The Washington herald., 1915-10-17
DIPLOMACY.
4 BILE.

The Serpent was elderly and world
| Iy wise He was not clever but had
a certain Low Cunning that passes
among the Inferior Orders for intelli-
gcnce. The Puppy Dog on the other
hand knew very little about anything
and nothing at all about serpents. But
he came of Sterling Stock. Incapa BILE
of intricate mental processes they ad-
hered stoutly TO a few broad and dig
nifed Principles.
And whittier away. my young friend
WHITTIER away" cried the Serpent, who
mad. - practice Of concaa,ing beneath
an air of elderly camer,lderie the fact
that he was Evil to tn" Core.
To make my way in the world
answered the Puppy Dog Importantly.
II" had in fact escaped from a Basket
hall an hour previously and was al
ready wishing that the Second Foot
man wur.ld com" and md him.
a noble enterprise indeed said the
Serpent. "I"u are Young and should
Go Far. he added. thoughtfully flex-
ing III" muscles Of his neck.
''Vcry kind of you. said the Puppy
Dog who was agreeably flattered at
hei~@ c"nyers"d with by :" superior
Person.
In particular" continued the Ser
pcnt. unwinding himself a couple more
war,ln"Ss If Things. SOMETHING tells
IN" yOu Will" And he smiled EvilIy.
Saith the noet Fidonius. It's a long
grind from Purpyhood to Sausage
hood" quoted the Puppy Dog. assum-
ing an air of Sophisticated Drollery.
II" really had no idea what it meant
but he had heard his Master read it
out of a book called Fifty Classical
Quotations for Use in the Presence of
4 Is-i,
And what. pray. is a Sausage" en-
quircd tn" Serpent. pretending to be
Mildly Intrigued.
why" said the Puppy Dog. who
really had only the vagucSt idea. its
its something into which Puppy
Dogs go-after while
Then l." said the serpent. Insinuat
ingly. must hc a Sausage.
I'm afraid you don't grasp me- re-
piled the Puppy Dog rather Brusquely.
for he fit that the serpent was Mocking
him.
ON the contrary replied the Serpent.
Il Grasp YOU thoroughly" And he did
in fact Grasp him by the Hind Leg. But
tn" Puppy Dog. who happened to be a
Rull Puppy Dog, realized that a Crisis
had arrived in his affairs and hastily re-
'al!ing one of the Broad Principles that
his Virtuous Mother had instiled into
him. imbcdded his teeth in the Serpent's
tail and prepared to Hang on.
Now the Serpent was both Chagrined
because he had not taken the trouble to !
-emove his tail from the Sphere of Oper- !
,tions and pertUrbed because he realized |
hat he could not now Swallow the Puppy |
Dog as he had intended to do without also |
wa.lowing himself. While not admitting /
himself 70 be Incapable of this feat-for |
he Serpent was InOrdinately conceited- |
ne recognized its probable futility. He |
therefore decided to have recourse to |
iuile
Let lis Discuss this matter in a friend
v and informal way" he said to the |
Puppy Dog and meanwhile deign to ac-
'ept the High Assurances OF my Distin-
;uished Consideration"
Provided we Stick to the Point" re-
,lied the Puppy Dog. who was In fact
lOinG that very thing
But said the Serpent. assuming the
;uave Manner of Diplomacy. in a case
# this kind the Status Quo is a Sine Qua
Ion. And the accepted Formulas require
hat Basis of Deliberation shall pre-
EIDE Basis of Discussion. There should
Llso be 4 Demarche and Point d'Appui."
low the Serpent had always found this
inc of Talk remarkably effective. and.
indeed. had once succeeded in swallow
ng n whole family of Woolly Spider
while they were quarreling
mong themselves as to whether 1t was
more Honora BILE to be a Basis OF DELHI
ration or q Basis of Discussion.
But the Puppy Dog said ''leggomyleg."
I'VE have now," the Serpent proceeded.
gnoring the others remark. arrived at
IN Impasse. and it is Obvious that a Re-
sumption of our Individual Functions re-
luires that one of us shall let go first.
low you as the Aggressor-I might al
most say the Wanton Aggressor-are
dearly the one upon whom develops the
luty of releasing my tail in advance OF
! similar action on my part.
But you grabbed me first" cried the
'uppy Dog, astonished at the Patent In
ustice of the others attitude.
1T is true" replied the Serpent
smoothly. that a. . mere matter oil