The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1873-02-05
Celebrated Takers.

Addison has been compared to "a
silent parson in atie-wig;n but it wa;
only in the presence of stranger-iE
fact even a single stranger. that thi.
was the case. Lady Mary Wortley
declared that he was the best eompa
nv in the world and Pope, who was
not friendly to him, confessed that hi:
conversation had something in il
more charming than he had found IL
any other man. IL was one of Addi.
sons own remarks that there was nc
such thing as real conversation ex.
cept between two persons.
/ Pope, Dryden, Gray and Gold
smith were none of them good takers.
Somebody said of the last named that
'he wrote like an angel, but talked
ike poor POLL The great Corneille
was so dull in conversation, that be
never failed wearying. Moliere and
Descartes were invariably silent.
Montesquieu was deficient in eonver-
sation, and Rousseau suffered from
the same defect Too many ideas
presented themselves at once to him,
and in combining them he lost the
moment of repartee
Button is said to have been both
coarse ard careless in conversation,
but Montbelliard, an eminent natur-
alist, who assisted Button in writing
his great work, was a most brilliant
conversationalist II is said that he
threw every charm of animation over
his delightful talk, but as a writer he
lacked the genial, philosophical beau
ty Of his illustrious contemporary.
Regarding him, an eminent writer
has drawn the following figure: He
whose tongue dropped the honey and
the music Of the bee, handled a pen OF
iron.
JohnsOn's talk was Of very high
order. 1t had a style of its own.
The bold, bright flashes, such as are
to be found in Boswell, are inimita-
bic at once and potent, yet stern and
logical. But it lacked the winning,
easy charm Of Sir Walter Scott
Sheridan and Curran where among
the very greatest eonversationalists
the world has ever seen Horne
Tooke, in the following elaborate par
allel, has described their wit: '-Sher-
idan's wit was like steel-highly
polished for display and use Cur
rams was a mine of virgin gold, in
cessantly crumbling away from its
own richness" OF Sheridan, Byron,
in his journal, says: Il shall never
forget the day he and Rogers and
Moore and passed together; when
he talked, and we listened, without
one yawn. from ) till | in the morn
ing "The riches of his Irish i'm
agination were exhaustless. ! have
heard that man speak more poetry
than | have ever seen written"
Byron himself was no mean talker.
He was shrewd, witty and lively.
His more serious conversation, y said
Shelley, is sort of intoxication y
and Medwin expresses himself in the
following burst Of enthusiasm "Tht
brilliancy of his wit, the flow of hi:
eloquence. who could do justice to p
Goethe was fine talker; The richie:
of his mind flowed as freely from his
tongue as from his pen. Hickman
says of Paine, that his conversation
was often witty and cheerful; always
acute and improving, but never friyo-
lous Willis has left US notices o.
Bulwer's and Disraeli's conversation
al powers. The formers talk be call:
brilliant rattle y of the latter hs
says; "He is very silent in the gen
erai melee of conversation, but ",
have never vet seen him leave a room
before be had made an impression by
some burst Of monologue." Grsi
void SAYS of Poe, that he was supra
mortal in his eloquence his imagery
was from the worlds which no NOR
tai can see but with the vision of ge
MUS" yet be never presumed on The
good-nature of his listeners by monop
olizing their whole attention, for w
learn from Mrs. Whitman that b,
was frequently ian admiring listener
and an unobrusive observer All
ston, the painter-poet, was remarka
hle for his conversational powers hi
tongue wrought on his associates anC
acquaintance like an enehanter'
spell.
We had well-nigh forgotten Ton
| Hood, the prince of wits. He wa.
the magician of words, performin.
with language the most wonderful
transformations. Conscious of hi
great power-and what man of geni
US is not conscious of his ability ?
he was yet artless and natural as {
child. His nature" says eOtem
porary writer, "was so stepped in the
choicest spirit of humor, that it con
tinually bubbled over in a quip ant
jest, like a cool spring yelling up in {
desert plain
Fine conversation is a thing sci
dom heard Of in society. Little pain:
are taken TO furnish other than com
monplaces. Hours are passed ever
in intellectual company in idle dis
cussion and silly chit chat, such Al
provoked Fuseli, who, one day. aftel
listening some time to the bald, dis
jointed chat" OF, some idle eaIlers-in
suddenly interrupted them with the
remark:
I'VE had pork for dinner tn day =,