Evening star., 1896-12-12
FOR BASHFUL WOOERS

patents, but there IL not one with which
am familiar" said . patent attorney the
other day to Star reporter. 80 singular
the one herein recited. The patent.
however. has expired and the invention
has become public property. s-
THE patent was taken out by W.@O.
George Of Richmond. Va. May 20. 1856. In
the language of the application, the invent
or respectfully represents that your petit
toner has invented a table, constructed
upon new and useful plan. designed for
use In the parlor, and at other places, and
SO adapted as to contrive for the pleasant
passing Of the hours Of company In a novel
and interesting manner, which Is done by
means of peculiar method or game, OF
which your petitioner is likewise the in
ventor, performed by means Of the said
table together with the checks accompany
ing II, which game your petitioner calls the
game of equality-so called in consequence
OF Its placing man and woman upon an
equal footing in an important respect. 1t
being a new method Or process of effecting
desirable and useful purpose in remark
able, novel and entertaining manner, is a
permanent invention. and one which will
yleld lasting happiness to society.
There are In this world numbers of the
male sex 80 very nervous. bashful and
backward as not to be able to declare their
affections for young lady. no matter how
deeply they may be attached to her. Not
w1thstanding the lady may possibly be both
willing and ready to jump into the gentle
mans arms at the slightest declaration of
affection. still his diffidence or her modesty
can and often does prevent it's accomplish
ment. thus destroying the fond hopes and
happiness of two beings perhaps exactly
suited to eacn other. To obviate this diff
Guilty and make the road to matrimony easy
and certain Is the principal object Of this
invention. For no matter how diffident the
gentleman may be, or how coy the lady, II
they once play at this table. and play with
to toh AonI t1Ar tIo{r
OBJECT Will certainly be accomplished. and
tnat with secrecy, safety and Dispatch
Where He Got His Idea.
In order to understand the object of the
invention and insure a perfect comprehen-
sion OF the game We must necessarily refer
and go back to the circumstances that orig
mated the first ideas the subject, they
being a sort of lie mot d'enigme, or passe
partout to the better understanding of the
game. The invention originated thus: The
inventor read In newspaper paragraph
in substance as follows: At a wedding
which took place in the western part of the
state some years back, the marriage cere-
mony being over, and the company having
partaken OF the plentiful supply of the
good things to be found on such occasions.
they amused themselves as best they could
in conversation until somewhat run out,
when they set their wits to work to find
some more agreeable occupation. There be-
ing no musician present they could not
dance, so 1t was proposed to play some
game. such as pass the thimble. grind the
bottle, The sawyer, stage coach, etc, hut
neither of these games seeming to meet the
approba ton of the ladies' the company
were at a loss what to do, until 1t was
happily suggested by some one pretent that
each unmarried lady and gentemaD should
be required to confess to the oldest married
man, or Major Domo, the state of their af-
fections; in other words who they were in
love with. the Major Domo to be first
sworn not to dlvulge the secrets told him
unless they proved mutual, in which case
he was to communicate only to the parties
most interested.
''The company Consenting to this ar
rangement, the exI eriment commenced, and
each one having performed the task of
making the old man, or Major Domo, their
father confessor. The result was announc-
ed followed by burst of applause), which
was that three matches had been perfected,
three couples made happy, but which three
could not be ascertained at the time by
any but the parties principally concerned.
1T was only after several weeks had
elapsed that the discovery was made.
which happened in this wise: One of those
itinerant intermeddling ladies y'clept an old
maid whose only occupation consisted in
croaking about the neighborhood, having
made several Indifferent attempts to find
out, and passed few sleepess nights
thinking on the subject, went dernier
resort to the mantau maker in the place.
where, after much finessing. succeeded in
making three bridal garments, and who
they were for. OF course the secret was
out. and flew like lightning. The result
was that the three couple were soon after
married, to the great delight and amuse-
ment of all their friends and neighbors but
the exceeding annoyance of the old maid,
who. / regret to say, was neither invited,
expected, or desired at either wedding
Object of the Game.
Having read something similar to the
above in newspaper, the idea occurred to
the inventor that provided anything could
be invented which would supply the place
of the old man or Major Domo, that could
not possibly tell tales, 1t would be a most
amusing as well useful invention Ac-
cordingly, he set his mind to work on the
subject, believing in the proverb, Nil tam
d.ficle quod nose solertia wheat and af-
ter some reflection turned out the table
and game hereafter more fully described.
which he hopes and firmly believes will
answer the purpose intended.
Here follows a minute description of the
structure of the table and of the checks
with which the game Is played, and by
means of which each lover may unerringly
discover his love, and each love her lover
each known to the other but to none other:
but neither will be known to the other un
less their love be reciprocated"