The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-10-19
TONGUE-TIED CELEBRITIES.

From the ST. Louis Globe-Democrat
1t is a curious and interesting fact
that many of the worlds greatest men
have been as sparing of words as they
have been prodigal of deeds.
1t is doubtful if there ever lived a
more taciturn man than Wa1enstein.
the famous commander of the Austrian
army during the thirty years war. 1t
is said of Wallenstein that he lived
in an atmosphere of silence" and new
er uttered word that was not abso-
lutely necessary. Nor would he permit
others to speak in his presence more
than was essential. One of his cham
pertains was hanged for waking Wal
lenstein with needless noise: his serv-
ants were so many nutes, not daring
to open their lips in his presence; and
he was surrounded by patrols and the
approaches to his house were barri-
caded by chains to preserve him from
the least disturbance. In comparison
with Wallenstein it has been recorded,
Diogenes would have been a chatter
box and William the. Silent a brawler.
But silence is characteristic of
many of the worlds most famous SOL
diers. Napoleon boosted that in his
meanings Will Iuell he never wasted Il
word and made monysyllables answer
most purposes. But nothing escaped
his eyes, and he could compress more
within sentence than most men could
convey in quarter of an hour,
The great Duke of Marlborough when
receiving reports from his generals
would produce his watch and say, 81
will give you a minute" and it was
likely to go hard with the officer who
did not observe the limitation. To his
staff the Duke of Wellington was al
ways more or less a sphinx. A nod or
shake of the head was often the only
response they could get from him, and
when once he was asked what he con-
sidered the best equipment of a COM
mander, he answered, "a long head
and silent tongue"
Won Moltke almost rivaled Wallen-
stein in taciturnity. He never opened
his mouth If gesture would suffice:
and when the news was brought to him
that the French had declared war. he
simply said to the aid de camp. Sec
ond pigeon hole on the right, first tier"
and turned round to sleep again. But
he had said all that was necessary, for
in the pigeon hole indicated were COM
plete plans for the campaign which
closed in brilliant victory. Won Moltke
used to say that one verb in the Ger
man language was worth all the others
put together, and that was thun-"to
do"
The worst thing his enemies could saw
OF president Grant was, "he won't talk
because he has so much to conceal I"
and yet 1t was precisely in this silence
That Grants real strength lay. His
orders and dispatches were the briefest
ever penned; and when once a cha r1n-
ing young lady playfully asked him
why he would not talk to her, he an
swered, my dear, don't you know that
silence is one OF the greatest arts of
conversation?
But it has been the same in all ages
Charlemagne was a perfect miser of
words, holding, with Confucius that
Silence is a friend that will never he
tray" Hannibal was a IMAM of mono
syllables;" Julius Caesar was hickman
ed by his soldiers 1.-THE Oracle" and
In our own day Lord Kitchener shows
the strength that lies in silence"
Even great statesmen and writer's
who cannot suffer from any lack OF
words, have often been among the most
reserved of men. OF Addison, johnson
says "Of his external manners moth
ing is SO often mentioned as that tim
orous or sullen tactiturnity which his
friends called modesty by too mild a
name According to Chesterfield. he
man 1 ever saw" and even Addison
himself, speaking of his own deficiency
in conversation, used to say, II can
draw bills for a thousand pounds,
though / haven't a guinea in my
pocket"
Dryden was unutterably dreary as a
companion. MY conversation is slow"
he once wrote, my humor saturnine
and reserved, and 1 am none of those
who endeavor to break jests in COM
pany and make repartees," and Shad-
we'll tells how he once dined with Dry
den, and from the beginning to the end
of the meal the poet never opened his
lips except to eat"
Thomas Carlyle was "hoarder of
the gold of silence" and would sit for
hours. putting away at his pipe, with
out uttering more than a grunt or a
gruff monosyllable. Leigh Hunt, his
neighbor and intimate. once wrote to a
friend. Have just spent a pleasant
hour with Carlyle. When l went in he
growled, "Halloa here again!" and at
parting he snapped out, Good dayi"
and that is the sum of the conversa-
ton he honored me with But how elo-
quent his silence isl II Just sat. and
looked at him, and came away
strengthened for fresh struggle"
AA