The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-04-22

but whatever the subject occupying the
foreground OF her attention for the mo-
ment. you may BE- very sure that her mind
has mad adventures In contact with that
subject, and that your mind will presently
be sharing those adventures. She is
alive to every last hber Of her nerves, and
All her thoughts and the boundless mental
vitality OF which you get a strong I'm
preston are at your service She puts
them at your service voluntarily. for her
conviction that one must be real and give
people Of ones real self Is ms firmly root
ca as her beliefs about the utility Of the
Ten Commandments. Her conversation
mas passed beyond the experimental stage.
q q
To return 10 the French diplomat, he
deiicateiy iBtimated that our talk goes to
seed In personalities, and there, fear. he
Is quite right How many towns are
there--I confess ! cannot count all I>know
I'm which the leading set lead BY virtue
OF money or some similar act dental ad-
vantage Il do not count heredity as an
"accidentar' ADVANTAGE. and converse ex-
clusively about each others failings. The
power of abstract thought and the Gift OF
abstract speech seem to have gone out
together. II. indeed, they were ever In"
There sssmS no doubt that q golden day
did once exist. when such q measure OF
wealth ~ would be considered poverty
nowadays was thought 20 give responsi-
bfIify TO God and to society. The people
who had II knew the higher uses of mon
~. and prscticed them. Cultivation. the
love of arts and letters the mental
graces, were htting adjuncts OF a prorni-
nent social position. They were as much
It's appanase ~ fine raiment and delicate
iivins-more 20. perhaps. Nowadays It
almost seems as II 1t were only the poor
people and the obscure who could AFFORD to
have minds and souls The others are too
busy, and nothing takes SO much time as
having a mind
However. there Ia no use scoldnG be-
cause the golden days OF plain living and
consider 10 the problem Of making tho
most OF our own degenerate era of plain
thinking and high living.
1t Is. OF course, the women who give
society Its tone and decree the subjects
for our daily conversation. So long az
nothing but personalities and triviaiities
seem interesting to tks feminine mind, 30
long Will the staple material OF our con-
vsrsation continue to be personal and triv-
ial. 1t would be too much to expect to
erect an Immediate reform or a far-reach-
ing one. Still, when one comes to think
Of It, what reason II there why we should
misuse our tongues more than our hands
and feet? We take pains to train the lat
ter in the ways they should 20. and to
teach them all manner of difficult and val
liable tricks. Why should we not educate
our tongues a. well. until we have taught
them to express our thoughts. There are
to-day more people who can draw q recog-
nisable picture of some object they have
seen than can present recognizable word
picture Of some image In their mind And
yet. the tongue Ii the most constantly
exercised OF all tho membUs II 10 only
because we have heretofore allowed It to
play at Its own free viii that It is in
such bad training today.
How would II do to form a league Of
women--a club. n you like--who should bind
themselves by their articles of organiza-
ton to mako at least three efforts a day to
convey to their interiocutors (outside the
family circle) some idea OF their real selves
and their vital interests; also TO make at
least two observations a day which should
contain az vivid a piece Of description as
the speaker II capable OF?
Anyhow. It would be interesting 10 see
what the results of such on organise
tion would be.