_A man wishes and a woman wishes, but Circumstance frequently wins the
game._

* * * * *

Life is short--avoid causing yawns.

* * * * *

It is possible for a woman to retain the amorous affection of a man for
many years--if he only sees her for the two best hours out of each
twenty-four.

* * * * *

"Please open the door, Sage," entreated the Damsel, "and I will tell you
a story."

The Sage pushed it ajar with his foot, but he did not come out.

"There was once upon a time a man," she said, "who unexpectedly and for
no apparent reason became the possessor of a Tiger. It had been coveted
by numbers of people and was of a certain value and beauty. It had an
infinite variety of tricks. It was learned in caresses. It was fierce,
and gentle, and it could love passionately. Altogether a large price
would have been offered the man for it by many others if he had wished
to sell it. In the beginning he had greatly valued the possession of
this strange beast, and had fed it with his own hand. The little anxiety
as to whether it would eat him or not, or rush away, had kept him
interested. But gradually, as he became certain the Tiger adored him,
and would show none but velvet claws and make only purring sounds, his
keenness waned. He still loved it, but certainty is monotonous, and his
eyes wandered to other objects. 'The Tiger is nothing but a domestic
cat,' he said; 'I will pet and caress it when the mood takes me, and for
the rest of the time it can purr to itself by the fire.' At last one
day, after the Tiger was especially gracious and had purred with all
essence of love, the man yawned. 'It is really a charming beast,' he
said, 'but it is always the same; and then he went away and forgot even
to feed it. The Tiger felt hungry and restless. Its quietness and
gentleness became less apparent. The man on his travels chanced to think
of it and sent it a biscuit. So the Tiger waited, and when the man
returned and expected the usual docile caresses, it bit his hand. 'Vile
beast!' said the man. 'Have I not fed and kept you for weeks, and now
you bite my hand!' Now tell me, Sage, which was right--the man or the
Tiger?"

"Both, and neither," said the Sage, decidedly. "The man was only obeying
the eternal law in finding what he was sure of monotonous; but he
mistook the nature of the beast he had to deal with. Tigers are not of