New-York tribune., 1901-02-20
TRIBUNE. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 90 1901
THE PASSING THRONG.

u. i. SPEAKING yesterday
at the Waldorf-Astorid of the antiquity of
of the Irish families. told the fol-
THE OLDEST lowing story: There lives IN the
FAMILY IN North Of Ireland said Mr.. O'Brien.
GREAT "a family named ONeiL Their
BRITAIN. greatest claim TO prominence lies
In the fact that they the Oldest
family In the United Kingdom. When Plantagenet.
Tudor OF Guelph not. the O'Nen was They
ruled as kings before William looked with
eovetous eve across the English Channel toward
the white cliffs OF Albion This long line Of de-
scent has bred In the family a reverence for their
ancestry that approaches idolatry. The mainsprins
OF their life and action. the pride Of their being is
that long line of dead and long since forgotten
o'Neils carry them back in the direct line to the
is colossal in its proportions. Ii has a length OF
something like eighteen nineteen feet. and when
all To a visitor there some years ago was. in due
sRoWn this Marvellous pedgree rstehea q on 1av9r tn
enormous billiard table, II Tapped full three feet
lengthy line OF o'Neils. long since turned 70 dust
and he wondered why they took so insane pride
that thought had occurred to other aliens. who
had beforetimes seen the o'Neil family tree A
the tree, caught his eye. IL read: Just here came
Adam"
"One Of the most lovaole and distinguished men Of
the previous generation OF American statesmen"
said Howard Easton OF Chicago at
HANNIBAL the Fifth Avenue Hotel yesterday
HAMLINS was Hannibal Hamlin. of Maine
JOKE. Senator of the United States Vice
President TO Abraham Lincoln and
Minister TO Spain. his full 20 repletion.
Mr.. Hamlin was always ready TO learn. and he
we'll illustrated. in the following story that
lesson once learned by him well learned and
never forgotten Just previous the time when
Mr. Hamlin entered the field of National legisla-
ton, when he sat in the Legislature of Maine.
very dull day occurred. Nothing but routine bust
ness was being transacted. and while II abso-
IHseIy necessary TO the public veal II bored the
members mem TO death. They were in that frame of
means of distraction. and Mr. Hamlin who
perpetrae a little joke TO relieve ths general de-
preston; There was a certain member of the body
hair oiled and parted with painful exactness. II
was sIeked down on either side in the fashop that
gave gave, TO his caPqt smoothness similar TO that
straight was the line of his part, that it seemed
as though a surveyor must have laid ID out and
The man did not live who had ever seen him with
his head except in the most perfectly well grooed
well ST SSmToPihed condition Il was on this member
n hinin o top R Piece e the idea wa 70 him and get
explanation: The gentleman from - said Mr..
the parting Of his hair which out of plum or
course. we know that the gentleman is unaware
ful embarrassment that IL will him now that
he is informed.
" I therefore move that this honorable body DO
take ten minute recess in order TO enable the
honorable member from - to
PAID WITH rectore his head TO it's normal con-
Loss OF ditiOn This motion received
SEAT IN hy the members with loud cries Of
SENATE delight and approval. II car
ried by unanimous vote-but one
and Hannibal Hamn's reputation as a humorist
was made. For a period Of time he looked this
motion as most successful Jest; but in the next
session of the Legislature il assumed entirely
different complexion Mr.. Hamlin was a candidate
for a seat in the United States Senate. He lacked
vote to attain the object OF his ambition. An
equal number OF votes were unswervtngly arrayed
against him. To them there no appeal The
man who held the balance OF power and could
by his vote decide who for that term would be the
United States Senator from Maine the gentle
man from - He absolutely and fatty refused
20 cast that vote for Hannibal Hamlin. Neither
threats. cajOery nor any other inducement had the
slightest effect upon him. He stuck IL and
thereby postponed Hamlin's entrance into the Sem
ate.
Mr.. Hamn sfteTward. In telling the story. said
IL a good long time before he could the
Joke learn the lesson, but he finally did. and he
had never since fOrgotten-that jokes about man =
personal appearance are most dangerous things
To wound a man amour prOpre Is to do him an
injury that he will never forget, and while IL might
some. and certainly did 10 him that time.
a in the United States Senate very
high price pay for what had been intended 20 be
but harmless bit of tOmfOolery. In the light OF
later experience he TO believe that that lesson
expensive il had been-had not cost too high
price