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" He was not alluding to Mr. Pierce.
Like most good talkers, Mr. Pierce was a tongue despot. Conversation
must take his course, or he would none of it. Generally he controlled.
If an upstart endeavored to turn the subject, Mr. Pierce waited till the
intruder had done speaking, and then quietly, but firmly would remark:
"Relative to the subject we were discussing a moment ago--" If any one
ventured to speak, even _sotto voce_, before Mr. Pierce had finished all
he had to say, he would at once cease his monologue, wait till the
interloper had finished, and then resume his lecture just where he had
been interrupted. Only once had Mr. Pierce found this method to fail in
quelling even the sturdiest of rivals. The recollection of that day is
still a mortification to him. It had happened on the deck of an ocean
steamer. For thirty minutes he had fought his antagonist bravely. Then,
humbled and vanquished, he had sought the smoking-room, to moisten his
parched throat, and solace his wounded spirit, with a star cocktail.


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