d her eyes kindle with animation as she
speaks. The art of pleasing is, in truth, the very soul of good
breeding; for the precise object of the latter is to render us
agreeable to all with whom we associate--to make us, at the same time,
esteemed and loved.

[TELESCOPES INVENTED IN GERMANY A.D. 1590.]

218. Rudeness.

We need scarcely advert to the rudeness of interrupting any one who is
speaking, or to the impropriety of pushing, to its full extent, a
discussion which has become unpleasant.

219. Pedantry.

Some Men have a Mania for Greek and Latin quotations: this is
peculiarly to be avoided. It is like pulling up the stones from a tomb
wherewith to kill the living. Nothing is more wearisome than pedantry.

220. Proportion.

If you feel your Intellectual Superiority to any one with whom you are
conversing, do not seek to bear him down: it would be an inglorious
triumph, and a breach of good manners. Beware, too, of speaking
lightly of subjects which bear a sacred character.

221. Writing and Talking.

It is a Common Idea that the art of writing and the art of
conversation are one; this is a great mistake. A man of genius may be
a very dull talker.

222. Interesting Conversation.

The Two Grand Modes of making your conversation interesting, are to
enliven it by recitals calculated to affect and impress your hearers,
and to intersperse it with anecdotes and smart things. Count Antoine
Rivarol, who lived from 1757 to 1801, was a master in the latter mode.

223. Composition.

If you would write to any purpose, you must be perfectly free from
without, in the first place, and yet more free from within. Give
yourself the natural rein; think on no pattern, no patron, no paper,
no press, no public; think on nothing, but follow your own impulses.
Give yourself as you are, what you are, and how you see it. Everyman
sees with his own eyes, or does not see at all. This is
incontrovertibly true. Bring out what you have. If you have nothing,
be an honest beggar rather than a respectable thief. Great care and
attention should be devoted to epistolary correspondence, as nothing
exhibits want of taste and judgment so much as a slovenly letter.
Since the establishment of the penny postage it is recognised as a
rule that all letters should be prepaid; indeed, many persons make a
point of never taking in an unpaid