The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-08-02
EXPERIENCE With BORES.
The Annoyance 10 Which Scientists Are Sub
jGCted.

A certain successful literary man once
granted an interview to young gentleman.
The youth began to talk about his accom-
plIshments and his opinions. his autobiog-
raphy from the age of 10. and the doomed
author soon saw that only main force would
make the terrible gabbler cease. For two
mortal hours did this torturer chatter on to
his own entire satisfaction; the host, dwell
ing in secluded place. had not the heat to
turn his guest out into the snow to wait two
hours for a train, so he suffered and suf-
fered, until at length, In a spaSm of acute
boredom. he said:
'Mr. Blank your train goes in two hours
time; you will find all the weeks papers on
your right; l am compelled to start to
work! and thus procured respite from
his guests drive.
Another rather distinguished man had one
evening a visitor who began to speak about
a certain branch of science The host, per-
haps dozen times in the space of two hours
and a half, gave preliminary "HemP' be-
cause he wanted to say something, but the
bore waved him down with q suayO "One
moment. if you please!' What the gagged
man wanted to say. and eventually did say,
was that his callers lecture, though inter-
esting, was perfectly fam liar to him.
You are, in fact" he concluded, dis
cOurSing on my own special subject"
Such a statement should have discon-
certed man who had talked with one even
How for the space of $50 minutes; but not
at all! With the placid confidence of the
Thoroughbred bore, he sweetly remarked:
"Ah, well, you see how copiously | can
talk on that subject! Next time | call you
shall see that l can be quite as fluent on an
other branch of knowledge"
That second call has not yet taken place.
When we hear of cases ike those above
cited, we are tempted to wish that all men
had something OF Carlylt'S rudeneSS. The
mighty Thomas was bidding "Good-day" to
a very conceited young man WHO had faV-
ored him with long sermon on things in
general; he went politely to the door, and
then said:
well, Mr.. Blank, I've received We for
the sake of your father. Now, good-by;
and | earnestly hope FL never see We againp'
On another occasion Carlyle looked in a
pasSioniesS way at visitor who had been
holding forth for ever SO long, and said:
Man, but ye're a puir creeture!'
The ans cdOte recalls one OF cObbler who
once got rid of tiresome caller by putting
his hands on his lapstone and pensively
gazing at the talking nuisance. Finally he
said:
II suppose, now. they tell you that God
made you"
The terrible insinuation was TOO much for
the bore, and he fed, utterly routed.
But, unhappily all men can not be rude
or, at any rate, they learn only when perse-
cution has become intolerable. Besides,
these pernicous asSailants cannot be shaken
lightly off. Try as one will. it is impossible
10 persuade some men and women that one
has not an hour to spare for them. They
will grant that one should not spare min
ute to anybody else, but their case is 50 in
teres ting and so very special that the man
who refuses to hear all about the matter is
callouS brute, or an upStart, or something
peculiarly abandoned. That, by the way,
is a strange thing which should be carefully
kept in mind by all who ever hope to be dis
Ii nguiShed.
Kindness to people who have no claim
u bon ii IS nearly always repaid with impu
dence. Every successful man, from the
statesman down to the betting man, is be-
sieged by people who want his time or his
money, or both; and the most cringiag
sutor is ready to develop in moment into
the most brutilly insolent-perhaps going
so far as to invent some atrocious scandal
regarding the individual who has offended
him. In time the unhappy man of emf
nenee learns to laugh at such things, but at
first the infection is hard to endure.-The
Irish Times,