SOME GOOD STORIES.

Western Star, Issue 1339, 23 March 1889, Page 1 (Supplement)

SOME GOOD STORIES.

During the session of Congress (says Mr Stanley Laud-Poole in his life of Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe), the President gave a drawing room : once a fortnight, and Mrs Adams gave a party one night in a week. On one of these occasions a'trifling incident threatened to destroy his peace of mind. A young lady gave him a flower, and he accepted itand thought it a very pretty proceeding. To his dismay one of his friends informed him that this was the recognised form of betrothal at Wasington. His Excellency in a terrible state of excitement, rushed to his room and addressed a despatch to the girl disclaiming any significance that might be attached to the simple operation of placing a flower given by her fair hands, in his buttonhole, and requesting her to reply in simiiiipf r ms. A regular convention was signed ani Canning got out of the scrape like a good diplomat, without concession or indemnity. Among the duties of diplomacy that of giving dinners is generally considered an important one, if not essential at least for the upper classes of representation. When Congress was in session I had to enteratain all its members in succession. I invited them by the score at a time at the risk of overcrowding my table. Many of them still retained a sufficient recollection of the old country to look to their host for an invitation to drink a glass of wine during dinner. Wishing to encourage this point of sympathy and also to shelter my brains from'excess, I ordered a bottle of toast water to be placed at my side with the exact resemblauce as to colour of sherry or Maderia. One day while I ; was talking to the left-hand guest the gentleman on my right helped himself to a glass of sham wine, and I had the luck of turning towards him the very moment when he had discovered his mistake. My predecessor had greatly the advantage over me in his collection of good stories. I record one of them to serve

as a pattern of the rest. He was a Sit Charles Bagofc, a man of very attractive manners, intelligent- witty and kind. An American minister and his wife were dining with him one day, when he heard Lady Bagot, who was at some distance say, rather quickly, *• My dear Mrs S—what can you be doing ?" The saladbowl had been offered Mrs S——, and her arm was lost in it up to the elbow. Her reply was prompt—" Only rollicking for an onioD, my lady."