The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1905-04-22
BY MARGARET 81 sANGsTER.

come "Toague-Tied" Difficulty.
BY MARGARET Z. SANGSTER.
Copyright. 1906, BY Joseph 3. Bowges.)
Amazing as the statement may be,
considering how glibly most feminine
creatures chatter. there are tongue
tied gt1ls. Their conversational en-
doWments are limited and they have
no stock of ideas on which to draw
when they meet strangers or are away
from the sheltering orbit Of the home
circle. They realize their limitations
and grope about TO find the reason,
only to become constantly more dis
couraged and less confident Of them
selves than before
How can [ conquer my disinclina
ton to talk in company? how can
learn what to say? how can make
myself popular and entertainiia?" are
questions often and sorToWfully put by
the girl who owns herself tongue-tied
and deplores the fact. Some girls can
talk very we'll on a large subject that
has interested them and with which
this they must have time, place and
opportunity. There must be somebody
else To whom the large subject makes
an appeal, and who likewise has given
lit sufficient study lo talk about it with
intelligence, ii not with enthusiasm.
A girl of this sold, subs antial type
is very much in the poz ition Ct a per-
81 lin ia
her pocketbooh, but has 70 small
change. Occasions arise wien small
change is indispensable to comfort and
when one cannot easily get about the
world without its convenient aid In
street car, Tor instance. a ffty-dol1ar
bill might be useless, when a nickel
would carry one miles on her Journey.
The small change Of conversation
enables one to say a light ard cour-
tous thing quickly; it implits some
taIeIt for banter and repartee. and it
is little dependent en- use AMI wont,
On knowledge Of the everyday eircum-
sta1t es Of those about us, and on SYM
pathg with the N cd o those we meet.
The girl who knows herself to be
tongue-tfed. though she regret it, need
not despair of popularity. Nobody is
socially more disagree7b'e and mere
dreaded than a woman who talks TOP
much, monopolizing the conversation,
taking the floor herself and fiFmly hold
ing it and giving no one else a chance
TO spaak People fly from Ghis over
gifted and aggressive talker. A mere
chattegbox IS equally dfsliked.
A good listener is always sure of
appreciation. # you can but master
the fine art Of listening to each person
with an air of deep interest, just as if
there we're nobody else at the moment
in the wide world, and as if your great
est wish wee 10 undeestand what the
other is trying to tell you, you will
have the effect of talking we'll. All
your attention wander. ana at the right
moment. in the right places make
some brief rejoinder or affirmation.
You need never fear that you will be
thought too silent if you listen well
and say yes or no at proper intervals.
a good listener is never a bore, while
& great talker frequently gains that
unhappy distinction
8s q
Girls are sometimes tongue-tied be-
cause Of Indifference. A bashful man
ner, up to certain point, is attrace
tive. But when it has its root in a
hampering self-conseiousness which
makes one awkward and clumsy or
surly and defiant, it is a fatal handi-
cap. Whence springs the overpower-
ing tiifTidence which lays it's weird
spell on some girls | cannot tell. Cir
cumstances have little to do with 1t.
Heredity may have much. One finds
girl brought up in town and accus-
toned to meeting strangers and kins-
folk all her life victim Of this
wretehed bondage, while girl Of the
same age, coming frem a country home
and d background Of solitude, may be en-
tireiy free from it.
Iremembe oce IN a visit to a noun
tain land of the south to have seen
beautiful girl ride up a steep hill path
and dismount at the door Of the house
where | was staying. She entered a
room which happened to be filled with
q Thong of people most of whom were
unknown to her, and, standing within
the doorway, ii a clear, sweet voice,
without shade OF embarrassment, she
gave a message from her mother Adj
dressing the mistress of the house she
4 ~1,o 4
and then, with a graceful and sweeping
courtesy, took her leave, mounted her
horse and rode away. THAT" said one
of the ladies, lis the prettiest thing I
ever saw
It was pretty because the young girl
in question, who had never in her life
been 30 miles from home had not a
single vestige of self-consciousness
am often asked BY tongue-tied girls
what they can DO to overcome the diff
Guilty. Perhaps the most fatal thing
Is to try to talk merely for talks sake.
Never open Your mouth unless you
really have something to say. is a good
rule for the novice. Tnterrogate your-
self and see whether you have any
facts or theories on which you may
draw. Ones vocabulary is greatly en-
larged and improved BY reading A
girl who seldom reads will naturally
possess a limited stock Of words, and
her language will not always be well
chosen. 1t matters less whether one
talks very much than whether one has
the exact phrase st hand to fit an6