There was a time when men and women indulged freely in satire, irony, and repartee.  They spoke their thoughts plainly and unequivocally.  There were no restraints imposed upon them by society, hence it now appears to us that many things were said which might better have been left unsaid.  Self-restraint is nowadays one of the cardinal virtues of good conversation.

The spirit of conversation is greatly changed.  We are enjoined to keep the voice low, think before we speak, repress unseasonable allusions, shun whatever may cause a jar or jolt in the minds of others, be seldom prominent in conversation, and avoid all clashing of opinion and collision of feeling.

Macaulay was fond of talking, but made the mistake of always choosing a subject to suit himself and monopolizing the conversation.  He lectured rather than talked.  His marvelous memory was perhaps his greatest enemy, for though it enabled him to pour forth great masses of facts, people listened to him helplessly rather than admiringly.

Carlyle was a great talker, and talked much in protest of talking.  No man broke silence oftener than he to tell the world how great a curse is talking.  But he told it eloquently and therein was he justified.  There was in him too much vehement sternness, of hard Scotch granite, to make him a pleasant talker in the popular sense.  He was the evangelist of golden silence, and though he did not apparently practice it himself, his genius will never diminish.

Gladstone was unable to indulge in small talk.  His mind was so constantly occupied with great subjects that he spoke even to one person as if addressing a meeting.  It is said that in conversation with Queen Victoria he would invariably choose weighty subjects, and though she tried to make a digression, he would seize the first opportunity to resume his original theme, always reinforced in volume and onrush by the delay.

Lord Morley is attractive though austere in conversation.  He never dogmatizes nor obtrudes his own opinions.  He is a master of phrase-making.  But although he talks well he never talks much.

The story is told that at a recent dinner in London ten leading public men were met together, when one suggested that each gentleman present should write down on paper the name of the man he would specially choose to be his companion on a walking tour.  When the ten papers were subsequently read aloud, each bore the name of Lord Morley.

Lord Rosebery is considered one of the most accomplished talkers of the day.  Deferential, natural, sympathetic, observant, well-informed, he easily and unconsciously commands the attention of any group of men.  His voice is said to recommend what he utters, and a singularly refined accent gives distinction to anything he says.  He is a supreme example of two great qualifications for effective talking:  having something worth while to say, and knowing how to say it.