Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1892-12-29
Gossip OF T Century"

SoSSip vi Inc SoHSo'S
This vice Of padding out his book
with the most familiar and well
worn anecdotes is continually ap-
parent. He hardly introduces q
person without repeating the jests
which have already re%appsared In
the jest books and the literary
manuals. He tells us that Sydney
Smith said of Whewell that 'omni-
loquence was his forte and omnis-
cience was his feble," and Of Ma.
cauley that che had many brilliant
flashes of silence" that when Sam
uel Rogers remarked of Queen Car
oline that she could speak only .
single word of english Lady Char
lotte Lindsay said she hoped it vas
No, because though Yes often
meant No, a lady's No never meant
yes"
Nevertheless after making all de-
auctions there is a large residium
of entertaining matter IN the book.
1t begins with a bonne-bouche.
One o. the most hateful characters
IN literary history was John Wilson
Croker the editor of the London
quarterly Review aud in hat capa-
city the bitter brutal and ignorant
enemy Of genus. We know Il at he
mover got his desert-that he was
never immersed in boiling oil; we
regretfully recognize that to the
savage Of the present the savage
punishment Of the past (similia
similibus)cannot be meted out.
Except metaphoriclly we cannot
ever spit upon him. 1t is conseq-
uently with n deyout feeling Of
gratitude to Providence hat we
witness the spectacle of Mr.. Croker
being spat upon metaphorically.
This was shortly before the death
Of KIM George w, whose funeral
gossipsr tells us he WITNESSED Gro
ker then Secretary to the first Lord
Of the Admiralty after a dinner with
royalty, got into a war OF wits with
the Duke of Clarence afterwards
William ".
"When I'm King" said the Duke
81 will be my own First Lord, and
depend on it John Croker won't be
my secretary"
"Does your Royal Highness rem
ember. 'reblied Croker, what Eng
lish king was his own first Lord?"
"No / cant say | do" answered
the duke.
"Well, it was James H." said
Croker and not unnaturally the
reply caused a genersllaugh emong
those G a enough to catch it.
The king who was pacing up and
down the room, hearing this ex-
preston Of mirth, called OUT
"What's the joke? One of your
good things, Croker, no doubt?"
"No, indeed, your Majesty; but
your royal brother is telling us what
he means to do in the navy when he
comes to the throne" replied Gro
ker, forgetting himself in the most
nncourtierlike manner.
The king withdrew without a
word. Next morning he sent Cro-
kcr a summons to his bedroom. His
Majesty was very serious.
81 was annoyed" he said severe
ly, "at your exposing my brothers
nonsence under my roof last night,
and, in the next place, your repeat
ing what he said he should do when
| am no longer king: let me request
there he no recurrence Of similar
utterncees.
Not a very terrible rebuke, after
all, you may say. Well. of course,
one woald rather it had been some
Oriental potsntate who with one
wave of his hand might have caused
the offenders head to be severed
from his body. But, though the
rebuke may not seem very terrible
to us good Americans, let us take
comfort in the reflection that a
Briton, and especially a Tory Bril-
ton "a rebuke from his king is far
more crushing than q rebuke from
his God. Furthermore, let us glee-
fully remember that, in the highly
organized individual of today, a
social mis- step, a breach of etiquette,
may be the cause of the most K
quisite torture. Even an observer
30 calm and pbilosophic as Mr..
~s:Saaas.h:s fact.
and calls attention to the further !
fact that years after the thing oc /,
cured = WI Re .snoL.tsr-d win al
s@.Soh of agony out Of all proportion !
to the nfe"se T'taye z <oo -
h1:.t - & .','' .~s.
lrho Ia a good nemory) suffered
q great deal from this eontre.temps. f,
S. Walsh in January Lippin-
z