The Van Buren press., 1898-02-19
ETIQUETTE OF CONVERSATION.
There Are Few Listeners Nowadays
and All the Women Talk loud.

There Are Few Listeners Nowadays
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. 1t is the
fashion now to talk as fast as possible,
80 that nobody else may have chance
OF being heard. And the loudest talk
Ell in a modern assemblage becomes the
person of most Importance.
Such has the nineteenth-century
hurry and selfishness 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 gable 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 it is that people in what
is STYLED society are the greatest trans
gressors in this matter. 1t is now quite
a sign of mediocrity not to mopopolize
the conversation and to outtalk every
body else. There must be few listen
ers left. we suppose, but as a 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 a middle class
stranger joining the throng would won
der il she had suddenly stumbled upon
a modern tower of Babel. OF course,
if she were fashionable herself. she
would hasten to add her tones to the
rest.
1t 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-
tion of women toward the higher plane
which they claim as their right, but
we much fear that it is but a sign of
the growing sefshness 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; selfshness 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 eachword
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
1t is ill-bred to interrupt a speaker or
monopolize the conversation; that it is
wearisome to thrash out a subject to
a threadbare fneness; that 1t is bad
taste 10 talk of unsavory subjects, or
harrow the feelings by dissertations
upon dangerous illnesses.
But everyone will recognize thatthese
are not the rules of to-day among
large majority of modern society. They
are obsolete, tiresome and cramping
rules that no civilized people could
deign to follow Fortunately, however,
there are still very many highly bred
NOlltI wiz httNt ittli StiOhR NlNohS II "
Withstand the insidious influence of
the closing century and hold fast to
the best traditions of well-mannered
conversation; who will politely stare
unpleasant topics out of countenance;
who will not allow ''smart" things
against religion to be said unquestioned
in their hearing; who give honor to
those syllables to which honor is due;
who do not think it necessary to inter-
lard their remarks with slang and smat-
terings eff foreign languages, and who
do not think and insist that their opin-
ion upon any subject is the only one
that is. infallible
These women, it is pleasant to be-
lieve, will lhave power in time to turn
modern conversation back into more
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
of the most highly educated people in
the world.-Mabel Rich, in Chicago
Times-Herald.