The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-03-29

and have often been quietly amused
both i'm our own and other countries by
watching the elaborate defenses set up
by women whom nobody attacked, and
the flight of her whom no man pursued.
Sometimes the man, perceiving the con
sternation his idle compliments have
aroused, cannot resist the amusement OF
frightening the effect, and throws so
much fervor into his tones and so much
languishment into his glances that the
hattered, huttered object of them all
feels herself perfect prodigy Of virtue
and resolution that she still resists such
terrible attacks.
Sometimes, however-and this, per-
haps, more frequently than the first-the
poor man has no idea of a pursuit, either
real or pretended, and is only trying to
make himself agreeable according to the
masculineidea; for it is notifying truth
that most women are ready to swallow
hattery in as large and as unadulterated
dose as they can get it, and the aver
age woman finds nothing incredible in
the idea that she alone of all the women
he has ever seen is the one capable Of
controlling his hayward heart and guild
ing his cratic life into some calcium
lighted bower of rosy and heavenly de-
light.
Most women over twenty-five will
recognize this little outline of story to
which they have often listened, and
hope that most of them do not need my
assurance that in the vast majority of
cases these fine professions mean liter
ally nothing; but to the sweet, credulous
souls who do believe, or, who without
even the excuse of these banal profess
sions, chose to regard every man who
speaks civilly to them as an aspirant for
their favor--to the sisterhood of hares
who fly because they fancy the shadows
are pursuing them, to all these let me
say:
Don't be afraid, my dear! He won't
bite!'
Did you ever watch playful dog
chasing a cat? He doesn't want to catch
her, but he likes to see her run; while
she remains upon the ground scudding
from point to point, and turning to
shrek defiance at him, and glare at him
with great. green, frightened eyes, he
will set up his ears, erect his name, lash
his tail, prance, curvet, bark, growl,
show his teeth and simulate so far as his
size allows very feroclous beast of
prey, thirsting for the blood of his
victim.
But let puss, instead of amusing and
leading him on by her fight and de-
fiance, quietly get out of his reach,
climb fence, a tree, window seat,
and she may sit there in perfect serenity
as long as she likes, curling her pretty
paws under her breast, purring gently,
and dreaming of unlimited cream while
Master Dog, finding no more excitement
in the chase, gives few disappointed
little banks and trots off to search for
more easily terrified pussies in pastures
new.
One trouble in this course no doubt is
that many women prefer the mimic ter
rors and the constant retreat and ad-
vance of this sort of show fight to the
calm security of the window seat, with
the dog gone away; and certainly an ut
terly secluded safety is apt to be little
monotonous. To such would say: Don't
you believe q word he says! He don't
mean it.
And especially would say this to my
travelling sisters. Frenchmen, Spaniards
and Italians, with their various race
branches, are as a rule very agreeable
men to encounter in society, but they
have literally no appreciation of that I'M
compromising sincerity which is the
boast of the Saxon race. With man
of the Latin race spade may be called
almost anything but spade, and he
takes it for granted that if he calls it
moonbeam you know perfectly well that
it isn't one, and that to call it so is "only
his fun"
With a man of this blood his first OBJ
legation toward women is to make him.
self agreeable, to put them into good
humor, and to say the sort of things
they like to hear. In New York the
gentleman sends or carries French can
dies to the lady he wishes to please; the
Frenchman does the same thing. with a
difference, for the sweetmeats he offers
are verbal, and rather understood than
seen, and he is as much surprised at
being misunderstood as the first man
would be- if the recipient of the candies
should Indignantly declare that he had
offered to maintain her.
The Spaniard tells his guest that his
house, his horses, his hereditary Jewels
are yours and yours alone, but the few
persons who have tried to take him at
his word have seen cause to deeply re-
gret their credulity. The cavalier who
makes morning call, or writes a note
Of inquiry after the ball, declares that
he kisses the feet" of the lady he ad-
dresses; but if she held out a foot to &C
cept the proffered salute, he would
retreat in alarm, thinking she had gone
mad or wished to insult him. In the
same spirit he tells nearly every young
and good looking woman he sees that
he could not sleep last night for think
| ing Of her, that If he had met her earlier