I am not _broad_ I am not any thing. I
abhor narrow-mindedness! I am a trifle fraudulent in a harmless way,
which I am free to confess is more than a trifle fascinating to most of
the men I know. I smile, make eyes, sometimes sigh, and with many
devices coax the masculine fancy into life, and for my sake. Yet,
withal, I am said to be conscientious--very, in fact, and never
intentionally deceive. My reputation is better, alas! than I deserve. My
network is invisible but effectual; my weaving-power artless, but it is
the art concealing the artful.

I am a Private Corporation! Therefore, I own all the stock. I constantly
make loans, but I never sell. The collateral--either the many shades of
love or the subtle changes of friendship--must be A No. 1 in every
respect. It is _collateral_, not indorsements which I require.
Paper not able to sustain itself is not considered worth much in my
Banking-House (social).

It is my sweet expectation to retire from business whenever I chance to
find--or rather when I am found--by the right purchaser. I often long
for that time; I often picture to myself the undoubted delights of a
domestic life, and--but in the meantime I carry on a carefully perfected
system of

=Flirting for Revenue Only.=

That is my long-chosen motto, from which I do not depart. A Private
Corporation must have protection! Self-preservation is the first
consideration, the first law. I am full of little formulas of both
manner and speech--they afford me ample protection. Make-talk is the
complete salvation of the female Banker (social). I never disdain the
use of a _promoter_, no matter how trivial it may be. _Promoters_
help you to float heavy, stupid men, and save you from a complete wreck
on the shores of stupidity; and they act as most excellent elicitors
when applied to clever men--draw out the very best in them. I have
_promoters_ and _promoters_. I was asked not long since to give my
definition or receipt of this valuable article. This was the one which
I gave: Take some tangible object visible to the eye; for instance, a
banjo. Attract attention to it in some successful way. Talk first about
the banjo itself (the promoter), then if the man is clever he will,
unconsciously, be _led up_ from a discussion of that or other
musical instruments to a chat on music, ballads, operas, in fact the
very best he has to tell, the best he happens to know on that subject.
In this way we are able to rise above the tri