Oh! lay thy lovely dreams aside,
Or lift them unto heaven.




CONVERSATION.


Good conversation is one of the highest attainments of civilized
society. It is the readiest way in which gifted minds exert their
influence, and, as such, is worthy of all consideration and cultivation.
I remember hearing an English traveler say, many years ago, on being
asked how the conversational powers of the Americans compared with those
of the English--"Your fluency rather exceeds that of the old world, but
conversation here is not cultivated as an art." The idea of its being so
considered any where was new to the company; and much discussion
followed the departure of the stranger, as to the desirableness of
making conversation an art. Some thought the more natural and
spontaneous it was, the better; some confounded art with artifice, and
hoped their countrymen would never leave their own plain, honest way of
talking, to become adepts in hypocrisy and affectation. At last one, a
little wiser than the rest, explained the difference between art and
artifice; asked the cavilers if they had never heard of the art of
writing, or the art of thinking? and said he presumed the art of
conversing was of the same nature. And so it is. By this art, persons
are taught to arrange their ideas methodically, and to express them with
clearness and force; thus saving much precious time, and avoiding those
tedious narrations which interest no one but the speaker. It enforces
the necessity of observing the effect of what is said, and leads a