American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-07-11

Il very favorable impression in Il short
space of time. Quiet people, on the
other hand, are slow in manifesting
warmth of feeling, and you will not often
find them slapping comparative strangers
on the back, or linking arms with people
of whom they have not a thorough knowl-
edge. Occasionally, of course, they may
do so, for the contagion of example is so
great that these passive beings are some
times led to initiate the ways of their
more dashing brethren. But, in the
event of their doing so, they invariably
only succeed in bringing down humiliation
upon themselves. There is a hesitancy
about what they do which plainly indi-
| Gates the effort they are making, and they
demonstrate in many ways that they are
half ashamed of what they are attempting.
When they talk loudly there is Il quavcr
| and hardness in their Voices showing
| that they are departing from their ordi-
nary rule of life. While attempting any
eNtravagant manifestations of good feel
| ing it is customary for their faces to
assume IA sheepish expression, and the
evidence of their uncomfortableness is
completed by series of bushes. New
ertheless, it must be admitted that those
who know most about human nature, and
are the greatest adopts at studying char
acter, have justly u decided partiality for
| many quiet people, feeling that genius is
| apt to be shy, and that sincerity is often
diffidcnt, while, on the other hand, an
excess of CHATTER often only hides innate
weakness or serves as n cloak for Interior
desi gns or mean motives. Certain it is
that the man who gushes upon slight
provocation is invariably but broken
reed to rely on when one has to battle
with the fierce waves of adversely: while
| the retiring individual often proves a
| tower of strength, and shows himself
possessed of depths of character of which
no one has hitherto been disposed to
| give him credit.
Why is it that these retiring people
whom we have taken the liberty of com
pairing with mice are so fond of being
| left to themselves, as they most undoubt-
| cdly are? How is it when they enter
| room filled with people to most of whom
| they are comparative strangers they
have a weakness for getting into some
| obscure corner, and of screening them
| selves from general observation by a
book or IA collection of prints or photo
graphs, the probability being that the
| books, printse or photographs interest
| them but littles 1t seems likely that all
this is owing, not SO much to want of Ca
pacity, or natural shyness, or timidity-
though 1t may in some cases be largely
due to this-as to their inability to
| adapt themselves to a prOmiScuous as
| semblage, an inability which they proba-
| bly, feel and lament over. Addison was
| Il bashful man when in company, but
there is no reason for supposing that his
| shyness arose from a sense of his in
feriority to the majority of people whom
he was called upon to meet Indeed,
| there is no doubt that in richness of idea
and power of expression few who came
near him were anything like his equals,
much less his superiors. Yet the fact
remains that he was undoubtedly shy.
| His case is illustrative of the fact that
| timid men are not necessarily noodles,
as some superficial observers seem in
| clined to imagine. Probably if the truth
| were known many of the quiet people
under notice feel the most profound
| contempt for the majority of those
| who contribute to the noisy gable
which passes current in drawing rooms
| and at dinner parties. More probable
still, at the same time they are aware
| that they are unable to contribute sat
| isfactory share thereto. Somehow or
other, the few sentences they do hazard
| do not seem to fit in with the flow of
| talk, and their only effect appears to be
| an unpleasant one, which recOils on the
heads of the speakers. This simply
| arises from the fact that they cannot
adapt themselves to all circumstances,
the result being that they are only able
| to talk satisfactorily and well with those
WIZ tiiOIOuSHlN uHucGSlduu anu
| whom they thoroughly understand. They
may sometimes be above the generality
of folk, they may occasionally be below,
but it is not so much question of high
ness or lowness as it is of adaptability.
In witness thereof may be cited the fact
| that a host of mcdiocrities are in the
habit of talking at almost all times with
singular case, albeit the greater portion
of what they utter is conventional non
Still iS hntfe than
nothing, and the order of beings under
| notice would do well to be less severe in
| their condemnation of it. They may
rest assured that they would appear to
| more advantage when engaging in the
most vapid of dialogues than they do
when retiring in corners and building
castles in the air, or thinking contempt
uouSly of the intellectual weakness of
those whom they are regarding. A little
| attention to the matter would soon en-
able 4 man to cease to attract attention
| on account of his quietness without caus-
ing him to become boisterous.-Liberol
ReUtec.