Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1867-08-16
VOLUME 10; NO. 30.
SMALL TALK.

It Is a very common thing to speak with
contempt OF small talk, y as It Is called. es-
peclally among young men Of education.
who are just beginning to think Of the more
serious affairs Of life and philosophy, and
who are anxious to converse in the drawing
room upon improving subjects. Now,
small talk is a necessity Of social life. Ii
holds as important a place in the easy inter
course Of society as oil does In the steam
engine. Grant chat men and women are So
cal beings, and that the various relations
and pleasantrles of society are necessary to
our happiness, and the value of small talk
cannot be denied Two mere philosophers
mag sit together for hours, and if the Weigh
ty thoughts Of either eondescend to the uses
OF their tongues, their conversation, ten to
one, Will be weary, stale, and fat if not
indeed, Improbable Introduce a little
small talk-jokes, quips, anecdotes, non
sense-and thought moves easily, c0uversa-
ton becomes recreation; even philosophy
hnds ITS place, is actually graceful and pleas
es az well as instruets. What Is party or
any social gathering without small talk ?
An unnitigated bore. Not that we would
have nothing but small talk, as Is too fre-
quently, perhaps, the ease in society but
this Is the only medium by which those who
meet but seldom can become acquainted
With each other and it IS the surest way of
calling out pleasant thoughts aud pithy sug-
gestlons upon more serious and important
subjects
We suspect that In most cases of profess
ed contempt for small talk among ambitious
young men there is a little mixture of the
sour grape elelement. They lack the energy
TO overcome the natural tendency of the ad-
0lescent human male to relapse into silence
at every opportunity suggested by the con
clusion Of subject The position is an
awkward one, and as the only remedy, small
talk, is out Of reach, contempt for it is
very natural result. The female adoIescent,
fortunately for the comfort of both sexes, is
generally gifted with small talk By nature,
and often comes to the assistance of her
embarrassed 'correlative in a very fascina-
ting aud peculiarly womanly way by doing
the talking herself Here, as everywhere,
the kindly and bene6cent foresight of Ma
ture commands our unlimited admiration.
But small talk has its degrees Ike every
thing else. There is some talk SO excessive
ly minute that microscopic examination fails
to disclose any sense. \ frequent mistake
Of young men who are gifted with this very
essential social convenience is the idea that
ladies in society are not constituted to ap-
preelate anything except small talk, and the
smallest kind Of small talk at that. My
dear sir, said a lady friend of ours to a gen
tleman, you talk to US ladies' as if we were
fools, and you think We want you to do it /;
| have just overheard you talking very sen
sibly to another gentleman, and now you
turn around to me and begin to talk non
sense. She was fully as frank, perhaps,
as she was polite but what she said was a
very excellent hint.
Small talk. too, has its own proper times
and places. The public lecture, for instance,
Is not proper place and at the most deli
cate air in an opera, is hardly a proper time
20 indulge it. But in It's place and time 1t
is pleasing and appropriate and, for our
own part, an hour Of small talk with an in
telGgent woman is decidedly preferable to
many other forms Of amBsement.-AeJe
York Ereging Euztifc.