d what fur it was, and what it weighed, and what
it cost. Then he took notice of my watch, and asked me what _that_ cost,
and whether it was a French watch, and where I got it, and how I got it,
and whether I bought it or had it given me, and how it went and where
the keyhole was, and when I wound it, every night or every morning, and
whether I ever forgot to wind it at all, and if I did, what then? Where
I had been to last, and where I was going next, and where I was going
after that, and had I seen the President, and what did he say, and what
did I say, and what did he say when I had said that? Eh? Lor' now! Do
tell!"

This sort of curiosity is harmless enough, but exasperating, and so
childish that one hates to rebuke the person who is asking the foolish
questions. There is another kind which is perhaps worse--the man who
asks intrusive questions about how much salary another is getting, how
old he is (men are as sensitive on this subject as women) and so on and
on. It is perfectly legitimate to refuse to answer any question to
which one does not wish to reply. Every man has a right to mental
privacy even when he is denied, as he is in so many modern offices, any
other kind of privacy.

A loud or boisterous person is objectionable. Many times this is through
carelessness, but sometimes, as when a man recounts the story of his
dinner with Mr. Brown, who is a national figure, in a voice so loud that
all the people in the car or room or whatever place he happens to be in,
can hear him, it is deliberate. The careless person is the one who
discusses personalities aloud in elevators, on the train, and in all
manner of public places. Exchanging gossip is a pretty low form of
indoor sport and exchanging it aloud so that everybody can hear makes it
worse than ever. Names should never be mentioned in a conversation in a
place where strangers can overhear, especially if the connection is an
unpleasant one. Private opinions should never be aired in public places
(except from a platform).

The highly argumentative or aggressive person is another common type of
nuisance. He usually raises his voice, thus drowning out the possibility
of interruption, and talks with so much noise and so many vigorous
gestures that he seems to try to make up for his lack of intellect by
an excess of tumult. Arguments have never yet convinced anybody of the
truth, and it is a very unpleasant method to try. Most arguments are
about religion or polit