The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1884-03-19
NO. GOO
THE ART OF STORY TELLING.
| Fow simple una Practical suggestions.

/ Fcw simple nnd Practical Suggestions.
j Some people seem personally fitted for
! effective storytelling. George Henry Bewes
was one SUCH Those who were familiar
4 with him have often remarked the viyacious
i sparkle of the eye, the peculiarly telling
action of the hands and the perfect self
] possession with which he would fascinate
conSivial party. Anthony Trollope it was,
/ if we are not mistaken, who once said that I
the very clothes he wore seemed somehow
to contribute to the effect of his good stories
Ibis velvet coat and his neat slippers, and
! the rest of it, all worn with that dir of easy
Inconsistencies we'll calculated to enhance
the points of his narrative. That uncon-
seriousness, by the way, is a great matter in
personal narrative. There are some who
are prevented from ever telling story well
by their. evident anxiety 10 do SO. They
! appear to be as much concerned about
1 themselves as for the success of their tale.
/ Their own manner and choice of language
and the impression they are making on
their auditors, are plainly distracting their
wits and diverting great part of their
power. A good story teller will always be
found to be one who is himself too deep in
bis own enjoyment and appreciation of his
| tale to be at all conscious of anything per-
tanning to himself He enters into the
thing too fully and too entirely to be con-
cerned with the criticisms which may be
passing upon his appearance, or language,
or manner. Anything like tiniidity, or
| nervousness, or self-consciousness, is fatal
to that freedom of manner which is always
n principal charm of really successful tale
tellers, and in all such narratives as obser-
! want travellers have to tell upon their re-
turn home A ready flow of language is,
Of course, essential to success in this line.
Nothing is more unpleasant than to have 70
listen to long narratives which seem contin-
ualy on the point of breaking down for
i want of works, or which are told in words
that continually prompt the listener to in.
corruption and criticism which politoness
nevertheless forbids. A pleasant voice.
too, is great point, though not by any
means invariably Indispensable. There are
times, as every one must have observed, :.
when some harsh incongruity of voice adds
immensely to the effect Of u story, Just in
the same way as the personal appearance Of
4 a narrator may greatly Influence its success.
Lewes was generally allowed to be anything
but handsome man, and il was In great
measure what some would call--did call, in
i fact-his very ugliness which often lent 3.
immense force to his utteranees.o An odd
or unpleasant vein mhy do precisely the s
same thing, giving perhaps q soapcoa of
| - Il, l,.4. Il. 4
fat and insipid or droll turn. to points 5.
which would be tame and duh if told in
smooth and faultless tone.
#I7- ..-e.-.& sla
A HOTEL CLERKS OBSERVATIONS.
Americans Preferred MS CHESTS Because Of
/ Their Liberal, Ofl-hnud Ways.
----- H.i5 asGlsH faI
Americans are good enough for me-
said the clerk of very large uptown hotel
as he leaned gracefully over the desk
They never give us any trouble and are
en fly as all good Americans ought to be-
They are rs secure against tho wffes OF INC
confidence widow as they are against the in
sidious bunko man, and they know enough
TO leave their keys and treasures at the desk
without being told. They do not speak to
the business managerp--teehnieal for clerk
| -" as though he were porter, md do not
ring for hot water ever night and morning.
Americans do not do these things foreign,
ers do 49,, 1.t..s, ~. ss.t.
Which are the more liberal ~ "a 5a5s
. In the main Americans, though we
have had English noblemen here who were
liberal to the last degree. Tho younger run
Of British aristocrats spend their money
freely. They toss man dollar for taking
up trunk or pitcher of water, and treat
every one about the house as sovereign
treats slave. This is not true of the older
lords and dukes, however. With one or two
trifling exceptions We have found them OK
trcmely parsimonious and mean. An Eng
lisliman docs what I'm American never
docs; he goes over his bill carefully with
the elerl-bdsiness manager before paying
it. If he thinks he is oyereharged five
cents, no power in the house can make him
pny. He considers it proper to protest, An \
American is precisely the opposite to this
iio likes to do things in nm a-hand, care.
less way, and if he is o bitoverchirged &c.
cidontally he takes n genuine saiisfactior.
in payihgi it. You see, all the people who.
come here expect to spend money Many of
them feel that they are slighted IL they are,
not charged at top rates. isl a6i.iiia sieve
Very few French. or Spanish people
,ome here Those who do are extreneIyoa
particular about their rooms md meals anil
Iiakc the servants little presents at The, end
Of the month Instead Of tipping thcm as 4
they 60 along. Yon SEQ, When you come
down to it, an American takes naturally to
n hotel. There are noihotels in iEurope Tint L
compare with our own" SOD bie bio
i >-~or~z,~