Year: 1878

"Speech is silvern but silence Is
golden saith the proverb. Certainly
talent for holding ones tongue de-
serves high rank among negative vir-
tues. Many a man passes for wise sim
ply by saying nothing, and those who
talk least make fewest enemies. True,
sometimes We may repent our silence,
but such repentance is rare compared
to the frequency with which we array
ourselves in mental saczclOth because
Of incaUtious speeches. To adopt the
rule once given to a talkative girl by a
friend who knew the world, Never
speak Of yourself, and never say any
thing which is unnecessary" would
seem at first likely to make CarthUsian
monks and nuns Of us all; yet it is to be
questioned whether the advice were not
wise. There are always people who
like to talk, and good listeners are rare.
1t is said thlt MacauIay once rode half
a day in a coach with a deaf mute, whom
he afterwards pronounced a person Of
remarkable sound political views, and
Madame de Stael on one occasion was
induced TO harangue a wax figure fOran
hour under the impression that it (the


igure) was a gentleman who admired
her writings and had expressed a desire
to become acquainted with the author.
These stories may or may not be facts;
certain it is that both Of the great per
sOnages in question were fond Of hear
ing themselves talk, and sufficiently
egOtistical not to notice whether their
remarks ELECTED more than silent ae-
quiescence- on the part Of others.


All savage nations place high value
upon silence, and conversation is be-
yOnd doubt one Of the arts Of ciYiliza-
tion. To know what to say and when
to say it-this is the sixth sense which
shall steer its pOssessor safely over hid
den shoals and through breakers, and
win for him the harbor Of popularity.
Fluency and garruHty, these are as diff
ferent, as distinct, as the flowers we
cultivate with care and the weeds we
uproOt in disgust from our fOwer-bOr-
ders; pity that the one should ever be
mistaken for the other. Undoubtedly
half Of the mischief in the world has
been done by too much talking. Had
Eye not stopped to parIey with the ser
pent, Paradise had never been lost; and
thencefOrth all through history idle
words have been one of the agencies
which have turned the fate Of nations.
And a word once spoken can never be
unsaid: alas for the times when we be-
wall ourselves in dust and ashes over
the speeches we would fain never have
spoken. Perhaps the Eastern despOts,
who cut out the tongues Of their slaves,
placed too high value upon silence as
virtue for servants. Yet modern
usage demands that the well-trained do
nestle shall never speak unless first
spoken to. GOOD children are seen
but not heard' is asaying, passed into
oblivion with the oId-fashiOned doctrine
which required filial obedience; but in
the days when it was part Of household
doctrine it must have added infinitely
to the comfort of the families in which
it was so observed. In short, through
out all ages sages have taught the yir-
tues Of silence, and hundreds Of wise
sayings might be quoted in its praise;
but neither prOyerb nor precept can
have more weight than the words of
Holy Writ, wherein it is said that,
For every idle word God shall call US
into judgment"