The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-07-09


.'Then y shrse things which are To-
wsnd1 p for me: yea, four which knsw
DE way Of an eagle In tee aiE. me
KAY Ia serpent upoa rock; he way OF
- shtp<&n the midst iof the 1et: ond< the
way Of . man with maid
The wise writer OF Proverbs wa
modest enough to admit that with all
his leafniag there were some things that
he could not understand: but he omitted
from his list the most wonderful Of all
and that which many millions Of men
have Asd to admit. with ne prophet.
that they knew not Of: and that II. the
way Of . maid with = man.
Men become 20 very foolish. "a u
seems 20 others. when they are subject
to the influence Of what the prophet de-
scribes a. her much fair speech and
the nattering OF her lips" But he has
. motive In what he does. q purpose
which leads him on: he may use the de-
vices Of subtle language to WOO and
coax with. but there is a certain
straightforwardness in his methods.
which leave very little to be explained.
II IL not so Of the way Of q maid with
a man. she takes the most devious
ways 10 reach her object; she Is appar-
entity 30 illogical IN her methods, 80 un-
certain In her moods. that no man
knows where to put his finger upon the
spot to which she will next direct her
course. no matter how directly 1t may
seem to lie in the path Of her desire.
For convenience we have used the
term adopted by the Hebrew writer: but
Ii always the same. the only difference
being that with the greater experience
the facility for tortuousness Is more
acutely developed. There is no people
so wise and civilized but have marveled
at the elusiveness OF women. and no
people 30 untaught and crude who have
not put II into axiom. The West Indians
are described by Irving in his story Of
Columbus a. believing that mankind is
sued from a cavern. but for a long time
they were destitute Of women. until one
day. wandering near q small lake, they
saw certain animals among the
branches OF trees which proved to be
women. On attempting to catch them,
however. they were found to be as slip
perry as cells. no that 1t was impossible
4S IN hAr 4 Ia 0f1, a
certain men. whose hands were render
ed rough by q kind Of leprosy, and these
secured the prizes.
There may be no moral in the part OF
the story that the men with clean
hands were less successful than those
which were unelean, and probably Is
not. but the eiusiveness OF woman is so
distinctly put forward by means Of this
legend that there can be no doubt that
her nature was pretty much the same
so far back as the time when men first
knew her.
The seif-control OF women is Mt
times marvellous. Notwithstanding her
supposed inability to refrain from hav-
Ing the last word she can on occasion
seal her lips and maintain a silence
which no persuasion can break. at
others she shields herself behind the no
less inscrutabie reason because" and
II is a marvel to a man whether she Is
conscious OF the fact that she is illogi-
cal and unreasonable. whether she
cares. or whether her only standard Of
conduct is the humor In which she feels.
II IL no use To ask the question why
women do such unexpected. inexplieahle
and even unnecessarily cruel things 10
those who would suffer any pain or
sacrifice 10 preserve them from such
stinys and wounds as they infict
OF course. this has nothing to do with
the will and tirmness tn refuse a mans
offer OF marriage. Indeed. ii is not at
all unusual for rejection to be accom-
panied by temporary tenderness II
Is when there seems no motive. when
there has been Kindness. and probably
Will be again. that the sudden cratic
disposition 30 be perverse. and even
merciiess, manifes,s Itself
The ways az woman are past finding
out. and the WAYS OF a maid with a man
must be borne as they have been since
the earliest times Perhaps IL is be-
cause woman Is such a mystery tina,
she Is SO fascinating; but II Is net I'm
probable that this eccentricity Is the
cause Of many ealious snot In mans
over and makes IL inaperytous 10 further
suffering.