The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-09-26
RUINED BY A GRIN
How Smile at the Wrong Time Has
Blasted the Prospects Of
- 49,, -, :.
Royalties Favorites.
No One Likes to Be Laughed at and
This Fact Nearly Cost an Iron
Master His Life.
London Answers.

London Answers.
It was awkward for the cars confden-
tial adviser, Baron Tnidoff a month ago,
that he had not a quicker control oyer
his features, for laugh at the wrong mo-
rnent lost him his high position and 912,-
900 q year.
While the royal suite was at Compiegne
soon after the arrival, the car was tired
and q little irritable, by the effects of'the
long journey. While going through the
big library that was part Of the great
apartments prepared for him, he slipped
on the wolfsl1in mat that lay on the highly
polished floor, made a wild attempt to
save himself, and cfutched at one Of his
attendants
He nearly brought himself and his
standby to the ground, but he just man
aged to avoid a fall. The spectacle was
rather ludicrous, especially in such
stately parsonage; and when the rather ir-
ritated monarch turned round, he found
his favorite Enidoff induging in q grin OF
amusement. which he could not suppress.
The car, who detests levity state
s occasions. spoke very sharply in an I'M
dertone to the Culprit, who. next day, was
dismissed his post. and relegated to an as
sistant secretaryShip,> with plenty OF hard
work to do, and wherein he never sees
the car at all. Although wealthy and or
the oldest nobility, the baron dared not
refuse the minor service His former
stipend was $4,000 year.
But the kaiser, on the whole, is the
most dangerous person to laugh at. or be-
fore, and more than one person has done
for himself in this way. so did the I'M
fortunate Mr.. Cough AIilban nike find it
the clever but bluff Scottish colonial ad-
ministrator 1t was he who used to com
mand the sultan, Abou Dn's troops and
manage the Arabian finances.
The kaiser took him up, four years ago,
as a guest, with IL view to making Of
II in, har 'ny N SiOn' nH1CN
IGerman empire. and had decided to give
him a fine position In the east, to guard
German interests in China. at pr1ncely
lTenunera ton, Of course. The kaiser sees
to these things himself, and anybody who
becomes one OF his rlght-hand men IS
pretty well set up for life.
At one of the audiences given him at
Potsdam. Milbanke was giving the en-
peror the benefit of his experience, and
Receiving his ORDERS when the kaiser 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 q suffaW, asked
the kaiser if he thought the Japanese
were Congo niggers, who could be bought
over with sx-pcnn' orth OF glass beads and
q flint-locll gun? The kaiser froze at
once, wished -Milbanke goodnight, AMI
Never reopened relations with him.
The moral is, when you are chatting
with a king, don't forget he is a king, and
dig him in the ribs. A still more anus
ing case Of this kind was the mistake OF
another Scottish administrator, Duncan
McVea, who was, next to McLeaVy
Brown of COrea the most famous of
wandering" governors. Scotland, by
the way. supplies so per cent of the
worlds pioneer administrators, as Well as
its enineers.)
McVea was dealing with that pleasant
but touchy monarch, the king Of Portu
gal 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 together. This
would have been a big step, and meant
some $4,000 a year to the famous ad-
venturer; but he had too much OF what
Scotsmen are supposed to lack-sense of
humor At any rate. it was the ruin OF
the finest prospects he ever had
The king became a little excited and
irritable at the various cOnlinon-s sense OBJ
dections that McVea, knowing what he
was talking about, opposed to some Of the
monarchs plans. and though the king
speaks admirable English. as rule. when
excited it becomes very odd mixture in
deed This, finally, so worked on Nc
Yeas feelings that he smiled audiby
with the result that he was promptly or
dered away. and the Cape Verdes still
lack a Scottish governor to look after
Llelr affairs.
It was a very different and much more
dangerous trouble that Hackett Joice, the
great ironmaster. got into through laugh
ing at the wrong moment, and nearly cos
him his life. This happened during the
forgers and grinders strike at Sheffield
when $4,000 men were out Of work, an(
great misery and starvation resulted, five
or six. years ago.
Joice was the spokesman Of the con-
gress of employers, and it was mainly ow.
ing to him and his powerful personality
that the strikers demands were resisted
for so long, even when the rest Of tn.
masters were willing to give way. Joic.
had a great brain, and was as hard as thu
iron he dealt in; and he was anything bu
popular with the men, who looked on hin
as the chief cause Of their troubles.
He spoke at a big mass meeting Of tn
workmen, and was not propltlatory. Som
voices in the crowd advised him, rathe
roughly, not to press them too far, TO
his own sake. Joice laughed aloud con
.temptuously, with tho result that tn
ioverwrought, half starved crowd brolz
into an uproar, stormed the platform an
handled the ironmaster so severely tina
he was only rescued in time to save hi
life.
AS 1t was. he was crippled permanently
and had a bitter lesson not to laugh a
the wrong time. BY an odd chance, al
most the same episode happened a
Grimsby, only few weeks ago, when a
ILL timed laugh and retort fired the fisher
men to wreck the EMPLOYERS Offices