Life — December 5, 1907 — page 42: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

-LIFE- on my part. Perhaps in this case there would be nothing to it. Perhaps, the moment I could get near enough to talk quietly to her, the hour we took a moonlight walk together, he would fade away. Perhaps she was just tolerating him until some one better came along. But the wise man takes no chances. He con- Il the possibilities of the game in advance. Now, there are several ways to make love to a girl, several well-known “openings,” as in chess. First, there is the bluff, hearty center rush method in which you go right at her, and don’t give her time to breathe until you are trying to put your arms twice around her. Your very impetuosity carries her right off her feet. She is yours before the bell rings for dinner. Second, there is the indifferent method. You appear to be intensely occupied in everything else—but her. You are the soul of courtesy, so far as she is concerned. You are that beautiful creature known as a “perfect gentleman.” You appear to think only of her comfort, not because she is herself, but because she is a woman. As you walk around and dust her chair, or see that she has the best seat in the straw ride, one can almost hear the clink of your knightly armor. But there is a kind of far-away look in your eye that suggests that noble, distant deeds are a part of your daily routine—when home. ‘This method is very effective, provided you don’t overtrain. For just at the right moment when you have her fastened in awe and admiration, then you must act quick. It’s as delicate an operation, indeed, as knowing when to serve a welsh rabbit. Third, there is the bashful method. Perfectly at ease so long as others are present, the moment you are alone with her you become so self-con- scious that it is a part of her bounden duty to help you along. This is not to imply that you are afraid. The moment a man shows any weakness with a girl, it’s all over. You can hear the sun- down gun, and the mantle of night falls on your fond dreams. But by the bashful method I mean that you betray your feverish love for her to such an extent that you become thoroughly rattled. This is a grand method, because it flatters her in addition to everything else. But, of course, it mustn’t be carried too far. You might marry her some day—there is always that chance—and if you did, it would go hard with you afterwards. After looking rapidly over the situation I con- cluded to adopt method number one, with a dash of number three. She was a wonderfully pretty girl, and being the only one in the place of any consequence, and he heing the only other apparently available man there, the affair was much simpler. I started in at once. “Thear,” I said, after luncheon, as I caught her on the piazza, “there is a respectable lake. Would you care to go for a row? She looked at me puzzled. “T have an engagement,” she said. “Break it,” I suggested. The young chap came up. He looked daggers at me. “Shall we go for a walk in half an hour?” he asked. She did not reply immediately. “T hear thereare some great walks about here,” I said to the young chap, in the most friendly manner possible. “Yes, there are,” he retorted, savagely. “I came up here to walk,” I said, gently. “Nothing like it.” I saw the young chap making a fatal mis- take. He was showing his temper. She saw it also, which, of course, was just what I wanted I rose politely. “Hope you will have a pleasant walk,” I added, cheerily, as I started away “We might all go together,” said the girl, which was exactly what I hoped and expected she would say. “I’m sure it would be very nice,” she said, looking at the young chap. “That’s for you to say,” he retorted. “Thank you,” I replied, “but, really”—I looked at the young chap as if I took a friendly interest in him—‘‘that wouldn’t be quite fair, you know. I'll stroll off by myself. Only"—I smiled pleasantly at him—‘‘you must tell me where you are going, so that I won’t go that way.”” This was a pleasant way of saying that I recog: nized his prior claim, and also had resources of my own. Here, as you will observe, I drew slightly upon method number two. Then he made another mistake. “We're going up the path to the falls,” he said, eagerly, falling into the trap. The girl elevated her delicious eyebrows, as I managed to catch her eye for an instant, as if quite by accident. She had altogether the loveliest complexion I ever saw. I felt already there was something between us. This story continued on page 692 A 14-20 Rendult Landaulet with body by Brewster @ Co. Automobile bodies of all styles, mounted on the best makes of chassis ready for delivery, or ready for mounting on your own chassis. We also build bodies to order from special designs to meet individual needs. The grade of workmanship and material cannot be equalled in this country or abroad. All engine and body repairs done in minimum time by expert workmen only. comicbooks.com