The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-03
BISHOP WHIPPLE's STORY.
Told An Audience of Unappreciative
English Churchmen.
From the Chicago Chronicle.

From the Chicago Chronicle.
Perhaps no American clergyman is held
in higher esteem among Englishmen who
know him than Bishop Henry Benjamin
Whipple of Minnesota. He has paid fire.
quent visits to conferences and other gath
erings of the Protestant Episcopal church
in England. During the recent Lambeth
conference he preached In Westminster
abbey, and a tremendous audience went to
hear him. But the bishop is fully as pop
ular as a good story teller. In the latter
capacity he has done effective missionary
work in converting the British mind to
an understanding and appreciation Of
American humor.
Before the bishop had succeeded In
arousing this understanding, however,
he met with several experiences which
would have been embarrassing had not
the narrator been gifted with irrepressible
good humor. The bishop on one occasion
told story the point of which was totally
overlooked by his stolid English audience.
This is a story" said the bishop of
the western frontier, and illustrates the
breVity of pioneer speech. Years ago l
had a charge on the extreme western line
of civilization and saw a great deal of
wild frontier life. At that time every man
carried firearms on his person and kept
rifle or pistol within easy reach of his bed
at night. One night one of the coolest and
most courageous men on the frontier was
sleeping, as was his custom, with his rifle
living beside him on the bed He had the
reputation of being q dead shot and 1t
was well known that no one had any
chance when Dick once got the drop
on him"
sWil you kindly explain what drop
means in that queer western usage?'
asked a sedate bishop.
why, it means" said Bishop Whipple
that one man has another covered by
his gun-pistol, / mean"
"You made use of the word gun mad
verfently. Of course, for pistol. Is it COM
monty so used in-ah-the statesP"
mot at ALL" replied the Minnesotan.
1--WE say pistol but the people in the
west sometimes prefer the terser express
sion gun
"And excuse me-" said another digni-
tary, at the end of the table, but do you
mean by dead shot that the man you
get the drop on with your gun is equal
20 a dead MANI"
"Precisely" said Bishop Whipple.
"Wen as I was about to remark, Dick
was awakened one night by a noise at his
window. Slowly turning his face toward
the noise, so as not to give warning to
any possible enemy there, he saw a mans
head and shoulders framed in the open
window Dick, still as nOiselesS as a SER
pent. reached for his rife. He raised 1t
slowly over his own body until the bar
rel was in line with the intruder's head.
Dick always made sure OF this point and
his adversary was directly in front of his
weapon before using any palaver He
hated so to waste ammunition"
and, pray, what is palaver?' asked a
bishop who had not heard the same word
as used by the English themselves in Afri-
ca.
ooh, palaver means talk, generally idle
words.
"As soon as Dick felt that he had the
drop on his visitor he sung out
." You gitr'
THE robber looked up hastily, saw In
stantly that the dead shot had him covered
with the rifle and replied cooly:
" You betv and dropped to the ground
and disappeared"
Not mitred head lost It's dignity by APP
preciating the humor of the story. There
was a painful silence for moment Then
one member of the solemn hierarchy said
What does git mean. bishop"
why. git is American for get and
means go away, be off, 80
"Ah, l see" replied the Englshman.