, 1890-02-02

III NE ne snould nave Deen q duferent
man, that il she is SO unkind and cold
toward him he shall be driven to desper-
ate courses, that when she is present the
other women fade into in~signifcance,
that he does not know whether the prima
donna is singing well or ill because all
his attention is fixed upon her eyebrow,
or her waist, or her ear, etc., ETC., etc,
Most of the women who read this can
enlarge h list indefinitely, and many
Of the men will wonder if 1 mean them.
But l don't mean anybody in particular
so much as nearly everybody in general
when once you get away from English
speaking men.
In this country Washington society
nearly r~eProduces the same state of
things; the mixture of n~ationalities in
the diplomatic circles, the indefinite sense
of freedom and responsibility always
felt by men away from their homes and
usual ties, and the determination to have
"a good time" with which young women
always visit our gay capital, all conduce
b a very mixed and somewhat lawless
tone of social affairs, and few women re-
turning home after a Washington season
fail to bring a budget of adventures
Gil NllG Ii nv hOuI VI
hair brushing just before going to bed,
the hour when no woman can resist tell
ing her dearest friend the very profound
est secrets of her heart.
| will confess that some of these conf
dences impaired to me have been the
cause of no little amusement when l had
CHANGED to hear the other side OF the
story first; as, for instance, when a dear
friend and comrade of my own confided
to me his desperate attempts &c outstay
another man while both were calling
upon a girl staying with her married Sis
ter. and how, as he could not approach
the girl, he devoted himself to the mar
ried sister to fill up the time. He finally
succeeded, and while his rival made his
adieux to the lady OF the house, he man.
aged to say the word he wished to the
younger sister. This was all very well,
but a day or two later the married sister
came to see me, evidently bursting with
some secret she wished to confide. Igave
her the opportunity, and the dear little
soul told me with tears in her eyes that
she really didn't know what to do, and
was so afraid of the future, and what if
her husband should see how it was, and
oh dear! she didn't know how to say it,
but actually Mr.. So-and-so was frantic.
ally, yes, absolutely frantically, in love
with her; had declared himself, and said,
oh, such things, and it was not to be de-
MED that he was very handsome and
distiDgue; and she couldn't help plying
him, and did l think it was safe for her
to receive him again, mot hat 1 am
afraid of any sort of weakness on my
own part, but there is Phyllis, you know,
and l couldn't have her see anything not
quite correct in my house."
gravely thought over the situation
for a moment, and then suggested that
if she always included Phyllis in the in
terviews when this gentleman called l
did not see that there could be a chance
for any freedom of speech, and his fright
full designs would be thwarted without
any open rebuff.
"And it will be SO delightful to tan
talize him, by always letting him in and
having him always find Phyllis at my
side" exclaimed my lady, beaming with
delight. And the consequences were
that my friend wooed Phyllis quite at his
eisure and married her from her sisters
house.
A somewhat similar instance comes to
my mind. 1t so CHANGED that at a time
and a place both far removed from the
present l had reason to believe that a
certain person had something to say to
me which l did not wish to hear; in fact,
it was a proposal of marriage, and no
right minded woman ever wishes to sub
ject a man to refusal. Accordingly I kept
out of his way as much as possible, hoping
that coma pauyar fanru prnrII ,,rp1ort
the old; but one night at the opera he en-
tered my box, evidently determined to
manage a private word with me before
he left. A nice little girl was under my
charge for the evening, and l called her
to sit beside me, the gentleman who ac-
companied us being at the back of my
chair and absorbing all the attention 1
could spare from Patti. The evening
went on and vent off, and the unfortu-
nate aspirant as we left the box managed
to slip a penciled note into my hand, de-
claring that-well, never mind that part;
but a proposal of marriage is always a
proof of sincerity. Now fancy my as
constituent at my little friend, with
smiles and bushes, thanking me for her
delightful evening, and consulting me as
to whether papa and mamma would al
low her to be engaged to So-and-so.
Engaged to him, my dear child" ex-
claimed 1. "Has he asked you to be?"
"Well, all butt He is only waiting for
a little encouragement. He has made
love to me all the evening"" faltered the
poor little thing; and 1 cordially *
claimed:
MARRY him by all means, dear, when
he asks you, but 1 wouldn't do anything
to encourage him. These foreigners do
not understand our artless American
fashions" He never proposed, and she
was a good deal surprised, but finally
married far better.
If women could divest themselves of
their vanity in this matter they would
be self deceived far less often han they
are. No matter how pretty and attract
i've you are, my dear, there are in every
assemblage from twenty to fifty women
equally 30, and it is not likely that any
man, except one who seriously wishes to
marry you, will spend much time or
trouble in a vain pursuit. If you don't
like his manner or what he says, show
yourself careless and Indifferent; do not
resent, and do not argue. Behave as if
all he says is a twice told tale for which
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