The Washington times., 1919-08-23
"The Nights Are Cool"
Or the Decline and Fall of North American Conversation

Or the Decline and Fall OF North American Conversation
Conversation as thoroughly lost an art as that of
keeping family ten dollars week
Most of Americans think little of it, but the stern
fact remains that because of native careessness in
everyday mental processes have lost faculty which
represented the finest sort of culture.
The English assert supercOusy that Americans never
did possess the art Of conversation is certain that do
not possess it now.
Conversation to the present-day average American
only hitormiss form of communication on super
fetal nessential topics The conversation of yesterday
was much of art and science almost music;
tainy much literature In fact to great extent it
was literature. Here is conversation of today:
Hello, kid. WhadayaLnow?'
mot thing. Hot day. huh?'
"In say it is don't mind the heat, though It's the
humidity"
yeah but the nights cool"
Contrast this with the conversation of the past We
look upon the Bible the greatest of books gen
eraons before these sacred books reduced writing
their pupo in fact their STYLE was set by the spoken
word Contrast the conversation of of the disciples
with those of plan people of today The disciples
were plain people
The ancient Arabians the students of India the Chi
used to gather for the sole purpose of conversation
Children permitted to listen these talks by their
elders for their educational value.
The old saying, Children should be seen and not
heard springs from this custom.
It would have been as bad taste to interrupt CONVEX
saton Of the elders crap game on the stage
while schumann- -Heink sings "Holy Night"
To this day the guides who show tourists through Lon
Cc1 will take the curious traveller the quaint tavern the
I'D Cheshire Cheese not far from where Temple Bar used
~ stand and point to the chair Dr. Samuel Johnson occu
ID when he conversed with his crones It is recognized
1t these conversations contributed in an important way
L literature. Boswell has reported them faithfully and
Z 'ded materially to store of knowledge.
Abeard the wonderful French priest was exiled from
Tes because he disagreed points doctrine with St.
Bernard of Clarvaux Sorowng heavily at his Danish
men h went down by the in Brittany decided to
be hermit He built hut gave himself up to
meditation
But of his former students at the sor
bcnne discovered where he had sequestered himself and
almost overnight colony of Partisan students pitched
tents around his hermts refuge Five hundred of them
jcurneyed all the way from Paris so that they might listen
to his conversation.
These conversations were not rare in the earlier times
they were typical because people careful of
what they said Oliver Goldsmith reporting in his De
serted Village typical old vllager said:
Truth from his lips prevailed with double SWAY
And those who came to Scof remained to pray"
What has become of these conversations? There an
pears be ray Of light in the conversations held recently
between the President and the Committee Foreign Re
uOnS Americans WouIQ SCuQy ne ana contemplate the
weight of the questions and and then would
seek to make their remarks convey as much mean
ing, conversation would be improved.
Modern dinner table talk, in value of interchanged
ideas about equals the evenings entertainment of the
North Carolina mountaneer and his sweetheart He ar
rived at scventhrty p seated himself in the parlor
across the room from her !
At eight o'clock he stirred nervously, and suddenly
enunciated stentorian Boob"
Gosh how you scairt me- she said.
At eight-thirty he again roared "Booh!"
This time she giggled
At nine o'clock he opined he ID be going
~ "Au right said she "Come on over tomorrow night
and veil have some more fun
Consider the world-famous commentaries of Sir Will