St. Landry democrat., 1893-01-21
CONSCIOUSNESS IN WRITING.

| Self Con sciousncss Makes You D. Poor
Writer and II Bah Speaker.
Richard Grant White writes: As
both writing and speaking are the
expression Of Thought through Ian
guagh, the capacity for the one,
Joined to the incamcity for the
other, is naturally the occasion Of
remark, and has, I believe. never
been accounted for. | think it will
be found that consciousness. which
generally causes more ~ less enhar-
basement 81 one kind or other, is at
the bottom Of this apparent incon-
gruitv.
The man who writes III q clear and
fluent style, bur who, when he under
takes 10 speak, more than to say yes
or no or what he would like for din
ner, hesitateS and UtterS confusion.
does SO because he is made scIf-cOn-
SciOus by tn" prcsenC" Of Others when
he speaks. hut gives himself uncOn-
sciously to The expression Ct his
thought when he looks only upon
the words which he is writing He
who speaks with case and grace, but
writes IN Grabbed, involved style
fprgets himself when he looks at
others and is occupied Ivy himself
when he * alone. His consciousness
and the effort that he makes Oh the
one hand to throw it off, and on the
other to meet it, demand upOn him.
confuse his thoughts, which throng,
and jOstic. and crash. instead Of NOV
ing onward wit ono consent tOgeth-
or.
Mere consciousness has had much
to do with the charming style OF
many womcn's letters. Womcn'-
style, when they write hooks. is gen
orally bad, with oil the varieties Of
badness: but their epistolary style is
as generally excellent in all ways Of
excellence. \ letter written by
bright, cultivated WOIn9n-and she
need not be highly educated o.
3 much instructed Wnmcn. hnt
merely one whose intercourse is with
cultivated pcople-and written mere
y 70 tell you something that inter-
cstS her and that she wishes YOU t.
know, with much care about what
she says. ard no care as to how she
says it. will, in twelve cases ont Of a
bakers dozen, be not only irreprOach-
ably correct in expression but very
charming.
Some literary women, though few,
are able to carry this clear. fluent.
idiomatic English style into their
books. Mrs. Jameson. Charlotte
BrOnte, and perhaps George Eliot are
prominent instances in point, Mrs
Trollope's book. The Domestic Man
ners Of the American" which made
Der name known and caused it to he
detestei. uniustly in this country, is
written in this delightful style-casy-
flowing and clear. like Il beautiful
stream, rejecting 1rJm its placid
surface wherever it passes, by adding
in the reflection charm i the i'm
age which is not in the object. and
distorting only when it is dilnpled by
gayety or crispe1 by a flow Of satire
or ripple cf humor. II is worth
reading only Tor its style. It may be
studied to advantage and emulated
bnt not initiated, for all about it
that is worthy Of emulation is inim-
liable, Mr.. Anthony TrolIope's
mastery Of oar language was inhrr-
tied. but. he did not come into pos
session nf quite all III" maternal IS
tate.
say that Mrs. "r,In;e'~ book had
| ,N
her descriptions were TRUE TO life,
and We're evidently taken from life.
She described. however. only that
which struck her n peculiar, and
her acquaintance with IT," country
was among the most un"ultjvated
PEOPLE