What Smarts Are

"Is there a universally held agreement of what attributes an 'intelligent person' is considered to possess?"

I doubt it. There does seem to be a general agreement on certain things, as suggested by tests like the Mensa stuff. But I'm not 100% convinced that's a good measure. I've known people who do well on those who seem ... well ... not too smart in a more general sense. And there are people who don't test well on those but seem wonderfully gifted in other ways.

Is there such a thing as "emotional intelligence" and what might it be.

I think so. But I can't define it. But I've read something about this recently. I guess researchers are starting to think there is a different set of "intelligence" metrics. Wikipedia has an interesting article on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_%28trait%29

All I know is I've encountered people who are "traditionally" smart that I don't respect, mostly because of their attitude and demeanor (your attributes of prudence and honesty). And others who have intangible gifts and good sense that I admire.

It's a rare person who possesses traditional intelligence, intangible gifts and good grace. You, good sir, are one of those people. Truly.

Which may be why -- 8 years hence -- you and I are still exchanging e-mails, chats, and this blog. Think about that ... a chance crossing on that Net-Dot product way back when and here we still are.