welcomes such men in her house
without entertaining any suspicion. She invites them to her receptions,
her dinner-parties; she often finds them pleasant, witty, and then they
venture a few flattering compliments. She at first accepts them as the
current coin of society, and pays no attention to them.

As she is amiable to her guests, she is not on her guard, and she treats
them to the same smiles, which these fops of the purest water often
imagine are gracious smiles conferred on them only. Thus encouraged,
they go further, and venture compliments bordering on declarations of
love, or, at any rate, on expressions of deep admiration. The young
woman, used to compliments, takes no notice of our heroes, or pretends
to have understood nothing.

Her silence is then taken for a tacit acceptance, and the fops,
emboldened, make an open declaration of love. Now, a regular flirt or
coquette knows how to encourage or discourage a man with one glance, but
a perfectly good woman is taken unaware; she feels embarrassed, and,
thus apparently encouraged, these men get bolder and bolder, until the
young woman has to show them the door.

Then her troubles begin. These parasites will go to their clubs, and,
even in drawing-rooms, say that she is a heartless coquette who
encourages men to make love to her just to amuse herself. They abuse
her, watch her, and, if one day she should compromise herself in the
least, woe to her if the secret should fall into such men's hands! There
is no revenge of which they are not capable. A case of this sort was,
not long ago, investigated thoroughly, and it turned out that an
anonymous letter had been written to the husband of a most charming
society woman by a cur whom she had to turn out of her house for
offering her a worthless love.

CHAPTER XIV

THE MAN WHO SMILES

There is to be met in society a man who is particularly provoking and
supremely objectionable and offensive. He is about forty, very
gentlemanly, self-possessed, irreproachably dressed, well informed,
interesting talker, with a somewhat patronizing air, and an eternal
smile of self-satisfaction on his face.

This man has compromised more women than many a 'devil of a fellow.' If
you say before him, 'Mrs. X. is very beautiful, isn't she?' he says
nothing, but smiles complacently. So you look at him and add:

'Oh, you know her, then?' He smiles again. 'You don't say so!' you
remark. 'I should have thought her a woman above