San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-10-15
GIFT OF ENTER TANNING.
Hints to Society Buds Who Would
De Clever C0nversationalists.

Hints to Society Buds Who Would
De Clever Conversationalists.
Many a would-be summer girl has
found to her sorrow during the sea-
son that is now nearly over that, in
spite of all her natural and acquired
beauty, she almost invariably fails to
attract attention in company OF
young men and women, while another,
with far fewer physical attractions,
is lionized before her very eyes. This
is Notifying in the extreme to any girl,
and, most of all, to one who is con-
scious of comely face and figure. The
real secret of the trouble is that she
is not interesting. Young men grow
tired of just merely looking at pretty
girl They want to have good time
and be entertained.
Young women who expect to enter
society for the first time this winter
will find it worth while to devote the
intervening months between August
and December to the matter of be-
coming interesting, for, while beauty
is great advantage, the ability to
entertain counts for much more.
Said one young woman to another:
'.How I envy you your gift of enter
tanning! You always Seem to have
Something bright and interesting to
say. People gather round You at re-
.ceptions and parties and you are always
in demand ,s,-v--s~4.s--,~r~;ts' Il
my dear it is perfectly simple"
she said. ANYONE can do it who pos
sesses the average degree of intelli-
gence. 1t is merely matter of proper
arrangement of ones forces. A gen.
eral may have twice as many men as
the opposite commander and be defeat
ed, because they were not in the right
place at the right time. Train your
forces to be on call, my dear. If you
want to be able to talk have something
ready to talk about. That is the whole
secret.
"As regards chatting with people in
general, nothing is easier. You have
two or three good newspapers every
day, and as many or more good maya
zines every month. These are amply
| sufficient to post you thoroughly re-
| garding the topics that are of interest
to people of your own set. Do not try
to absorb and digest the entire con-
tents at 'one fell swoop.' Make dozen
different lists for different occasions.
Of course they are the stock subjects,
but they will serve to help you acquire
self-possession, which is the principal
point, and before you know it you will
find yourself expressing some original
thought that takes the topic out of
the commonplace.
For other occasions, other methods
are desirable. Whenever you see a
short, witty verse or poem on social
topics, learn it. Above all, get sup
| ply of bright stories committed to men,
DRY. A good way to memorize is to
write the story you have heard or read,
in brief, note fashion. Tell these stories
brisl1ly, with no superfluous words to
make people wonder when you are
coming to the point. Stories about
well-known people are always desirable,
as they are likely to be apropos.
THAT sort of thing always takes at
/ late dinner or supper.
"After awhile you will find that your
carefully-arranged topics will arrange
themselves. You will instinctively note
and remember the story or verse or
bit of interesting or amusing gossip,
and it will almost unconsciously come
to your thought at the right moment"
N. Y. Herald.