advanced in age. On one occasion he ventured on the perilous exploit of
drinking tea with these elderly ladies. After having swallowed his usual
allowance of tea, he found, in spite of his remonstrances to the
contrary, that his hostess would by no means suffer him to give up, but
persisted in making him drink a most incredible quantity. "At last,"
said Gifford in telling the story, "being really overflooded with tea, I
put down my fourteenth cup, and exclaimed, with an air of resolution, 'I
neither can nor will drink any more.' The hostess then seeing she had
forced more down my throat than I liked, began to apologize, and added,
'but, dear Mr. Gifford, as you didn't put your spoon across your cup, I
supposed your refusals were nothing but good manners.'"

* * * * *


PRECEDENCE.


An anecdote is told of a captain in the service, since dead, that whilst
carrying out a British ambassador to his station abroad, a quarrel arose
on the subject of precedency. High words were exchanged between them on
the quarter-deck, when, at length, the ambassador, thinking to silence
the captain, exclaimed, "Recollect, sir, _I_ am the representative of
his majesty!" "Then, sir," retorted the captain, "recollect that _here
I_ am _more_ than majesty itself. Can the king _seize a fellow up and
give him three dozen_?" Further argument was useless--the diplomatist
struck.

* * * * *