THE SPEECHLESS FLYING MAN.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 539, 5 February 1913, Page 2

THE SPEECHLESS FLYING MAN.

♦ ■ The Wright Brother* are going to teach the English how to fly, and how not to make speeches. As a rule, any celebrity who comes to thii country is forced by a sort of moral pressure to rise after dinner and to talk platitudes. Be he Swede or Italian or Greek, he is not let off this infliction, and though a roomful of British gentlemen would sooner that he spoke in his own language than that he «ad not speak at all, they consider that he should have mastered the Ase£o-Saxon tongue sufficiently to commence with "Mr. Chairman, my lorAs and gentlemen, the honour you have done me to-night,'' and to swnrggle on for half an hour in broken English. Mr. Wright was dsMghted to lunch, with his brother fliers— the Mayer of Pau having vicariously taught him to like French cookery—but he wooM not talk to them at length. " HAOW !" My hero in the matter of speeches always has been a countrymen of the Wrights, who, having distinguished himself mightily, was begged to return to his native township, in order that his fellow-citizens might entertain him. A strong appeal to ais patriotism was necessary, for he pointed out that, though he was a hearty eater, he was no talker. However, he consented to be banquetted. He was met at the station by the Mayor and a hrake decorated with flowers, and the town brass band. All the .citixens had put on their Sunday clothes in honour of the occasion. Old Glory was unfurled from every house-front, and long bands of canvas with inscriptions of welcome were hung across the street. The banquet in the Baptist recreation hall was described in the local press as a "recherche feast worthy of Olympus." The Mayor excelled himself in his patriotic stream of eloquence. Then the great man rose. He looked round on his fellow-citizens and beamed. "Wa-a-a-»l !*' ke said,. slowly, and paused. Then he raised his glass, filled with champagne. "Ha-a-ow !" he ejaculated (the usual salutation between men when they drink in a Western saloon), drained his glass,, and sat down.— The "Clubman," jn the "Sketch."