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Accordingly. In order to become a pro
ficient convcrscr, one must know the nec
essary qualifications. In the first place,
one must have a full mind, but he need
not be necessarily learned. Man' a man
has dreamed bis life out over bis desk
and has his mind so smothered with use
less learning that lie can no more use it
for any practical purpose than David
could walk, when sheathed in Saul's aim
or. The Dutchess of Gordon expressed
her admiration of Burn's conversation bv
saying: "That it completely took her oil'
her feet." Yet IJ rns, though well ac
quainted with books, was not a learned
man. Some have luxuriant crer.tivcncss
of mind, so that thought ard images arise
in it as naiurally as lloweis spring from
'he ground. There, of course, arc the
most brilliant and gifted talkers. Others,
too, can i.lf.ird an entertainment as grati
lying, though not as stimulating, from the
acquired treasures gained b' extensive
and well directed reading, or by long and
sharp observation of men and manners.
Another essential requisite for a good
talker is a delicate tact in discovering the
tastes and habits of thought in others, and
the power of adapting 'tis conversation to
them. There is no man of an average un
dcrstandiiig, who has not something to
say on one or more subjects. Kvcry man
should be able to talk on many subjects.
Let. it not be imagined that we shall lose
in force what we gain in variety, and that
by striving to talk veil on many subjects,
wo give up the power of talking supeila
tlvoly well on any one. This is a facul
ty as rare as it is beautiful and it confers
upon its possessor an almost unlimited
power in social intcrcor.ie, for, he is by
far the most agreeable man who can make
others agreeable. To be a good talker,
one must be a good listener. If one indi
vidual does all the talking, it ceases to be
a conveisation. There should be no mo
nopolists. No one ought to do all the
talking or all the listening.
There is an unbought grace, a natural
ch.iim in conversation, which wins our
confidence, and opens a way to our hearta .
To be in the presencc'of a cultivated and
accomplished man, who tasks his facul
ties to entertain us, seems like the enjoy
ment of the gifts of fairies. The tongue is
a mighty instrument for good or evil, nnd
in saying this, I leave out of the question
the power of an eloquent public orator,
and speak of its effects merely in col
loquial intercourse. The young and beau
tiful will cluster round an eloquent talker
while Apollo himself, if he be silent, will
be left to admire his own face in the glass.
It was in conversation that Socrates ut
tered those discourses upon the nature of
Beauty and Truth. Burke put forth all
the treasures of his magnificent mind in
conversation. It was said of him that you
could not stop with him for five minutes
without going away with the imprcbMou
that he was a great man.
Jefferson says of Franklin, that no one
could be in his presence, for however short
a time, without learning something valua
ble. We arc much too apt to neglect the
means by which we are gifted for the pur
pose of communicating the results of our
studies to other minds. In this wide
world of action, no one man can know it
all or the thousandth part, and, as each
individual makes investigations in a par
ticular direction, he should make a report
of his research, and thus benefit mankind.
Let us notice the comparative inlluence of
writing and conversation. While the
power of conversation is great, the pen is
still greater in this, that the writer conden
ses several streams of thought into one
deep channel, while the converter follows
the leading current of his thoughts. I
see no reason why an individual may not
charm us with his tongue as well as his
lien. 31 any intellectual men when in
their closets are rulers of the world of
mind and very common individuals when
in society. Conversation is but the utter
ance of thoughts, and, to succeed in it, it
is only necessary that we have manner,
skill and confidence, which any man ma'
acquire if ho will link determination to
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