The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-11-20
STUDY IN FLATTERY.
Part Honeyed Words Play in the
Worlds History.
Compliments Paid to the Fair Sex Recalled
Fold stroke to Regain Liberty by
Means of Flattery.

during the latter part of his life. One of
these was rather vain of his qualifications
as preacher, but affected to be quite en-
barrassed by any compliments he received
on that score. On his first appearance.
after the sermon, the old divine went up TO
the probationer and was going to shake
hands with him. Anticipating Nothing
short of high-fown praise, the young man
exclaimed, .'AIy good sir, no compliments:
no compliments, beg I'' INA, ma, E" replied
the parson, nowadays Pm glad o. any
body" How far this decidedly left-handed
compliment fell short of the recipients an
ticipstion he alone could tell; but his feel
lngg must have been somewhat similar to
those of that tedious orator who, having
been in vain told by Henry " Of France
! that he would be obliged to him if he would
make his tiattery SIS brief as possible, was
at length crushed by the king rising and
saying: "You must be kind enough TO say
| the rest TO NJ. Guiilaume' (the court fool).
In the worlds history com phments have
oft times played an important part-sov-
ereigns, statesmen, conrtiers, scholars and
al others of the great human family dis
daining not the use of hatteripg speech to
gain their ends. No one knew better the
power possessed by q really polished COM
piiment than Sheridan, and on innumeranle
occasions during that rather stormy theatre
cal management of his did he extricate him
self from a difficulty by means of one. a
good instance is the following: An English
| nobieman, who, after the manner OF other
of his peers, had married q beautiful ac-
tress, once applied with much dignity 10
! the green room to Mr.. Sheridan for the ar
rears of her salary, and vowed that he
would no stir till they were paid "My
doar- lor0 , caid the i'm pppupinl1S MANAGER
this is too bad; you have taken from us
the brightest jewel in the world, and YOU
now quarrel with US for the little dust she
/ has left behind herr The nobleman i'm
mediately burst out laughing, aud over a
bottle of wine the debt was cancelled.
OF famous compliments paid TO the fair
sex the supply is so large and dazzling that
it is a matter of no small difficulty to pick
out the brightest gems; but II the follow
! ing was unlocked for it certainly deserves
a place among the best. hontenelle, when
90 years old, passed before Nine. Helvetius
without perceiving her. "Ahl' said the
lady, that is your galiantry, them 70
pass before me without ever looking at
men' 'if had looked at you, madame, y
replied the old beau, ~ never could have
passed you at all.n As neat one was ut
tered by General Romano. Meeting Lady
de Brientz, whom he had known and ad-
mired in the loveliness OF her youth, ne
commenced complnenting her you
forget that l am an old woman" she said
| at length" Madame returned the gal
LIANT soldier, when our eyes are dazled by
diamond il never occurs to us to ask
mineralogist for its history"
Different from this was the reply Of
gentleman once who was one day compli-
inenting Nine. Denis on the manner in
which she played the character of Ygaire.
Butt objected the lady ian actress, to
! 49,, Ill - u
| beautiful" "Oh, no." exclaimed the can
did eulogist "you are q proof to the con-
trary" 1t is an old reproach against
Orientals that they are unable to say pretty
things to ladies'; but daughter OF Louis
| XIV, the Princess de Couti, inspired
Moorish ambassador with as gracefully
turned a compliment as can be imagined.
She had rallied against the Mohammedan
custom of polygamy, when the Moor thus
defended the practice: Madame" he
said, SO plurality of wives is allowed among
US because ia our country we must seek in
several women the charming qualities which
are here to be found in one" The poet
Moore, who never let an opportunity slip
of complimenting the fair sex, was in the
present instance hardly kind to the bus-
| band. Being one Gay in the COM any of
beautiful woman who W ore on her bosom a
miniature hkenessaof her spouse, who was
the reverse of handsome, he was asked by
her whom he thought the portrait re-
sem bled." 81 tnink," said the poet lit is
like the Sarscen's head on Snowhill.'
a bold stroke TO obtain liberty by means
of q compliment was that made by M. de
Maupertius, who when prisoner in Aus
tria. was presented to the empress, who
sad TO him: You know the Queen of
Sweden sister TO the King of Prussialn
Yes, madame az am told that she
is the most beautiful princes in the
world" Madam replied the cunning
prisoner, az alwas thought so until
now" This was SIS diplomatic IS the words
ana action Of the Marquis Medina, Span
ish nobleman. Queen Elizabeth, who had
been admiring his elegance and compli
menting him on it, at the same time begged
| to know VINO possessed the heart OF
so accomplished 3 cavalier. Mad
amer said he. a lover risks TOO
much on such an occasion, but
yopr maiesty's will is law. Excuse me,
however if fear 10 name her, but request
your majesty's acceptance Of her portrait"
/ He sent her a looking glass. While upon
/ the subject of compliments, the one paid to
our present queen by the sovereign of
Zanzibar is worth repeating. IL is a fine
! piece OF oriental poetry. He said that ne
! mentally likened her 10 that mountain of
lodesfone mentioned in the Thousand and
/ One Nights which drew the nails out of
the sizes of the ships which passed that
way. Even SO cid the hearts OF the Eng
lishmen have hitherto net seem drawn
on by magnet to her majesty" A pretty
compliment. indeed. The following, how
ever is still better, If somewhat grotesoue
in its termination 1t is credited to a ST.
amese ambassador, who wrote of the
queen thus: Zone cannot but be struck
with the aspect Of the august queen of
! England, or TAIL 10 observe that she must
be of pure descent from q race Of goodly
and Warlike kings aud rulers OF the earth
in that her eyes, complexion, and, above
all, her bearing, are those of beautiful
and majestic white elef hant"
Some famous compliments have been
paid TO members OF the sterner sex. and
uttered by Boileau, who, when the virtu-
Gus De Mesmes, president OF the pariia-
ment of Paris, was elected an Academician,
congratulated him in these terms: L have
come TO you, sir IN order that you may
congratulate me on having you for one of
my Observation-Disclosures" 10 be eplogized
when dead is more often the lot Of man
than to be praised in life, but surely
! ouainter compliment was never paid dead
man than was received by Taileyrand, for
when his demise was announced TO one OF
his acquaintauces, the latter exclaimed,
He must have had some good reason for
dyingl 1 think / viii be at least i'll myself, y
aud forth with went TO bed. Yet another
| compliment 10 a dead man was uttered by
the marchiOness Of -, who, when told
that the celebrated ply sician Borden had
been found dead in ped, exclaimed; "Ah!
Death was so afraid Of him that he did not
dare attack him except when lie was sleep"
Even the stern business of war has not
prevented the exchange OF compliments
between military men, and of these none
better deserves quotation than The one paid