The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-07-20

One labors her livelihood to gain,
With REALLY almost masculine brain,''
And the skillful work from her ready pen
Has won applause from the world of men
And the labels she wears In the social mart
Are brilliant" and witty" and keen and
! smart"
And one just gets, by the sunniest smiles
| lord,
BY whom she is petted and quite adored;
And II there are other much coveted ends,
She has always host of obliging friends
Who are more than delighted to be of use
10 such dear little helpless goose"
There are two women whom we'll l wot,
And one Is clever and one is-not
| Beatrice Hanscom in the Century.
CULTIVATE THE ART OF TALK
ING WELL.
There is an old proverb which saws
that many fool may pass as a wise
man If he only knows how to hold his
tongue. If he speaks IN season, and
keeps his mouth shut at the proper time
also, he may go through life without any
one being the wiser concerning his real
mental quality.
is no accomplishment so desirable for
one who asplres to be social success
as the ability to talk WELL 1t is an es
woman. 1t was Bulwer, wasn't it, who
SAID: Glrls ought to be taught to talk.
Man does not want singing animal a
dancing animal or drawing animal; he
wants a talking animal who can enter
tain him with agreeable conversation,
whatever his mood" Not a specially
complimentary way &C speaking of wOm-
en-, but Bulwer was-well, BuIwcr-that
tells the story about as we'll as anything
| can.
There is no gift which brings it's DOS
SCISSOR such popularity as that of brilliant
conversational powers, and there is no
gift more rare. Not only is it true that
they please, but wherever one meets a
really good talker he or she is sure to be
the center of an admiring group of audi
tors. But to be such an accomplished
person one needs leisure for preparation,
| for it is not all matter of magnetism
by any means, although that must be
present behind the information, else the
conversation will ack the quality which
makes it brilliant and fascinating.
The workers Of the world are too busy
to devote their valuable time to the CON
struction of elegantly-turned sentences,
While what passes for conversation
among the idle people is usually vapid
for the literary persons who might rea-
sonably be expected to leaven the lump,
they are chary of their ideas, regarding
them as so much stock in trade, to be
devoted to the production of the neces-
sary bread and butter. Why should they
cast abroad freely that which they can
turn into coin of the realm? 1t isn't in
reason to be expected that they should
And so, from its very rarity, there is no
accomplishment that is better worth ac-
curing. For although the ability to talk
well is, IN measure, a natural gift it is
an art to be cultivated. There are few
branches Of study so important to those
persons who pretend to education, yet,
strange to say, no one is so generally neg
lected
To be a brilliant conversationalist it is
necessary to possess unusual talent, not
to say genius; but while few may aspire
to the ceaseless sparkle and abundant wit
Theodore Hook. the brilliant sallies of
Sheridan. the charm of Madame Reca-
mier, or the mingled wit and wisdom of
Macauiay, there are few among the edu-
Gated men and women Of the world who
are SO tongue-tied or who have such pow
crty Of mental resource chat they cannot
contribute something for the amusement
and entertainment of those with whom
they are thrown in contact.
The first requisite for the good talker
is to have something to talk about. One
cannot draw water from an empty we'll,
nor converse when the mind is blank.
There must be mental cultivation
through reading and observation. One
must keep in touch with the questions
of the day; and there is no better way
of doing this than by giving some time
every morning to the perusal of a good
newspaper There is no need of reading
it all, one will soon learn from the head
IN ,noA -
best to read thoroughly and what may
be just glanced at.
Then one should accustom herself to
talk about what she reads and sees. II
is great mistake not to talk at home
to ones family; it is good practice, and
there will often be awakened a respons-
iyeness in some unexpected quarter, and
the table. talk at home will be quite well
worth while listening to. Then, besides,
many one has acquired an UNPLEASANT
habit of taciturnity from considering it
not worth the trouble to entertain the
home people, who would often be so ap-
preciative and quick to catch point that
they would serve to test the new story
upon before venturing to give it to stran-
gers.
The habit Of storytelling should be
cultivated; one cannot lack for auditors
while there are children in the family
or among ones acquaintance. By such
ties will be strengthened, words will
come readily, the vocabulary will be en-
larged, shyness and self-consciousness
will be overcome, memory will respond |
quickly, and one will talk with ease and |
without effort.
Next to the ability to talk well, and,
not far behind it in Importance, comes
the power of listening intelligently and /
sympathetically. There are few persons
from whom something cannot be learned |
if they can be persuaded to talk freely |
on topics upon which they are interested |
and informed. 1t is great art to draw |
persons out and make them show their |
conversational qualities at their best, |
and in order to do this one must fol- |
low the thread of conversation, be able |
to pick up the ball when it drops and |
show an interest in what is being said |
1t is great art and a rare one to be !
able to seem absorbed in the person to !
whom one is listening, still rarer tai |
ent to be able to really lose ones self |
atty.
AS far as possible, all unpleasant top
made to discover what is of interest |
to the other party in the conversation |
With some persons this faculty amounts |
to intuition, with others it is laboriously
acquired, but it grows by exercise, like
Of one own affairs. nor talk shop !:
Talk of things and not of people. Cos !,
sip is not conversation. Unkind and |
censorious remarks should be avoided, |
as should personal remarks, unless they
convey something like delicate com
pliment, and care should be taken not to
attack peoples prejudices. a pleasant
talker makes friends, the sharp one
makes enemies.-Boston Herald.
WINDOWS AND THEIR DEcORA-
TONS.
= Coats of arms on windows are almost
always charming in their effect. Those
of us who have not seen them in some of
the old beautiful houses abroad have at
least done so in pictures of these places
by celebrated artists. Coats of arms
may be painted directly on the glass
with the brush, or they may be stenciled
an easier process for most persons.
FIT CONS(