The Hazlehurst signal. (Hazlehurst, Miss.) 1883-1885, 1884-01-10
How Soms Great Mem Talked.

Young says OF Congrcve that che
was mute In society on some occasions,
but when he began to be company he
was full of vvacity, and went on In o
noble strain OF thought and language
so as to chain the attention Of every one
to him." Goldsmith, on the contrary.
appeared in company TO have no spark
of the genius We find In his writings.
His address was awkward. his manner
uncouth. his language unpollshcd; he
hcsitatcd in speaking and was always
unhappy II the conversation did not
turn upon himself. Burns had great
conversational powers, and he was at
home with the wits and saycnts OF
Edinburgh. Washington Irving. him
self delightful talker, describing his
visit tn Sir Walter Scott ut Abbotsford,
says: His conversation was frank.
hearty, picturesque and dramatic. Hc
never talked for efrcct or display, but
from the flow OF his spirits. the stores
of his imagination. Ho was as good q
listener rs y talkcr; appreciated every
thing that Others said, however humble
might be their rank and prctcnsions.
and was quick to testify his perception
of any point in their discourse. No
ones concerns. no ones thoughts and
opinions, no oue's tastes and pleasures.
seemed beneath him He nado himself
so thoroughly the companion Of those
with whom he happened to be. that they
forgot for time his vast superiority.
and only rccollccted aud wondered.
when all was over, that II was Scott
with whom they had been on such Ia
miliar terms, in whose society they had
felt so perfectly ut case"
Horne To0kc, after spending an even.
ing in the company OF Curran and
sheridan observed that "Shcridan's
wit was ike steel highly polished and
ohnrpencd for display and use. while
Curran's was mine Of virgin gold. in
ccssantly crumbling away from It's own
richness. Charles Butler thus de-
scribcd from personal intercourse the
conversation Of Pitt, Burke and Fox.
"Thc most intimate friends OF MIR. Fox
complained Of his too frequent rumina-
ting silence. Mr.. Pitt talked, and his
talk was fascinating. Mr.. Burkc's con.
vcrsation was rambling, but splendid
and instructive beyond comparison. "
Great men sometimes indulge in fauci.
full and capricious ideas and grotesguc
imagery which fools take literally. DR..
johnson. both In good aud Ill humor,
often INDUCED In this exaggerated talk.
So did even SO calm philosopher rs
Adam Smith. Burns was also prone to
it. and says OF himself that though,
when he had . mind ho was pretty
generally beloved. he could never got
the art Of commanding respect aud
attributed this to what Stcrne calls that
"understrapping virtue Of discretion. "
81 am so apt" says Burns, "to q
iapsus iinguo." Erasmus said OF him.
self: "Snm na!urd propensior al Jocos
guam tortasse deeed'." liam by nature
more inclined TO pleasantly than is per.
haps becoming" In his intercourse
with Sir Thomas More and his family
he was most exhilcraiing companion.
hut tho quickncss with which he saw
through afIcctation and parade made
him less agreeable to Princes. Leyden
confcsses: "In conversation i often
verge SO nearly on absurdity that
know II is perfectly easy TO miscon.
ccivc me, rs well rs to misrcprescnt
me-" Cumberland. who talks thought
fully, has well said that Nonsense
talked by mon of wit and understand.
inc In the hour of relaxation, is OF the
very essence of conviyiality. and treat
to those who have the sense to comprc-
hcnd It; hut 1t implies trust in the
company not always to be risked." F"
David Hume was noted for his play
fulncss, sometimes almost childish, In
conversation.
SlOw.mindcd men arc not always the
dullcst, nor those who are quickest the
most luminous. Nicollc said OF scin-
tillant wit: "He vanquishcs me in the
drawing-roOni. but surrenders TO me ut
discretion on the stairs" Readiness
is not an attribute OF the greatest
thinkers. Thus q lively Frenchman
spoke of "the silence Of the celebrated
Franklin" Lord Mansfield dill not
encourage conversation that cost him
pains to carry on. II was to him "a
kind of cushion to his understanding. "
not an exercise of skill. He only liked
talk rs relaxation. Lord Bolingbroke,
in letter to Pope. draws delightful!
picture of his talks with Swift and
Others at Pope's villa at Twickcnham,
"My thoughts. in what order soever
they flow, shall be communicated to
you just as they pass through my mind
Just as they used TO be when VIC con-
versed together on these or any other
subject; when we sauntered alone. OF
rs we have often done with good
Arbutllnot, and the jocose Dean OF st.
Patrick. among the multiplied scenes
Of your little garden. That theater Is
large enough for my ambition"
Among more recent names Charles
Dickens, Thackeray and George Henry
Lcwes occur to us as takers who never
failed to find delighted listeners. Ma
caulay and Sydney Smith were famous
for their conversation, and tho latter's
nllusion TO the formers "brilllant fash
cs of silence" Is well known. In Brook
lyn and New York there are some mer
whose table talk 1t Is impossible not to
listen to with pleasure. MIR. Beccher Is
ono Of them and tho lato DIR. Bellows
was another. -Brooklyn Eagle.
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