Page:Advice to young ladies on their duties and conduct in life - Arthur - 1849.djvu/162

154 of this kind follows, it is better to avoid every such obligation; and, if you make it a general rule never to accept a present from a gentleman, you will avoid hurting any one’s feelings, and save yourself from all further perplexity. Where ladies are known to be in the habit of refusing presents, and yet are objects of great admiration and devotion, they will often receive anonymous gifts, which it is impossible to elude. When this is the case, it is a good way to put them by, out of sight, and never to mention them. The pleasure of seeing them on your table, and hearing them talked about, and the donor’s name speculated upon, is often sufficient to induce a repetition of the anonymous deed, or an acknowledgment of it, which is very embarrassing, as you must either break your rule, or hurt the feelings of the donor. Of all the votive offerings made to the young and the fair, flowers are the most beautiful and most unexceptionable. Where it is the fashion for gentlemen to present bouquets to their female friends, so many are given that it seems more like a tribute to the sex, than a mark of particular regard, and their perishable nature exempts them from the ban put upon more enduring memorials. You can accept and wear flowers without committing yourself, and to refuse them