wice to a suit
which she intends ultimately to receive with favor. A lady should be
allowed all the time she requires before making up her mind; and if the
gentleman grows impatient at the delay, he is always at liberty to
insist on an immediate answer and abide by the consequences of his
impatience.

A LADY'S POSITIVE REFUSAL.

A lady who really means "no" should be able to so say it as to make her
meaning unmistakable. For her own sake and that of her suitor, if she
really desires the suit ended her denial should be positive, yet kind
and dignified, and of a character to let no doubt remain of its being
final.

TRIFLING WITH A LADY.

A man should never make a declaration in a jesting manner. It is most
unfair to a lady. He has no right to trifle with her feelings for mere
sport, nor has he a right to hide his own meaning under the guise of a
jest.

A DOUBTFUL ANSWER.

Nothing can be more unfair or more unjustifiable than a doubtful answer
given under the plea of sparing the suitor's feelings. It raises false
hopes. It renders a man restless and unsettled. It may cause him to
express himself or to shape his conduct in such a manner as he would not
dream of doing were his suit utterly hopeless.

HOW TO TREAT A REFUSAL.

As a woman is not bound to accept the first offer that is made to her,
so no sensible man will think the worse of her, nor feel himself
personally injured by a refusal. That it will give him pain is most
probable. A scornful "no" or a simpering promise to "think about it" is
the reverse of generous.

In refusing, the lady ought to convey her full sense of the high honor
intended her by the gentleman, and to add, seriously but not
offensively, that it is not in accordance with her inclination, or that
circumstances compel her to give an unfavorable answer.

UNLADYLIKE CONDUCT TOWARD A SUITOR.

It is only the contemptible flirt that keeps an honorable man in
suspense for the purpose of glorifying herself by his attentions in the
eyes of friends. Nor would any but a frivolous or vicious girl boast of
the offer she had received and rejected. Such an offer is a privileged
communication. The secret of it should be held sacred. No true lady
will ever divulge to anyone, unless it may be to her mother, the fact of
such an offer. It is the severest breach of honor to do so. A lady who
has once been guilty of boasting of an offer should never have a second
opportunity for thus boasting.