Part 4

She.--Undoubtedly, in a way; but I had a novel experience when traveling East this summer. While on the train, I saw a gentleman, who was trying to interest a little boy, who did not respond to his advances. I heard him ask the child whether he was a little boy, and how old he was. I saw then that the gentleman was blind, and thinking that he might prefer to talk with me, I introduced myself to him and found him a most delightful conversationalist. He told me that he had become blind very suddenly five years ago, but that his work had not been interrupted for a day since. His position as manager of a large corporation necessitated his frequent journeying in railroad trains, but he had continued to travel as before, sometimes with his secretary, and sometimes alone. He was alone when I met him. He was certainly delightfully cheerful and entertaining; and withal, he was fully informed on current topics of interest. It seemed almost impossible to realize that he was blind.

He.--His case is extraordinary; but, of course, he was not an artist, as was poor Dick, before the "light went out."

I have just discovered another reason why you are so very interesting. It is because you always have some novel experience to recount.

She.--Yes; but you know, we decided that people did not care, as a rule, to hear others talk.

He.--Well, I shall retract my decision. I have concluded that we usually like to hear others talk, if they have something interesting to tell.

She.--Yes; we are all children, in a sense. Tell us a story, and we will listen, provided the story-teller knows how to tell it.

He.--Do you know what I have been thinking of while you were telling me this incident?

She.--That we had gotten a long way from our original subject?

He.--No; I was thinking of how much you had said in comparatively few words, and that in telling this incident, you had certainly conformed to Golden Rule Number I.: AVOID UNNECESSARY DETAILS.

She.--And you have conformed to both the rules that we have learned.

He.--Thank you. Let me see, Golden Rule Number I. is: "AVOID UNNECESSARY DETAILS." Rule Number II.: "NOT TO ASK QUESTION NUMBER TWO UNTIL QUESTION NUMBER ONE HAS BEEN ANSWERED, nor be too curious nor too disinterested;" that is, "do not ask too few nor too many questions; just enough."

She.--And our new rule, Golden Rule Number III.: DO NOT INTERRUPT ANOTHER WHILE HE IS SPEAKING.

He.--How frequently this rule is broken! Many persons, who ordinarily are well bred, have the very bad habit of interrupting others. But I deserve no credit for observing Golden Rule Number III., for you are never tiresome; you never tell a long story.

She.--No; I don't do that. I knew a gentleman once who used to say with a groan, to his niece, who was rather verbose, "O Alma! You tell such a long story. Make it short;" and so I always try to make my story short.

GOLDEN RULE NUMBER IV

Do not contradict another, especially when the subject under discussion is of trivial importance.

He.--We always seem to drift back to our favorite topic, "How not to bore." At least, we discuss it so frequently, that I assume we are mutually interested.

She.--I assure you that I am very much interested in everything that assists me in making myself more pleasing to my friends.

He.--If you would not regard my compliments so dubiously, I should say that that would be impossible.

She.--Another case of the infallibility of the queen? But to go back to our subject, I often wonder whether this pleasure that we take in receiving the approval of others, is not virtually the root of all good. It is certainly most fortunate that we do care for the good opinion of our fellow-beings, and especially where we strive to merit it.

Somehow, we never seem to outgrow our childish love for rewards. I suppose that if the truth were told, much that we think we do for the sake of culture, is really done for the sake of Dame Grundy. Of course, I do not mean as applied to vain self-glorification, but rather to our higher aims and purposes. Most of us, for example, think that we make great efforts along the lines of self-improvement for the soul-satisfaction that our efforts may give us; but I wonder how steadfastly one would work--each at his chosen calling--if one were on a desert island, remote from "all the haunts of men." But to return to our subject, you say that your latest discovery is that even grown persons contradict one another. I thought that only children had this fault.

He.--So did I; but my attention was called to this a few days since when visiting my sister. While she was telling me something of great interest to us both, her little daughter contradicted her several times in the course of our conversation. Partly because I was annoyed, and partly because I wished to teach the child a lesson, I said to my sister, "Have you ever noticed how frequently children contradict their elders? It is certainly one of the greatest faults that a child can have." "Yes," she answered, "but many grown persons have the same fault." And when I expressed surprise, she added, "If you are inclined to doubt the truth of this assertion, just try to tell something in the hearing of others who are familiar with the story, and you will soon discern that the fault is not confined to children." And then I discovered this fault not only in others, but also in myself.

She.--Oh, dear! maybe I, too, am guilty of the same offence.

He.--I am sure that you never contradict any one in the way that I mean. It is certainly very embarrassing to make a statement, and then to have it contradicted, even though the matter is of little consequence.

She.--How many rules have we learned so far?

He.--Golden Rule Number I. is: "AVOID UNNECESSARY DETAILS." Rule Number II.: "DO NOT ASK QUESTION NUMBER TWO UNTIL NUMBER ONE HAS BEEN ANSWERED"; DO NOT BE TOO CURIOUS NOR TOO DISINTERESTED; that is, do not ask too many questions nor too few; just enough. Rule Number III.: DO NOT INTERRUPT ANOTHER WHILE HE IS SPEAKING.

She.--And our new rule, Golden Rule Number IV.: DO NOT CONTRADICT ANOTHER, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SUBJECT UNDER DISCUSSION IS ONE OF TRIVIAL IMPORTANCE.

He.--So, if Mrs. Van Stretcher tells us that Mrs. De Waters has crossed the ocean a dozen times in as many years, we are not to say, "Pardon us, only six, as she goes abroad only once in two years, which makes just--Oh, yes! just twelve times."