Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-03-09
A DIPLOMATS DINNER.
A Plain and Cheap Banquet Where Every
body WINS Extremely Wen Pleased.

body WINS Extremely Wen Pleased.
Some years ago an accomplished diplo-
mate at Washington, the representative
IF power not of the first importance,
expressed his regret to a friend that he
could not give dinners, "because," he
said. ''my government is poor, and l
cannot afford it," The conversation oc-
Cured at the profuse and splendid table
of a rich and courteous host, whose feasts
were of great fame. and whose invita-
tons were credentials of admission to the
best society. A young diplomatic COM
rade who sat by heard the remark, and
smiled as he said: my government is
poorer than yours, and l am but lately
arrived. But what is diplomacy without
dinners? and | am going to give one. 1t
will not be like this, but the splendor is
not an essential part of the feast l shall
give plain and cheap dinner, to which
L invite you BOTH
His manner was gay, and his INVITA-
ton was gayly and gladly accepted be
cause he was one Of the delightful men
in Washington. His colleague however.
who had spoken first, shrugged his
shoulders. and said that. for his part, he
couldn't do it: he couldn't ask people 70
come to his house and eat poor dinner.
"Not so fast, - replied his friend; Il
didn say poor dinner, but plain and
cheap dinner. / hope it will be good,
nevertheless. although there may be TO
baked carp or stewed nightingales'
tongues. But come and see. y
The young minister of the small and
poor kingdom was one of the most ac-
complshed men in Washington He was
known to have corrected justice of the
supreme court in regard to decision of
a United States court in a western state,
and to have made the correction in Eng
fish, which was foreign tongue to him,
but in English so exQuisitely chosen and
urbanely expressed that the justice was
probably unconscious Of the modification
of the correction. The young minister
had no foolish, fond reserves. MY gov
eminent lis poor, | am poor, we are all
poor in my country he said, 'and l
and my secretary work like day laborers
here in Washington to acquire and to re-
port necessary information to my gov
ernment" But nobody was more sought;
there was nobody whose coming more
surely brought pleasure to any circle
than that of the young minister.
The day of the dinner came, and a
palmer and pleasanter dinner was never
known in Washington. Every guest,
from the secretary of state and the Eng
fish envoy to all their neighbors at table,
gave every week. indeed. repasts much
more magnificent. But the simple dim
ner, admirably cooked and served, with
out display of table service, without the
carp and nightingales' tongues, but with
the enlivening and inspiring charm of
the host and the welcome variety of
plainnese, after the luxurious eXtrava-
gance and ostentation of the usual din
ner, was so fresh and delightful that the
satisfaction and pleasure We're universal,
and the skeptical colleague who had
thought great cost essential to success
full dinner owned himself converted and
the next month ventured upon a similar
feast, and with the same success.
George William Curtis in Harper's Maya
zine