Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1900-05-26
Observation-Disclosures
5 WHAT IS TACT? !
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

vt WAS combination of spring
weather and steam heat in the Of
nee and Ellsworth dropped over his
desk. His languid thoughts had stray
gled far away from the abstract spread
out before him. Suddenly he redeemed
and set his teeth together with click.
Then he threw back his head and began
humming tuneless melody, the bur
den of whose words was: "La-la-la!
There was defiant bravado in his
voice which. impressed the stenogra'
pher in the outer room and which
made Goodwin stare as he came in just
then.
"Thanks for your hospitality. 1fyou
urge ne / WILL" opened Goodwin,
stretching himself upon the office
couch with the manner of IA fellow who
had been there before. When he was
we'll settled he turned spring lassi-
tudc eve on Ellsworth and drawled:
"Since when did you learn to sing?'
Ellsworth called to his stenographer
to shut his office door. Then he man
aged to exert himself enough to swing
his swivel chair until it faced another
and to hoist his feet.
"Goodwn," he asked, in a solemn
tone, what is tact?"
Tact" said Goodwin, lazily, sis what
the other fellow hasn't got"
"Then I'm the other fellow"
sob, pshaw! Tisn't so bad as all
that. guess"
ITS worse than that. I'm bump
on log. l tell you. That little tune
you caught me warbling-"
"Tune?" inserted Goodwin.
"That little aria | was executing as
YOU came in is way have of trying to
express Indifference when vision OF
one of my bad breaks fits before me.
Say, I've got more recollections of that
kind than you could shake stick at.
and they're always coming across me
on tired days like this. You know what
I think tact is? Its not letting the
emergency rattle you. Talk about
tact VS.. talent'-a fellows got to have
both. Talent I've got"
Hes so modest" soliloquized Good
win.
"Talent I've got" repeated Ellis
worth, with conviction, "but tact-no.
| Remember the chestnut about the
amount of tact it requires when you've
lifted your hat to a stranger to make
him think you were only scratching
your head? That's the idea I'm get
ting at To master the sudden situa-
ton. instead of letting the sudden sit
uation master you. The things fell
lows had time to plan out don't count.
Now. just before you came in, fool
thing | did last week struck me sud-
denly. There wasn't any reason why
| should think of it, 1t just came with
out any warning and made me get as
warm as if it had happened n minute
ago. tell you suffer from these
things. and when they come into my
head before l know what I'm about
] find myself making an effort to throw
them off by singing out like that"
"Singing?" queried Goodwin.
Ellsworth grinned. ut never occurs
to me that Goldfish is very sympathet-
| IL. NoouNil. cNCCpu NhNh oiiA 'H''"
eating with you. Queer what compar.
isons will do, isn't it?"
"How'm / going to sympathize with
out knowing what the matter is?
Spring is moving along and the way
feel now I am going to take MY sum-
mer vacation early this year. Suppose
you'll be ready to tell me what you've
got on your mind by the time I get
back?"
"Maybc--if you give me chance
All there was of it was this: Coming
back from my trip north last week
had to change cars at Detroit and for.
got my overcoat--left it in the other
train and never thought of it until my
train had begun 10 pull out of the sta
ton. rushed out on the platform
and there came the porter Of the other