And, as I
pass along the North Ambulatory, lo! there is the same verger with a
new party; and I catch the words `was interred with great pomp on St.
Simon's and St. Jude's Day October 28 1307 in 1774 the tomb was opened
when--
THE HUMOUR OF THE PUBLIC
They often tell me that So-and-so has no sense of humour. Lack of this
sense is everywhere held to be a horrid disgrace, nullifying any
number of delightful qualities. Perhaps the most effective means of
disparaging an enemy is to lay stress on his integrity, his erudition,
his amiability, his courage, the fineness of his head, the grace of
his figure, his strength of purpose, which has overleaped all
obstacles, his goodness to his parents, the kind word that he has for
every one, his musical voice, his freedom from aught that in human
nature is base; and then to say what a pity it is that he has no sense
of humour. The more highly you extol any one, the more eagerly will
your audience accept anything you may have to say against him.
Perfection is unloved in this imperfect world, but for imperfection
comes instant sympathy. Any excuse is good enough for exalting the bad
or stupid brother of us, but any stick is a valued weapon against him
who has the effrontery to have been by Heaven better graced than we.
Pages:
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211