He.—And where have you placed me?
She.—At the head of the list.
He.—As the greatest offender?
She.—No; as the least. You always wait until I answer one question before you ask another.
He.—Thank you. Do I ask many questions?
She.—Not too many. You may have noticed that there are as many persons who ask too few questions as there are who ask too many.
He.—I must say that I had never thought of that.
She.—To ask many questions often indicates an undue amount of curiosity on the part of the questioner; to ask too few, a lack of interest. The reason why some persons are so very prosaic and uninteresting is that they are entirely absorbed in themselves; in consequence, they ask few or no questions whatever, showing that they are not in the least concerned in what interests their friends. There is a happy mean where one shows neither curiosity nor disinterest.
He.—In asking questions, we are apt to stir up a hornet's nest, so to speak, for our friends sometimes respond at such length that we are inclined to wish that we had shown less interest.