Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-04-05
PAYING COMPLIMENTS.
Some That Were Well Expressed and
Well Applied.


In a conversation between George W.
when Prince Regent-and Sir Walter
Scott, the Prince knowing the Jacobite
tendency of the author of Waverley, asked
him if he would have joined the Jacobites.
"It would have been wretched taste of
me-" said Scott, when relating the anec-
do.e to Thomas Moore, ''to have said l
would, and | merely answered that l
should at least have wanted one motive
against doing SO in not knowing his royal
highness."
With all his faults Louis XIV. knew
how to conduct himself as great King;
among his other qualities he was master
of the art of paying noble compliments.
On one occasion he stood at the top of the
grand staircase to receive the heroic Conde
after the battle of Seneff (1674). The
Prince, then in his 54th year, was troubled
with gout, and assembled the stairs slowly.
When he had reached the top, he apolo-
gized for keeping his Majesty waiting so
long. "My cousin" replied the monarch,
"make 10 apologies, one who is SO laden
with laurels as you are cannot move
quickly"
IN an interview with the celebrated
preacher Masillion, Louis remarked: 81
have heard many great preachers, and the
effect they produced on me was that felt
thoroughly satisfied with them. Every
time have heard you have been dissat-
isfied with myself"
Perhaps one of the grandest compli-
ments ever paid by one human being to
another was that rendered by Nicholas,
the Emperor of all the Russians, to Made
moiselle Rachel, the celebrated French
actress. When she was introduced to him
she knelt but the Emnerog ra,.ea ner
and himself falling on one knee, said:
''Thus should the royalty of rank pay hon.
age to the royalty of genius"
Mrs. Moore, the wife of the poet, was
noted for her benevolence to the poor in
the vicinity of their country residence.
On one occasion guest observed: II take
it for granted that no one is dying in our
neighborhood, or we should not be favored
with Mrs. Moore's company"
Not long ago, when a brief matrimonial
engagement was broken off, near relation
of the gentleman, one VINO fully appre-
ciated the high qualities of her from whom
the sometime lover was sundered, said to
the young lady: "You have only lost an
ideal; he hls lost a reality" A very sweet
compliment this, under the circumstances,
1t seems to US.
One more little anecdote we will give,
and it is a husbands compliment to his
wife. They were visitors for few days
at country house, and on being shown
into their room the lady, who was nearer
40 years of age than 80, prepared to take
off her bonnet. Now, be it observed that
looking glasses vary very much in quality;
SOME distort and some hatter the counten-
ance,
These different qualities In glass-mak-
ing are no new things, for we may re-
member that when Queen Elizabeth was
dying she asked for true glass, into
which she had not allowed herself to look
for twenty years. The glass that was on
the dressing-table on the occasion to
which we refer was delightful one
that is to say, ''fattering" one, and as
the lady saw herself reflected in it she
merrily exclaimed, "Oh, what charming
glass look about IS in it." at is Just
like my eyes, then" the husband promptly
replied.
On the whole, we think that well.
expressed, well-applied compliments have
their uses, and that society would be very
dull and life very bleak without them.