Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-06-18

them to be starting out
for . walk. As they
went slowly through the
leafy pathways she said-but before CONVERSE
ton is given let us, for convenience sake, call
him John and her Mary, and put it dramatically
This is how they talked;
Mary-"John, did you ever sit on park
bench with a grip"
.r J4hnm"Nevsr! Do you suppose would do
Mary-"Is 1t very improper, John2"
JohnL"ies, Mary, especially when it is still
Mary."But John, there's seat over there,
where it looks quite dark
And Mary and John went over and sat on the
bench and they were fully an hour later In get
tlng home than was consistent with the notions
Of Mary's mother.
not ALWAYS SAFE.
This sitting ON the park bench is not always
safe psstime. II is astonishing how far sound
carries in the still night air, and it is equally
surprising how sharp some peoples ewes are.
Ii man is mean enough to do it he can collect
any number Of tender conversations during hot
weather, and sometimes he overhears whether
ne wishes to or not. Perhaps it is not altogether
fair to give people away" but it is only right
to warn them, so that they may be on their
guard. For instance, when the young man and
his very best giri-at least it is to be hoped she
Is the one he cares for most-come around the
bend OF the ssrpentine pathway, where the
lights OF the street lamps are obscured; when
ne raises his right hand and quietly brings
his left arm; when the owner of the
hand that grasps his left arm careens
over on the starboard side, like
yacht in stiff breeze; when his left arm
takes semi-circular movement, and the semi
circle Is not an empty void. either; when her
heal takes n din dny a Loo
greater slant than the rest of her body, lust as
the tOpmost branch of q tree bends over in the
summer wind more than the rest of the trees
when his head bends downward little; when
both stop still in their walk for q moment
why, when all this takes place, how very much
embarrassed the two young people would be
II they knew that some one was quietly sitting
on bench not dozen feet away taking the
whole scene in. These things sometimes hap
pen. How often do they happen without being
Observed OBS II the benches had tongues or II
the trees were reporters there might be tale
OF love or tragedy OF disappointed hopes for
the papers every summer morning.
WISE PREcAurIoN.
Then there il another thing that those who
use the parks on summer nights should be care
full about When they take q seat they should
ook and see that no one else il on the bench
1t is very annoying when lady in the dark sits
In the lap OF q gentleman who happens to have
pre-empted the location. II he is q wise man
he apologies and moves away at once, although
he has done nothing to apologize for. And il a
loving couple sits at one end of long park
bench and an unseen man Is at the other end
what pretty pickle they are all in then! II
the two begin their love-making at once the
unwilling eavesdropper does not like to throw
them into confusion by making bis presence
felt, and yet he does not like to listen to their
twaddle; and II they find him themselves he is
In danger OF corporal inconvenience adminis-
tered by the other man. who will think he has
sneaked up to enjoy himself at their expense.
On the whole, the best way is for him to walk
of and abandon the field as soon as they sit
down. Whatever he has seen or heard Is then
only the beginning, and the chances are that
they are SO engrossed with one another that
they don't stop to think at all about him, or
what he may have found out.
ALL CLASSES Use THE PARKS.
II you come to the question of the public
parks and love making you have encountered
one that is ALMOST universal in its bearings
Rich people like to sit in the open air as much
| as poor people do, and although the former do
not use the park benches as TRUSTING spots as
| openly Is poor people do, they nevertheless do
use them and that, too, not infrequently. In
one corner Of Washington park this very even
ing there may be young CrGsus unfolding to the
town houses and country houses and all the luxu-
ries Of fifty thousand year and in another cor
ner may be the salaried clerk trying to convince
his lady love that they can live pretty comfort
ably in one room at boarding house on els a
week, But if both men are talking to good
American girls Crosus won't succeed in his
suit because Of his money, nor will the salaried
clerk fail in his because OF his poverty The truth
ia that there is something enticing. in the con-
| versation on the park bench. 1t il free from
the constraint that belongs to parlors and draw
ing rooms. and there is no danger Of that Sec
ond visitor, who always comes to call just at the
| time when he il least wanted. There is no pos
sibility either OF one Of thOSe disagreeabie sit
| ting matches, where two young men make arti-
fetal con 'ersation with one girl and wait and
wait, each one hoping that the other will realize
how much he is in the way and will 60 home.
WAYS TO DIsLoD6E RIVAL,
| There are several good methods of dislodging
. rival when this state Of affairs arises but they
must be applied with tact and caution. One
method that succeeds often with modest man
| Is to talk him down, that il to monopolize the
conversation and not allow him to get in q word
He will soon leave in disgust unless the lady in
| the case resents the laxative mans tactics and
stops his Onward charge Of words by a flank
movement of her own Another way to dislodge
your rival is to turn the conversation into
channels that are familiar to the lady, but are
not so to him. For instance, having seen her
at some party where he was not you may ask
her how she liked 1t and discuss oil the people
1
mutual acquaintance whom he does not know,
or about books that he hasn't read II you are
skillful you will win on this game. There is
still another way that sometimes effects the OBJ
ject sought, which consists in simply talking to
your rival himself and quietly ridiculing him
until he takes ofense and leaves, but this Is q
dangerous experiment sometimes, as he may
wait for You outside and punch your head for
you. Still the thing can be done and often is
done without any serious Consequences by an
adroit man who Is careful simply 70 make his
victim uncomfortable without at all insulting
him.
ONE GOLDEN RULH.
There Is one golden rule that must be
adopted always when you want the other fellow
to go. You must manage your own case, must
not trust to the lady or the other man--in short,
must do unto the other man precisely a. you
would not have him do unto you. There are
few people who understand these staple rules
and fewer still who can apply them cleverly,
and the two uncomfortable young men boring
one girl. when everything would be lovely II
or rather nightly-occurrence. After all, the
rules fail miserably at times, and when you sse
your rival sitting silent and stolid and with
look Of grim determination on his face you may
II