way: "Pray,
Mr.. Hamilton, where in our ancestral
tree am l TO look for your familyP"
"Oh!" replied the old man, drawing a
long breath, as il stonished-"wha
wad ever think of looking for the root
among the branchesp" The Duke
laughed heartily at this, and added:
"Quite true, quite true; it would, in
deed, be folly to do So"
Speaking of farmers, the following
anecdote, as related by Sussex gentle
man, may claim especial notice, being
so pointedly connected with our present
subject. 1t exhibits also the peculiar
disadvantages an agriculturist has to
contend against in farming near a popu-
lous town.
zone day." said this gentleman,
"before ha'v vest, l met a fashionably
dressed person with large handful of
ears of wheat, taken from my fields. l
saluted him respectfully, and expressed
my admiration of the beauty of the
wheat. 'Ycs,' said he; 'it is truly a
fine sample, and does the farmer great
credit who grew it, acknowledged
the compliment, and asked him from
which of my fields he took it. After he
had pointed it out, he assured me he
always liked TO take good sample
home, as it interested the ladies. Upon
this, noticing with admiration the style
of his coat, asked him to allow me to
look at the skirt. He readily did so /;
and | quietly took out my penknife and
cut large piece from the tail. The
gentleman bounced and swore; but
told him always took samples of cloth,
as found they greatly interested my
wife. l added, that he had no more
right to take my wheat than l to take
his coat, and that wished the public to
bear this truth in mind"
This was experience bought with a
vengeance. 1t is more often than not q
very dear school, but some people will
learn in no other, and scarcely even in
that.
On one occasion, an English gentle
man, who possessed keen wit, was at a
brilliant assembly of the elite of Vienna,
where a distinguished lady of that city
frequently amused herself and immedi-
ate circle of friends by saying smart and
rather uncourteous things, evidently for
the purpose of annoyance. "By the
way" inquired his fair interrogation,
show is it your countrymen speak
French so very imperfectlyp We Aus
TRANS use it with the same freedom as
il it were our native tongue" "Mad-
ame," retorted the Englishman, in the
blandest manner, al really can not say,
unless it be that the French army have
not been twice in our capital to teach it,
as they have been in yours"
One of the most distinguished incl
dents of Zimmermann's life was the
summons which he received to attend
Frederick the Great in his last illness in
1856. One day the King said to this
eminent physician: "You have, pre-
sumo, sir, helped many a man Into
another worldP" Any ordinary person
would doubtless have been scared by
so momentous an inquiry, and it was, in
fact, q somewhat bitter pill for the Doc
tor; but the dose he gave the King in
return was judicious mixture of truth
and flattery; "Not so many as your
Majesty, nor with so much honor TO my
self"
AS all classes of individuals, from the
highest to the lowest, are liable at times
to meet with n Roland for an Oliver, we
must not even exempt those shrewd men
of the world termed lawyers. A sea-
faring man was called upon the stand as
q witness. "Well, SIR" said the lawyer,
edo you know the plaintiff and defend
antP" After moments hesitation,
Jack declared his inability to compre-
bend the meaning of these words.
"Nhat not know the meaning of plain
tiff and DEFENDANT" continued the en-
ergetic inquirer. can intelligent fellow
you must be TO come here as witnessl
Can you tell me where on board the
vessel il was that that man struck the
other onep, "Certainly l can" re-