that thought and images arise in it as naturally as flowers spring from the ground. These, of course, are the most brilliant and gifted talkers: these are they "who set tables in a roar ; who charm and fascinate the listening ear; who condense into minutes the pleasures of hours, and yet make hours pass away with the rapidity of minutes. Others, too, can afford an entertainment as gratifying, though not as stimulating, from the acquired treasures gained by extensive and well-digested reading, or by long and sharp observation of men and manners. But there must be a moving power from within, or, however much the operating instrument be cultivated, it will not work to any purpose. 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 his conversation to them. The perfection of this quality consists in that rare gift, the art of drawing out- the ability to make others, unconsciously to themselves, display, in a natural manner, their faculties and acquirements. Nothing is more delightful than to witness its exercise, when it arises from a benevolent motive; to see a young and timid spirit gently enforced to draw aside the veil of reserve which shrouds its individuality, to put forth its free and natural movements, and to glow with a warmth which is partly caught and partly spontaneous. One such mind acts upon another as fire upon figures traced in sympathetic ink T bringing out, every moment, warm tints of feeling, lights and shadows of character, and bold, original strokes of shaping imagination, which had before slumbered in the gloom of diffidence and distrust. This is a faculty as rare as it is beautiful; and it confers upon its possessor an almost unbounded power in social intercourse, for he is by far the most agreeable man who can make others agreeable. Many of those who possess it, abuse it to the gratification of a malicious wit, or a restless vanity. The charm of conversation, like that of letter-writing, consists in its being the natural expression of natural thoughts. 2* It is difficult, in this as in all other things, to find the proper medium between two extremes. Some men, aiming at correctness and precision, cultivate a grandiloquence and pomp of expression which are quite ludicrous, especially if the thoughts bear no proportion to the cumbrous vehicle in which they are transported. Others, seeing the folly of this, affect a careless, slipshod style of talk, which nothing but great originality and raciness of thought will render tolerable. The language of conversation should be plain, but not homely; idiomatic, but not vulgar. Other things being alike, he who has written most will talk best; for a writer's ideas naturally form themselves into harmonious periods, and he will be most apt to avoid a redundancy of words. If my observations be true, it follows that conversational powers are, in some measure, natural, and in some, acquired. There is certainly some scope for education here. Every one may be taught to speak grammatically, to enunciate distinctly, and to look in the face of the person he addresses. These are trifles, to be sure; but for that very reason they are as easily observed as neglected. LESSON III. EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION. i: time, mine, mind, buy, eye, high; - buyer, dyer, china; apply, ally, benign, oblige; — satiety, sobriety, maniacal. To a Robin. N. E. MAGAZINE. YOUNG warbler of the spring! Scarce hath the earth put on her robe of green, How many years thy song Hath poured its music on my slumbering hours, When morn's first breath is seen to stir the flowers, Bearing the sweets along! Ah! now thy strain I hear, Among thy mates, poured from thy warbling throat, Filling each grove with thy gay, cheerful note, Spring's feathered pioneer. I love to hear thee sing, When summer groves are glistening in the dew, Thou callest to thy mate To perch upon thy favorite, breezy tree, And when the crimson glows, Ah! it were vain to search Where thou from winter's cold wilt find a home; There is that to thee given, That teaches me to hymn my Maker's praise, 0: LESSON IV. EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION. - no, dome, home, rogue, roll, gold, sew, beau; notion, motion, motive, yeoman; depose, withhold, encroach; poetry, frowardly. GEMS OF POETRY. Memory. ROGERS. HAIL, Memory, hail! In thy exhaustless mine, Books. CRABBE. BLEST be the gracious Power, who taught mankind Beasts may convey, and tuneful birds may sing, But man alone has skill and power to send A CLOUD lay cradled near the setting sun; While every breath of eve, that chanced to blow, To whose white robe the gleam of bliss is given, And by the breath of mercy made to roll Right onward to the golden gates of heaven, Where to the eye of faith it peaceful lies, And tells to man his glorious destinies. O THOU, who dry'st the mourner's tear, If, when deceived and wounded here, We could not fly to thee! The friends who in our sunshine live, And he who has but tears to give |