Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-11-05
MFM GS TAKERS
They Do Not Read Enough to Make m
 ConVersatIara InterestIRe. ,,CIl.

They Do Not Read Enough to Make 1helr ConVersatI"n IntereStIug. ,,uIGls
 The Boston Journal says thht7 thel,N are three causes which go far to explain. the non-entertaining character of the average young man to the average young person of the opposite sox: The first is that he is too much engrossed in him- self and the things which interest him. The finest point of courtesy in conver- sation is to seek those subjects which will interest the people with whom we talk. The young man whop goes into Society of cultivated yoaag women and has nothing better to offer, as his con- tribu tion to the conversation, than base ball talk or "reminiscences of college scrapeS will make himself entertaining, if at all, only by making himself ridicu- lous, and that, it is safe to say,.is not what he is after. So with the various other subjects, either of business or of pleasure, which arc chiefly t9fe concern of mon. They oHght not t0 be forced into conpersation with s9omQn. If the latter want to know about them, very we'll, but the information should be given as brightly and interesting as possible, and without any appearance of NSHNSSSOASAAAS hS true gentleman who enters the society of women with the deferenae which he should feel, will study them sufficiently to know what things are likely to inter est them and what are not
 Another difficulty is that the average young man Is likely to make mistake as to the things which will interest young women, even when he makes a atn nkk An nlA T. sn
 tion to them. Old notions die hard. There are still great many young men who can not understand that the young women whom they know. some of them at least, have minds which are capable of something more than small talk, of fashion-plates or society gossip. Never theless, this is true. Nothing is more galling to young women of cultivation and intelligence than to be consistently talked down to by the men of their ac- ~quaintance. Let the average young man realize that the average young woman with whom he talks knows probably at least as much as he does, and he will make his conversation better worth while by putting little intellect into. it. -''
 A third difficulty is that the average young man is in serious danger of being left behind intellectually, by the aver age young woman. We do not expect that this alarming statement will be ac- cepted without dispute. But we com mend to the solemn consideration of young men the question whether a young man, who in college gives his chief thought to athletics and after he leaves college is en0rossed in business, is likely to keep up with his sister, or some other fellows sister, who started with . mind at least as bright as his, has had equal educational advantages, and has both time and dis position to improve herself. We main tain that no young man can afford to deprive himself of the broadening and elevating influence of good books. The newspaper has it's place, but it is not the place of Shakespeare or Milton, of Addison or Ruskin or any other of the great masters of English. Business has it's exacting demands, but they can best be met by man who relieves the ten sion upon his mind by occasional excur- sions in standard and current literature.
 II the young man of the period Is to converse to the edif1cation and enter; tatnment of young women he must fill his mind with something besides base ball, or stocks, or politics These may enter into conversation. but they must not be its staple. To restore the proper conversational relations of the sexes, the average young man must improve his habits of thought and speech in more ways than one.