The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-03-29
THE ART OF COMPLIMENT.
Illustrations by Some Historical and
 Apocryphal Anecdotes,

taste and others more bitter than the veriest insult, all with the exception of the spontaneous compliment savor of the artificial, and, as the essence of a compliment lies in delicate exaggera- tion-we refer to the compliment of tact and not to the compliment as laid on with a trowel-all necessitate more or less departure from the truth. To attempt to classify the compliment, says the London Standard" is a task bordering on the impossible, as no strict line of demarkation can be fixed The graceful compliment may embrace the compliment of diplomacy, and even then be tinged by the compliment iron ical; who, then, shall say to which class it belongs? The classifler would prob ably label 1t doubtful" and would soon find that almost all except the most polished specimens in his collec- ton were qualified for inclusion under that heading.
 An excellent example of the doubtful compliment relates to Garibaldi's visit to London, and is credited to Lord Pal merston. The ministers were consid- erably troubled with regard to the at titude they should assume when the great patriot landed on these shores, and at loss for any practical solution Palmerston, out of weariness, suggest ed, Let us get him married to the Duchess of Sutherland" "Unfortu- nately" objected colleague, "the man Is already married' Then" said Pal merston thoughtfully, well get Glad stone to, explain her away" Which, surely, was a great tribute to the right i honorable gentleinan's powers of per- 1 suasion, whatever else it might be. l Doubtful, too, but in another sense, was the celebrated mathematician Mi coles compliment on one occasion to his hostess. Having assured her that her lovely little eyes had made an inn i pression on his heart which would new CT be eradicated,' and being informed i that he had made vast mistake in his choice of an adjective, and that he should have chosen one of magnitude, he hastened to add, Madam, I never beheld such fine large eyes, such fine large lips such fine large hands, or so i fine and large person altogether, in the whole course of my life" Doubt ful because it somewhat reflected upon his appearance, but upon the whole very complimentary, was the remark, it is said, certain royal parsonage made to his host anent a judge, more l famous for his delivery of Judgments in the Queens Bench division than for the neatness of his attire. Having entered ] into conversation with the judge at a shooting party, and being particularly struck with the amount of knowledge he displayed, on leaving him the royal visitor went straight to his host and asked, Where did you pick up that ex- tremely intelligent game-keeper with whom I have just been speaking?' Explanations then ensued.
 l There have been few masters of the l art of compliment of greater talent l than Louis XIV. of France. On one l occasion, when waiting at the top of i the grand staircase to greet Condo af- l ter the battle of Senef, the prince apol- 1 ogized for keeping his Majesty waiting so long, pointing out that his gout pre- vented him from ascending with great | CT rapidity. Tine king replied: My l cousin, make no apologies; one who is so laden with laurels as you are cannot 1 move more quickly" Which was ex- 1 tremely pretty, and shows admirable tact, insomuch as it includes an allu- sion to the military prowess of the 1 nearer. Similar tact was displayed in ! his compliment to Jean Baptiste Mas 1 sillon, Bishop of Clermont Said he: T have heard many great preachers and the effect they produced on me was that I felt thoroughly satisfied with 1 them. Every time heard you, I have l been dissatisfied with myself" All though one could not expect it of him yet Frederick the Great could turn a pretty compliment with the best ol them. A case in point was at ban quet at Neiss, when the Austrian Gen eral Laudohn, who had been invited
 together with more important guests
 wished to take modest seat by side table Commanding him to be seated at his side, Frederick said: Come and sit here, General, for I have always
 WiSIled u SeS 'yOu dL lily SlutJ Idlllel
 than facing me" "Monarchs," saiG Prior, should compliment their foes and shun their friends" Frederick
 would seem to have recognized and acted on this advice
 These three examples of the compli- ment royal show how an acceptable compliment should be proffered; the following specimen shows how a we'll meaning but blundering individual car turn an act of grace into direful in- suit. He was a north country gentle man, bluff and overbearing, and he was called upon shortly after the first at tempt to raise a volunteer force in Eng land to return thanks at municipal
 banquet for the branch of arms oi which he was a shining light After speaking in the usual vein for some considerable time, he ended his re. marks thusly: "Gentlemen: On be. half of my comrades, can assure you that If Napoleon's colonels should land at Spurn, the First East York Rifles will not be the last to flee,'' and ir place of the usual applause that he ex- pected would greet his would-be com. plimentary speech, the unfortunate speaker resumed his seat amid peals ot laughter which completely mystifiet him The spontaneous commitment as