Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-10-11
THE STORY TELLER.
A Necessary Feature i'm Society.

THE PLAIN STORIES AND THE DEPENDENT
--.s. ---,..,,.s- .,.., STORIES.
From the Chicago Herald.
funny story, when we'll told and well timed,
forms not only the height of entertainment, but
often proves the weightiest argument in the
settlement Of serious matters. A good story
teller Is one Of the most popular of persons.
IN society he is the life of the company EN-
barrassment disappears before his magic. and
wall-fowers are put at their ease by him. He
can transform business journey into q pleasure
trip and can render even imprisonment enjoya-
BILE. 1t is not necessary to expand upon his
power to please. The good story teller is not 90
rare. but that nearly every one has had his own
personal experience enriched BY his acouaint-
ance and companionship. To try TO tell what
constitutes good story would be to give the
anatomy of wit and humor. and much more
beside good story must not only contain
one or the other Of these, but it must be clothed
in well-nigh perfect word suit. a linguistic
gloVe-nt to the spirit Of wit it contains. Any
thing short OF this detracts from the story. The
following, which many have doubtless heard,
illustrates how a slight change may deaden wit
and at the same time give point to a story: An
elderly man named Gregory was passing along
the street one day and overlook great loutish,
overgrown boy, who wore q short jacket or
roundabout, such as might have been appropri-
ate for his little brother, if he had one INV
friend, said Mr.. Gregory, lit seems to me the
coat you wear is a very short one"
ut will be long enough before get another
One," the boy replied. The answer struck the
down and laughed. HecOuldnt get over il, and
every little while during the rest Of the day he
would think of it and burst out laughing That
evening he went to church sociable which, as
such cody diversions are apt to be, was very
dreary. A few of the fathers and mothers In Is
anp0UQd m otiu nnin
conundrums to their sanctifed companions. and
appeared to be at their ease. The Young
people, however, were far from it. They
shifted from one foot to the other, looked
at each other In wistful but n't-give-it-away
manner, and then reiapsed into kicking them
selves that they did not stay at home or go some
where else and enjoy themselves COMPREHEND
Ing that things were not as lively as they should
be, Mr.. Gregory thought he would tell the COM
pany about the amusing occurrence Of the az
ternoon, and the minute he thought of it he
burst out laughing; nor did he stop until he
got the whole company burning with curiosity
and had almost convinced some of them that
he was crazy. Finally he broke out with 81
want to tell you about It. It Is the funniest
thing ever knew. Inever laughed 80 in my
life before" After INDUCING in another ft
Of laughter he continued =" This afternoon
l was going along the street and I over
took great overgrown boy wearing Q
jacket, one Of these roundabouts, you know.
me your coat is very short one,' and what do
you suppose he said ?" And the old gentleman
was struck again with commissions Of extra
severity. Recovering himself at last he added:
HE said to me-he said, 1T will be a long time
before I get another one" and Mr. Gregory
entered upon another fit Of laughter even more
hearty than before. But he stopped almost Inn
medlately. No one was laughing or even smil-
ing. except in peculiar way. They evidently
saw nothing Jimmy. With his face sobered with
q snddenness that was sad poor Mr.. Gregory
exclaimed, '1t don't sound half as funny as It
did, somehow" Soon after he edged out of the
door. andhe didn't find out what was the mat
ter until after he got home,
There is great deal in the way a story ia
told Often one hears an old story told In a
manner which renders IL to him almost new.
Some stories read well; others do not. Ere
quently almost the whole point Of story lies In
the acting BY which its telling is ACCOMPANIED.
IL u nevertheless true that most stories when
Wen told are very much more ENJOYABLE than
when read.