oluntary smile will be taken
for heartlessness by the man who is so terribly in earnest. A humorous
word will be little short of an insult, a jest but a proof of scorn.
His vanity, if not his heart, will receive a wound that is not lightly
to be healed. There are those who laugh from sheer nervous excitement;
let them not lose the men they love by a lack of self-control that may
be so cruelly misconstrued.

Some Things to Avoid.

The nervous, unready wooer both endures and inflicts agonies of mind
if he tries to make a verbal offer. He had {48} much better write, for
then he will at least be intelligible. The vacillating woman has no
right to let a man propose to her and then accept him just because she
cannot make up her mind to tell him the truth. She may mean to be
kind, but she only causes unnecessary pain. No woman is justified in
keeping a man in suspense while she angles for a better matrimonial
prize. No honourable offer of marriage should be rejected rudely,
unkindly, or with scorn. Let there be but few words spoken, but let
them be simple, courteous, and, above all, definite. Let him see that
you are sensible of the honour he has done you, even while you retain
the right to dispose of your heart as you think best.

Vaguely Worded Offers.

It is said that the indefinite form of proposal is in favour at
present. It would seem that, however he may elect to say it, the man
should clearly make the lady understand that he is asking her to be
his wife. She cannot very well urge him to be explicit, and, while a
modest woman might thus lose her lover, an intriguing female might
annex a man who had never intended to propose to her. The suitor
should be quite frank as to his social position and means. It may be
necessary to enter into private details of his past life. He should
not conceal anything like family disgrace from the one he is asking to
share his name.

Her Point of View.

A woman who loves will not need to be told how to answer her lover's
request. Both lips and eyes will be eloquent without a teacher. There
may be cases where a woman is justified in accepting a man for whom
she only feels liking and respect, provided she has been quite frank
with him, and he is content to have it so. If a man has the fidelity
and pertinacity to ask a woman a second or third time he may find that
the intervening years have worked in his favour; but no woman should
say Yes merely because she is tired of saying No