The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-28

military prowess of the hearer. Similar
tact was displayed in his compliment to
Jean Baptiste Massillon, Bishop of Cler-
mont Said he: Il have heard many great
preachers, and the effect they produced
on me was that / felt thoroughly salts
fed with them. Every time l heard you.
l have been dissatisfied with myself" AL
though one could not expect il OF him,
yet Frederick the Great could turn a
pretty compliment with the best of them.
A case in point was at a banquet at
Neiss, when the Austrian General Lau-
dohn. who had been invited, together with
more important guests, wished to take
modest seat by a side-table. Command
ing him to be seated at his side, Frederick
said: Come and sit here, general, for
l have always wished to see you at my
side, rather than facing me-" Mon
archs" said Prior, should compliment
their foes, and shun their friends" Frede-
rick would seem to have recognized and
acted on this advice.
These three examples Of the compliment
royal show how an acceptable compliment
should be proffered; the following speci-
men shows how a well-meaning but blum
dering individual can turn an act of grace
into a direful insult He was a north
country gentleman bluff and overbearing,
and he was called upon shortly after the
first attempt to raise a volunteer force in
England to return thanks at a municipal
banquet for the branch of arms of which
he was a shining light. After speaking
in the usual vein for some considerable
time he ended his remarks thusly: Gen
tlemen-On behalf of my comrades, I can
assure you that if Napoleon's colonies
should land at Spurn, the First East
York Rifles will not be the last to flee -
and in place of the usual applause that
he expected would greet his would-be
complimentary speech, the unfortunate
| speaker resumed his seat amid peals Of
| laughter which completely mystifled him.
| The spontaneous compliment, as we have
| already noted, is the only truthful species
| of its kind Said on the spur of the mo-
| ment, and the outcome of delightful sur
| prise, there is no time for polishing, for
it is the heart and not the brain that
| speaks. Such a compliment was that
! paid to the Duchess of Devonshire by a
| dustman who caught a glimpse of her as
| he was about to regale himself with a
| Whit of tobacco. Lord bless you, my
| lady, let me light my pipe in your eyes,
\ said he, which so delighted her grace
| that she often interrupted a would-be
complimenter by saying, After the dust
mans compliment all others are insipid.
That the art of compliment can be car
ried to excess is recorded by Boswell, who
narrates the following story: Before the
| heritable jurisdictions were abolished q
man was tried for his life in the court OF
| one of the (Scottsh) chieftains. The jury
were going to bring him in Not guilty
but somebody whispered them that the
| young laird had never seen an execution
whereupon tout of compliment to that gen
tleman) the verdict was Death and the
man hanged accordingly" Apropos oil
this story, Hone mentions the tale of the
Highland dame, whose sense of submis
sion to the chief order of her clan in
duced her to look upon her condemned
Isg tbHrf 70 ha
oring of gross disrespect. Said she angri
ly, cit up, Donald, git up to be hangit
and dinna anger the laird" The compli
ment ironical is exemplfied In the follow
ing story: NJ. Bantru, distinguished
seventeenth century French Acad
emtcian, was asked by FmlnI
III. of Spain If he haC
seen the Escurial The sardonic Bantrl
answered in the affirmative. well, sale
Philip, mayhap fishing for compliment
land what do you think of the library"
81 think, sir, that you should make you
librarian minister of finances" answered
Bantru: but on the king asking why, tn
iron entered into the compliment, for tn
reply was Because he has never touches
| ANYTHING intrusted to his care"
That compliment can be expressed II
action as well as in words is illustrated
by the diplomatic compliment paid by tn
Duke de Grammont when he entered un
|
Nazarin, and found his eminence takinl
a little exercise by jumping against tn
wall Realizing that it would never d
TO express the least surprise at finding
: churchman of the cardinals years 80 EN-
: ployed the duke promptly cried. III be
. YOU a hundred crowns that l can jun
? higher than your eminence;" the bet wa
accepted, and they jumped for their live
or rather for the dukes livelihood. TO
that worthy and diplomatic gentleman
took very good care TO subtly complmen
the cardinal by always jumping fey
r inches less than he had accomplished. an
3 in six months after he was Marshal @
, France. The graceful compliments Q
e Louis XIV have already been noted. bu
IL is doubtful II even these excel In grac
the epigrammatic compliment paid to ID
Balguy after he had preached sermon a
4 Winchester cathedral on the words, "A
{ wisdom Is sorrow" by DR.. Watson, after
wards Bishop OF LANDAU. He wrote;
! 1T what you advance, dear DOCTOR b
true,
! That wisdom is sorrow, how wretched ar
i you"
: RADLY BEATEN ny ANGRY WIFE