The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-23
ONE OF OUR FOREIGN REPRESENT
ATIVES.
He Learns the Spanish Language and
Wrecks himself in Its Intricacies.
From the Nep York Graphic.


From the Nep York Graphic.
The Hon. Baylis w Hanna is an untu-
tored son of the great West. His home Is
in Indiana and his politics are of the Simon
pure Democratic kind. Indeed, so strongly
tinged with old timed Jacksonianism are
his principles that for ten or twelve years
he kept fighting to get into Congress from
one of the districts of his State and was
never in the slightest disheartened by the
two or three thousand majority that kept
| continually piling up against him. When
Mr. Cleveland was elected the Hon. Baylis
concluded that such unselfish patriotism and
| faithful party services as he had performed
merited proper recognition. Senator Dan
voorhees, and the other magnateS of the
Indiana Democracy agreed with him, and
| Bavlis thought he would like to be Minister
| to Belgium. Now the little court of that
| country is one of the most polite and aristr-
cratic in Europe, and when Mr.. Bayard saw
the gentleman from Indiana with his uncut
hair and cowhide boots, he concluded that
the surroundings of beautiful Brussels
might demOrallze him, and so the Delaware
statesmen declined to recommend the APP
pointment.
Mr.. Hanna was not to be shut out i'll this
way, so after asking for half a dozen other
places with similar results, he finally was
placed as Minister Resident and Consul Cen
eral to the Argentine Republic. 1t is not
an uncomfortable place. for there is nothing
to do and our gracious Government pays its
representative there 81, 800 a year for doing
it. Baylis sailed away for Buenos Ayres
and his section of Indiana had a needed
rest.
Now, our new representative to the
Argentines, while he very probably repre-
sents some of the best characteristics of
American citizenship, had never deemed it
necessary to acquire the use of any foreign
language. So when he found himself in
strange country and among people speaking
in to him unknown tongue, his social
tendencies were sadlv handicapped Life
to the big hearted Hoosier without some
one to talk to who would tell him jokes and
listen and laugh at bis own was a wide and
very desolate waste of opportunities. and so
he bought a Spanish grammar and he
determined to master the language. He is
nearly GO years of age, and he never was
much of a student in his best days, but then
he looked upon the acquisition of the Ian
guage as a small matter for distinguished
Indiana Democratic politician.
In mouth after beginning he deemed
himself fairly perfect and thought it about
time to show the natives that an American
knew nearly as much about their idiomatc
PHRASES as they did themselves. The oppor-
| tunity soon presented itself. One of the
distinguished bankers of Buenos Ayres
named Casara gave magnificent reception
to the foreign ministers, and of course Bay
lis was there in all the glory of dress coat
and low cut vest. At the table our repres-
entative was placed by the side of Mrs.
CaSara, a very lovely woman who had,
| however, never mastered the intricacies of
the English language. Mr.. Hanna was in
his glory and threw out his pet Spanish
|
| Casara beane1 on him in her beautifully
polite way, though she scarcely understood
| a word be was tutoring. At last when the
voluble Baylis gave her an opportunity to
speak, she turned her great eyes uTbn him
and said something in Spanish. He had no
more idea of what the hostess was asking
than though the language she used was
Chaldaic, but as he had been talking about
| Mrs. Hanna, he caught sudden idea that
Mrs. Casara was asking his wife's age, and
he answered 40.
The wide ewes of the lovely Spanard
opened on him with still wider amazement,
and she threw up her hands in wild astonish-
ment, exclaiming, "Carambo, senorw The
man from Indiana saw he had put his foot
in it somehow, but before he could muster
any more Of his Spanish to set himself right
the guests arose from the table and the
party broke up.
The next day he had occasion to go to the
bankers office on business, and Mr.. Casara,
who is himself an old New Yorker and
speaks our language perfectly, just roared
out laughing when the great Baylis entered
the place.
Our Minister blushed little, but waited
for the explanation he knew was coming
"See here, Mr.. Hanna" said the smiling
banker, your Spanish isn't of the perfect
kind yet. Now what do you suppose my
wife asked YOU at the table yeSterdayF
why" replied the statesman, 'she
wanted to know how old Mrs. Hanna was"
"Oh, nonsense" laughed Mr.. Casara,
''she asked you how many children you had
and you answered forty-Iine."
Mr.. Hanna has given up the study of
Spanish, and now confines himself to plain
Indiana English.