St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-03-05
|e1iQuk1Te OF CONVERSATION.
There Are Few Listeners Nowadays
and All the Women Talk Loud.

.
and All the Women Talk Loud.
The art Of conversation has been
rightly called lost art in these latter
days. No longer do we trouble TO
round our phases elegantly, to talk in
low and well-modulated voice. II is the
fashion now to talk as fast as possible.
so that nobody else may have chance
of being heard. And the loudest talk
er in modern assemblage becomes the
person OF most importance.
Such has the nineteenth century
hurry and seIfishness made of what
should be the most attractive thing on
earth-the human voice. with its mani
fold expressions. and the thought which
it should convey from mind to mind.
When we gabble like geese, we can
hardly speak words of much value. and
when words are uttered in a loud key,
there can rarely be much music found
in them.
The pity of 1t is that people in what
is styled society are the greatest trans
gressors in this matter. 1t is now quite
sign of mediocrity not to moEopolize
body else. There must be a few listen
crs left, we suppose, but as rule it is
observable at fashionable "at home"
or gathering that most OF the voices
are sounding altogether, and with the
strident note that fashion has recent
ly selected so that q middle class
stranger joining the throng would won
4 -ho hoI nfx, ~f, h 1oSlv
a modern tower of Babel. OF course.
if she were fashionable herself. she
would hasten to add her tones to the
rest.
It really is noticeable that the voice
of the modern man is becoming low,
almost inaudible, while that OF the
woman grows louder and more assert
i've. This may demonstrate the evolu-
ton of women toward the higher plane
which they claim as their right, but
we much fear that it is but sign of
The growing selfishness that is poster
ing the heart of all classes. Selfish
ness will naturally consider its own
conversation more interesting and
worthy of a hearing than anybody
else's; sclfishness will therefore ignore
the remarks of others. will interrupt
the speech of others. will impose its
own views and opinions upon the So
ciety with which it happens to be in
contact.
In the good old etiquette books of a
fast-dying epoch we read that each word
should be given its proper value and
number of letters; that it is not correct
to boast of personal or social advan-
tages, that acquaintances should not
be bored by personal conversation; that
it is ill-bred to interrupt speaker or
monopolize the conversation; that it il
wearisome to thrash ont a subject to
a threadbare fineness; that 1t is bad
taste to talk of unsavory subjects. or
harrow the feelings by disser tations
upon dangerous illnesses.
But everyone will recognize that these
are not the rules of to-day among a
large ma iority of modern society. They
are obsolete. tiresome and cr.mpino
rules that no civilized people could
ieign to follow. Fortunately. however.
there are still very many highly bred
women who have been strong er ough to
withstand the insidious influence OF
the closing century ard hold fast to
the best traditions of well-mannered
conversation: who will politely star.
unpleasant topics out of countenance
tho will not allow "smart" thing
n.airst religion to be said unquestioned
H. their hearing: who give honor "a
those syllabies to which honor is due
who do rot think il necessary TO inter
> i;eir remarks with s.nrg and sma'
rs cf for, ,gn languages. and wi
n no, think and insist that their opir
ion upon any subject is the only OH.
tina, is infa:lible.
These women. 1t is pleasant to be-
lieve, vii lhave pc wer in time to turn
modern conversation back into mort
attractive channels; their personal ex-
ample. their instruction to their chill.
dren. will insure the revival of ell that
is best in human intercourse. and so
stamp out from the coming generation
and society those rank weeds which
now are like to choke the intelligence
CT the most highly educated people in
the world.-Mabel Rich, in Chicago
Times ii erald.