The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-09-10
wHlPPLe ANEccoTEs-


some q the Bright Sayings Of the Great
Easayist sad Critic.
Many of Mr.. Edwin P. Whipple'.
keen sayings have been passed into
general circulation. The phrase in
which he characterized Emerson az ga
cross between Socrates and Sam Slick,
may serve as an example, and it is a
wonderfully clever bit of mingled satire,
shrewd criticism and winged humor.
'Couldn't pleasant essay be written, :"
l heard him remark once, on copy.
rightlng ones jokes. You laboriousIy
elaborate quip or jest, say it once
ana then every man who hears il feels
not the slightest conjunction at appro.
priating it and passing it off as his own.
1here should be means of legal pro.
lection against such encroachment on
private rights, and / suppose the copy.
right law is the proper thing to do il.
Think OF how droll it would sound: u.
So-and so, having discovered play up-
on such . word. running thus and thus,
to be led up to in this and this manner
90 claim the full right, title and so on to
use sa d pun'-and all the rest of the
rigmarole."
Dr. Bartol, in his eulogy, gave q
couple of instances of Mr.. Whipple's
gu ckness of repartee. A friend having
asked him what would be his idea of a
public library if he had half a million to
build it with: IF had the half million, !"
returned Mr.. Whipple, Il shouldn' I
have the idea" In debate which NAV
have irritated him little, his opponent
at length said roughly: "You have GER
tainly lost your Understandings 1T
is very evident" Mr.. Whipple retorted
with cool keenness, ''that you have not
found it."
When the Hon. P. T. Barnum was
younger than now lie was infected with
political asp:rat' ons, and secured a seat
in the Legislature of Connecticut. His
efforts as an orator were less successful
than his essays in the show business had
been. and the Legislature could not be
made to yield him q hearing. "What
do you suppose is the reason" some one
asked Mr.. Whipple, .'that Mr.. Barnum
could not obtain the ear of the House?"
''Oh. nothing is simpler" was the
ready response, ''they were afraid he'd
exhibit it in museum.
In graver talk Mr.. Whipple was keen,
wise, broad and discriminating. He
had read widely. and he had read with
that appreciation and profit which be-
long only to the finest intellect He
saw with remarkable clearness the bear
ings of subject, its relation to other
thoughts and themes, and he constantly
brought out the most richly suggestive
analogies, while he seldom lacked an
instance or an illustration, so closely to
the point and so aptly told as to be bet
ter than most arguments. And yet,
with all this, he was rarely good lis
tener. His modesty and h 8 kindly gen.
crosby were beautiful lesson to more
impatient and lesser men, who could
talk but could not give attention to 9TH
ers unless they were forc.d to it. Ire
member one evening when rather
wordy and de :idcdly young Harvard
student had been taking upon himself
the lions share Of the conversation in
the group which had gathered about
Mr.. Whipple in the latter's parlor, that
I said impaticntly to y lovely old lady:
Il must say l wish that young Mr..
- could have been suppressed. I
wanted to hear Mr.. Whipple's views on
that subject" but wasn't it finer. !"
she replied, Ito see how splendidly he
can listen? / never saw more perfect
exhibition of the 8 .,irit Of gentleman
in my life. 1 felt like thanking Mr..
- for bringing him ont so nobly."-
Boston Cor. ProUiden journal.