ssing the Pacific, people are more generally friendly because the
voyage is so much longer, and on the other long voyages, such as those to
India and South Africa, the entire ship's company become almost as
intimate as in the old clipper days.

=THE TACTICS OF THE CLIMBER=

There are certain constant travelers who, it is said, count on a European
voyage to increase their social acquaintance by just so much each trip!
Richan Vulgar, for instance, has his same especial table every time he
crosses, which is four times a year! Walking through a "steamer train" he
sees a "celebrity," a brilliant, let us say, but unworldly man. Vulgar
annexes him by saying, casually, "Have you a seat at table? Better sit
with me, I always have the table by the door; it is easy to get in and
out." The celebrity accepts, since there is no evidence that he is to be
"featured," and the chances are that he remains unconscious to the end of
time that he served as a decoy. Boarding the steamer, Vulgar sees the
Lovejoys, and pounces: "You must sit at my table! Celebrity and I are
crossing together--he is the most delightful man! I want you to sit next
to him." They think Celebrity sounds very interesting; so, not having
engaged a table for themselves, they say they will be delighted. On the
deck, the Smartlys appear and ask the Lovejoys to sit with them. Vulgar,
who is standing by (he is always standing by) breaks in even without an
introduction and says: "Mr. and Mrs. Lovejoy and Celebrity are sitting at
my table, won't you sit with me also?" If the Smartlys protest they have a
table, he is generally insistent and momentarily overpowering enough to
make them join forces with him. As the Smartlys particularly want to sit
next to the Lovejoys and also like the idea of meeting Celebrity, it ends
in Vulgar's table being a collection of fashionables whom he could not
possibly have gotten together without just such a maneuver.

The question of what he gets out of it is puzzling since with each hour
the really well-bred people dislike him more and more intensely, and at
the end of a day or so, his table's company are all eating on deck to
avoid him. Perhaps there is some recompense that does not appear on the
surface, but to the casual observer the satisfaction of telling others
that the Smartlys, Lovejoys and Wellborns sat at his table would scarcely
seem worth the effort.

=THOSE ACQUISITIVE OF ACQUAINTANCE=

There is another type of steamer pass