Page:Side talks with girls (1895).djvu/203

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My Sweetheart and I
191

that annoy women, and that he has never before cared enough for a girl to give her the right to make known to him what she thinks are odd little ways. Once or twice he has caught you by the arm in getting through a crowd, or when you were walking together in the evening; naturally you did not like that. Well, tell him so, but don't draw your arm away and be cross about it; instead, look him right straight in the face, and say: "Dear boy, I would so much rather lean on you than have you lean on me." Then slip your hand where it belongs, under his left arm, close to his heart. Suppose your sweetheart should incline to scarfs you don't admire. I once heard a girl tell a man she hated him because he wore a pale blue scarf. You needn't be as positive as that, but you can suggest to him that as a blonde he always looks better in an all-black scarf, while as a brunette he can wear the white ones all day and put on the black ones for very formal occasions. Men are very much what women make them, and it is the easiest thing in the world to teach your sweetheart how to act and dress according to the social laws, and he will never dream that he is being taught, but will believe that every suggestion has emanated from his own brain. Let him understand that he is never to be anything but respectful and considerate of your family,