Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-07-21
GOOD TAKERS.
Some of the Best of English Converse
tionalists.

tionalists.
London Society
Society seeks its own level as surely
as water, and the level is watery one
lt will not admit of severe mental
strain, especially at hours of rejection
went to dine with a great man en-
Iamllle. He was man whose wit and
learning must have been often appre-
GATED by my present readers in some
OF the best contemporary literature of
our day. What pleasure it was to
listen to the man! Anecdote, aphor-
ism, criticism, flowed in a constant
stream. How he exposed the fallacy of
the last speech, the errors of the last
leader, the Interpretations of the last re-
view, all out of his abundant stores shed
flood of illumination on some anxious
subject greatly occupying the minds of
men! But the prophet, In the mean
time, was without honor in his own
country: The members of the family,
the ladies especially, were simply bored
and tired. They began and carried on
their own conversation without the
slightest reference to the host and mas
ter of the family. His voice was moth
ing more than the summer wind breath
ing through the room. His remarks
fell totally UNDECIDED, and did not
evoke a single response. AS a rule
young people do not care for grown-up
talk. In the same way grown-up peo-
pie do not care for talk which is above
''their level best"
Lord Houghton and Mr. Hayward
are among the best of modern CONVEX
sationalists. Sydney Smith could not
make the smallest remark without
provoking laugh, and even when he
said grace the young lady who sat next
to him said: ''YOu always are so anus
ing" / think it was Bishop WILDER
force who once made the remark that
conversation at dinner parties was los
ing its originality, and the best part of
it was now made up of talk about new
books and quotations from early copies
or proof-sheets in advance
l once went to dine at the high table
of a Cambridge college, where I was to
meet with a professional conversations
alist. In those days there were profess
siOnal cOnverSationalists as at the pres
ent time there are professional beauties.
l was told that this worthy man spent
hours IN his study every morning in
qualifying himself to shine at the din
ner-table and in the combination-room
He had published translation of Ger
man poetry at a time when German
studies were voted heterodox at the ia
bles of colleges. The subject which
cropped up was Vienna, and, of course,
several of the fellows knew Vienna pref
ty well. But the curious thing was that
whenever the conversation might wan
der it was always recalled by our we'll
read, well bred friend to somewhere in
the immediate vicinity of Vienna.
John Frederick Denison Maurice-he
used to drop the John, just as Dickens
dropped all his christian names except
Charles-waS man who was known in
the circle of his intimates as 1.-The
Prophet" and some of the best and
most gifted men of the time used to
hang on his accents as something pre-
terhuman. No one ever lost the inn
preston of that earnest face, or the vi
brating tones of that tender, sympa-
thetic voice. / met Maurice on one Oc-
casion at wedding breakfast. He pro-
posed the health of the bride and bride
groom. The lady turned around and
in rather bad taste exclaimed: ''Now,
Mr.. Maurice, call you to witness that
l entertain no intention of obeying -
Maurice answered with his sad sweet
smile, "Ah, madam, you little know
the blessedness of obedience Bishop
Wilberforce, whom / mentioned just
now, not only studied the art of con-
versation, but all the externals on which
conversation depends. The bishop
made point of never taking the head
of his table. He took care to sit on one
side, which would give him larger
area for the purposes of conversation.
He would not only have those on either
side of him, but those exactly in front.
He also took great care who should oc-
cupy these particular places, and what
should be the subject of the converse
ton. To a man of the bishops diplo-
matte turn of mind, the dinner would
prove not so much a relief from busi-
ness as the busiest part of the day.