Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-01-17

It was awkward for the Cars conf
Dental adviser, Baron Enidon, few
weeks ago, that he had not q quicker
control over bis features, for laugh
at the wrong moment lost him his high
position and f12, 1000 year.
While the royal suite was at Com
piegne, soon after the arrival, the Gear
was tired, and a little irritable, by the
effects Of the long journey. While go
| ing through the big library, which was
part Of the great apartments prepared
for him. he slipped on wolfskin mat
that lay on the highly polished floor.
made wild attempt to save himself,
and clutched at one Of his attendants.
He nearly brought himself and his
standby to the ground, but he just man.
aged to avoid fall. The spectacle was
rather ludicrous, especially in such a
stately personage; and when the rather
irritated monarch turned round he
found his favorite Enidoff indulging In
grin Of amusement, which he could
not suppress.
The Gear, who detests levity on state
occasions, spoke very sharply to the
culprit, who, next day, was dismissed
his post, and relegated to an assistant
secretaryship, with plenty of hard
work to do, and wherein he never sees
the Gear at all. Although wealthy and
of the oldest nobility, the baron dared
not refuse the minor service. His for
mer stipend was f12, 900 year.
But the Kaiser, on the whole, Is the
most dangerous person to laugh at, OF
before, and more than one person has
"done for" himself in this way. So did
the unfortunate Cough Milbanke find
1.-THE clever but bluff Scottish colonial
administrator. 1t was he who used to
command the Sultan Abou Din's troops
and manage the Arabian fianances.
The Kaiser took him up, four years
ing use of him in the new "expansion"
policy of the German Empire, and had
decided to give him a fine position in
the East, to guard German interests in
China, at princely remuneration, of
course. The Kaiser sees to these things
himself, and anybody who becomes one
of his right-hand men is pretty well set
up for life.
At one of the audiences given him
at Potsdam, Milbanke was giving the
Emperor the benefit of his experience
and receiving his orders, when the Kai
ser made a rather absurd suggestion
as to eastern diplomacy, proposing to
win the confidence Of the Japanese and
kurile Islanders with presents.
Milbanke, bursting into a guffaw,
asked the Kaiser if he thought the
japanese were Congo niggers, who
could be bought over with few glass
beads and flint lock gun? The Kaiser
froze at once, wished Milbanke good
night, and never reopened relations
with him.
The moral Is, when you are chatting
with king don't forget he is king,
and dig him in the ribs. A still more
amusing case of this kind was the mis-
take of another Scottish administrator,
Duncan McVea, who was, next to Nc
Leavy Brown, of Corea, the most fa-
nous Of "wandering" governors. Scot
land, by the way, supplies so per cent
Of the worlds pioneer administrators.
as we'll as its engineers.
McVea was dealing with that pleas
ant but touchy monarch, the King of
Portugal, who had proposed to put the
rather shaky government of the Cape
Verde Islands into his hands, to set
things going and pull the finances to-
gether. This would have been a big
step, and meant some f25,0OO year to
the famous adventurer; but he had too
much of what Scotchmen are supposed
to lack-sense of humor. At any rate, 1t
was the ruin of the finest prospect he
ever had.
The king became a little excited and
irritated at the various common-sense
objections that McVea, knowing what
he was talking about, opposed to some
of the monarch's plans, and though the
king speaks admirable English as
rule. when excited it becomes a very
odd mixture indeed. This, finally, so
worked on McVea's feelings that he
smiled audibly, with the result that he
was promptly ordered away, and the
Cape Verdes still lack Scottish gov
ernor to look after their affairs.-Lon-
don Answers.