The Project Gutenberg EBook of Conversation, by Mary Greer Conklin

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Conversation
What to Say and How to Say it

Author: Mary Greer Conklin

Release Date: January 18, 2009 [EBook #27830]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONVERSATION ***

Produced by Sigal Alon, Carla Foust, Fox in the Stars and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net

Transcriber's note

Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice. Printer
errors have been changed and are listed at the end.

CONVERSATION

_What to Say and How to Say It_

CONVERSATION

_What to Say and How to Say It_

BY

MARY GREER CONKLIN

FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY

NEW YORK AND LONDON

1912

COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY

FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY

All rights reserved for all countries

[_Printed in the United States of America_]

Published November, 1912

IN LOVING MEMORY

TO

A. E. C.

WHOSE DELIGHTFUL CONVERSATION STIMULATED MY YOUTH

AND
IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT
OF THEIR SEVERE CRITICISM AND FRIENDLY AID
TO

CHARLES TOWNSEND COPELAND

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AT HARVARD COLLEGE

AND

FRANK WILSON CHENEY HERSEY

INSTRUCTOR IN ENGLISH AT HARVARD COLLEGE

PREFACE

"The best book that was ever written upon good breeding," said Dr.
Johnson to Boswell, "the best book, I tell you, _Il Cortegiano_ by
Castiglione, grew up at the little court of Urbino, and you should read
it." _Il Cortegiano_ was first published by the Aldine Press at Venice,
in 1528. Before the close of the century more than one hundred editions
saw the light; French, Spanish, English, and German versions followed
each other in rapid succession, and the _Cortegiano_ was universally
acclaimed as the most popular prose work of the Italian Renaissance.
"Have you read Castiglione's _Cortegiano_?" asks the courtier
Malpiglio, in Tasso's dialog. "The beauty of the book is such that