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2 iiy acts of social life, without the assistance of conversation would lose all dignity and become simply disgustful. What would be our so cial meals without it, but the mere exhibitions of animal gratification? The table, the centre in all ages, of social and domestic refinement—the emblem ot’ household and hospitable virtues—though laden with the choicest viands, if lacking the feast of reason and How of soul, would be only a manger for beasts. I have said that good conversa tion should be instructive, interest ing and entertaining, it may em brace one or all of these qualities, and just in proportion as it possesses them in the highest degree, with a just admixture of them all, does it approach to the ideal of perfection. Without some admixture of all these qualities, conversation will scarcely approach to fine art ; for when it is purely instructive it is apt to be and, on some subjects, is sure to be te dious and prosy ; so that it will lack the second quality; while if it be merely amusing and entertaining, devoid of particular interest or in struction, it is but too apt to degen erate into mere common-] lace and frivolity. The topics of polite conversation are almost unlimited: all that con cerns mankind in general ; that re lates to classes or individuals; all Art, Science. Philosophy, Politics and Religion, the wide domain of nature, animate or inanimate. In fine, thete is scarcely any subject so trivial, nor any so important, wheth er in nature or in art, that by proper information and handling, may not be made to yield material for good conversation. Most usually the to pics of conversation are directed by the time, the occasion and the com pany. and a regard for the decorums and the circumstances. None should be entertained calculated to violate the proprieties of the occasion or to offend the company. If peculiar information is possessed by some in individual, or there be some topic of interest to all, such a turn may be given as to bring cut each, if the conversation does not naturally flow towards such ends. It is well not to set a subject for conversation, since such a plan is apt to result in stillness. A judicious selection of topics to suit our occasions, to draw out particular information, to excite interest, to artmse wit and pleasant ry, is certainly no small part of this art. “ Men,” says Mr. Addison, “ would come into society with ten THE GEORGIA COLLEGIAN. times the pleasure they do, if they were sure of hearing nothing which would rhock them; and likewise expected vvlnt would please them. It is a degree towards the life of Angels, when we enjoy conversa tion wherein nothing is presented but its excellency ; and a degree towards that of Demons, wherein nothing is shewn but its degenera cy.” We are hut too apt in choos ing our topics to be influenced in the selection by what is most agree able to ourselves, or by considera tions of importance to ourselves, without reflect mg that such may not be so to others. Hence our aches and pains, our infirmities and sick ness, are too often paraded before our friends for their sympathy and our own satisfaction. “Itis a won derful thing,’’ says Addison, “ that so many persons, and they not reck oned absurd, shall entertain those with whom they converse by giving them the history of their aches and pains; and imagine such narrations to be their quota of the conversation. This is, of all others, the meanest help to discourse, and a man must not think at all, or think himself very insignificant, when he finds an account of his head-ache answered by another’s asking, “ what news by the last mail ?’’ Or, perhaps, we may introduce what indeed may be of general interest, hue too common place and trite to afford any scope for conversation. Such as the weather, that much used topic—the familiar resource of us all under try ing circumstances. Nor yet should we draw the conversation to our own skill, achievements, or adventures, unless of such a character as to illustrate other topics, or to relieve and vary by pleasantry. Affectation and egotism are at all times tedious and disgusting. Nor yet ought we to desire to push a topic to exhaus tion ; but rather let the flow of con versation continue naturally and ea sily from topic to topic, and hope that it will again take lip whatever it may have for a moment passed by. [ To be Continued .] ...The March issue of the Uni versity Review contains an article, which denounces in the strongest terms “secret fraternities,” and at tributes the recent destruction of so many literary societies to their per nicious influence. It can not be denied that secret fraternities tend to create factions in literary societies. However, we are as free from all such contention as any institution, although there are eleven fraternities in college.— Sou. Col. For the Georgia Collegian. Viva Voce Voting. The Right of Suffrage, while it is one of the highest privileges of a freeman, is also one of his highest duties. It confers the right to par ticipate, not only in the formation of the government, but also in the choice of those who are to exercise its several functions. The right, then, of suffrage, implies an obliga tion on the person who exercises it, not only for his own interests, but also for those of his fellow-citizens and foi the country at large, to use it oil the purest and highest princi ples. The word vote, in its original significance, carries this sense. It is derived fmm the Latin “ voveo,” which signifies to promise or to wish solemnly , as if to God or in His presence: hence “ votiim” a solemn vow or promise as to God, and “ vo ta,” a day devoted to solemn pur poses. To vote, then, is to perform the office of a freeman, in the selec tion of his rulers, or in the forma tion of his government, as if he were performing a vow to God. As upon the purity of elections, and the casting of votes by the freemen of a country on high and pure motives, depends the excellence and perpetu ity of all free governments, nothing should he left untried by the people and their rulers, in order to secure a fair and full expression of the public voice in iis purest and best form. If this could be effected in accord ance with the literal meaning of the word vote, republican governments would represent the ideal form of excellence in governments. But as, in this germ of the free government, in this act of voting, the very com mencement of the whole structure, there is the greatest liability to cor ruption, not only from nature and ignorance, but from surrounding in fluences, so it happens, that the problem of free government is yet unsolved, or if solved, the examples of the Past would indicate in a neg ative direction. But it is not so much with the general question of suffrage that we wish to deal, as with the particular manner in which votes should be cast or polled, in order to arrive at a fiee and full expression of the public voice. Two methods have been and are still widely used in the polling of votes; the one, called “ viva voce” voting, i. e. the calling out loudly and distinctly by the voter, of the name of the candidate or measure of his choice, or, [which is nearly the same thing] a count of hands, when possible; the other, called the bal lot, which is his writing the name of the candidate, or the particular measure in question, on a piece of paper and placing it in a box for fu ture count. Which of these two methods is the best, in order to at tain purity in elections is yet, in practice, undecided. The general practice in the U. S., is to vote by ballot in all public elections; the contrary is the practice in Great Bri tain. But while the practice may be varient, many reasons may be adduced, to show that the method of viva voce voting is the best and pur est, at the same time that it is most conformable to true ideas of republi can freedom. For there is, in the first place, no possibility of falsify ing the number of votes cast, since the result of the election must, from its nature, be known to all concern ed, as well as to the judges of elec tion. Each party can, and will keep its own count. On she other hand, the ballot being secret, depends for its result on the fairness of the judges of election alone, and in case of heated party strife, when they happen to be all of one side, the temptation to falsify is great. The sole question to be decided by the judges in the former is, whether a (lerson has the right to vote ; while in the latter, the judges not only decide that question in secret con clave, but also the absolute number or count of voters. It is a fact well attested by many elections in this country, that the number of ballots cast has been found to exceed by thousands the number of registered voters in a given district ; and it is a fact equally well attested, that judges have, in heated contests, made the ballot a means of fraudu lent election. The first case could never happen in open voting ; be cause, however unfairly disposed the judges might be, the parties them selves would never allow such man ifest wrong to be openly done, as to allow one man to cast several votes, or many persons, not entitled to vote, to do so, except when violence was used. A great argument for the ballot is, that it enables a man to follow the dictates of his own judgment, unde terred by fear of giving offence to these in power, or those who have a special means of inflicting injury upon him for casting his vote in a particular manner. As for instance,