hether that man will make the best of husbands or not.

With a woman-lover marriage is a risk; with a woman-hater it is a
certainty. With the latter you will be casting pearls before swine.

Marry the former and take your chance.

CHAPTER XIV

WHAT DO WOMEN ADMIRE MOST IN MEN?

People generally admire in others the qualities they do not
themselves possess--The sexes differ in their opinions of
infidelity and its causes--The eleventh commandment: Never confess.

I believe that what sexes admire most in the other are the qualities
which they do not generally possess themselves. For instance, a man
will always tell you that the qualities he admires most in a woman are
constancy, good, equal temper, and such others as his most flattering
friends would never accuse him of possessing. If, on the other hand,
you read the confession-books of women, you will invariably discover
that the qualities they most admire in men are generosity,
broad-mindedness, magnanimity, absence of prejudice, and a lofty sense
of justice, of toleration, and of forgiveness. Now, some women may
possess these qualities, but no one, I think, will say that they are
eminently feminine virtues.

And it may also be added that what sexes hate most each in the other
are the very defects which they themselves not infrequently possess.
Out of twenty confession-books which I have this moment under my eyes,
and in which is to be found the question, 'What defect do you hate most
in man?' eighteen women have answered, 'Meanness.' That is just what
you would expect, now, don't you think so?

Of course, there are women of whom it might be said, however
preposterous the remark may sound, that they are not only perfect
ladies, but also perfect gentlemen. These are glorious women. Now,
don't smile; I know what I am saying. When you say of a woman that she
is a perfect lady, the remark chiefly refers to her manners, the way
she dresses and behaves in society, etc. When you say of a man that he
is a perfect gentleman, it means that he is a man of considerate
feelings, generous, magnanimous even, a man who could not do anything
mean if he tried.

A woman who receives an anonymous letter about her husband, puts it in
the fire, and never mentions the fact to him, behaves like a gentleman.
A man who receives an anonymous letter about his wife and shows it to
her is a cur.

In a pretty play, the name of which escapes me just at present, a woman