E DETRACTOR 154
XVIII. THE GRUMBLER 164
XIX. THE EGOTIST 174
XX. THE TALE-BEARER 189
XXI. THE ASSENTER 203
XXII. THE LIAR 208
XXIII. THE CENSORIOUS 227
XXIV. THE DOGMATIST 236
XXV. THE ALTILOQUENT 244
XXVI. THE DOUBLE-TONGUED 253
XXVII. THE DUBIOUS 262
XXVIII. THE SUSPICIOUS 266
XXIX. THE POETIC 273
XXX. "YES" AND "NO" 279
XXXI. A GROUP OF TALKERS 286

1. The Misanthrope, p. 286.--2. The Story-Teller, p. 287.--3. The
Careless, p. 290.--4. The Equivocator, p. 292.--5. The
Absent-Minded, p. 294.--6. The Bustling, p. 296.--7. The
Contradictory, p. 298.--8. The Technicalist, p. 300.--9. The
Liliputian, p. 301.--10. The Envious, p. 302.--11. The
Secret-Teller, p. 302.--12. The Snubber, p. 303.--13. The
Argumentative, p. 306.--14. The Religious, p. 310.--15. The
Prejudiced, p. 312.--16. The Boaster, p. 314.--17. The
Quarrelsome, p. 316.--18. The Profound, p. 317.--19. The
Wonderer, p. 320.--20. The Termagant, p. 325.

XXXII. A MODEL TALKER 328

I.

_THE MONOPOLIST._

"Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing: more than any man in
Venice; his reasons are as two grains of wheat hid in two bushels
of chaff; you shall seek all day ere you find them; and when you
have them, they are not worth the search."--SHAKESPEARE.

The Monopolist enters into conversation with plenitude of speech enough
to make one think he has obtained a royal patent to do so. He talks
without much regard to what he says, or how he says it. Give him your
attention in the least degree, and he will show no lack of will or power
to surfeit you. It is not because he has anything to say worth your
hearing that he keeps up his talk, but only from his strange love of
talking. His conversation consists mainly in the exercise of his tongue,
as the faculties of his mind are generally dormant in proportion as that
works. He talks so much that you need do nothing but listen. He seldom
asks questions, and if he does, he cannot tarry for answers. While one
is speaking he either breaks in upon his discourse, heedless of what he
is saying; or h