says, "Did the dog bite you?" You answer, "Yes, sir." Grampaw
then says, "He bites everybody," and goes back to sleep.
Reassured, you light a cigaret. A little boy and girl then come
to the door, and, after examining you carefully for several
minutes, they burst into giggling laughter and run away. You feel
to see if you have forgotten to put on a necktie. A severe
looking old lady then enters the room. You rise and bow. "I am
Miss Doe's grandmother. Some one has been smoking in here," she
says, and sits down opposite you. Her remark is not, however, a
hint for a cigaret and you should not make the mistake of saying,
"I've only got Fatimas, but if you care to try one--" It should
be your aim to seek to impress yourself favorably upon every
member of the young lady's family. Try to engage the grandmother
in conversation, taking care to select subjects in which you feel
she would be interested. Conversation is largely the art of
"playing up" to the other person's favorite subject. In this
particular case, for example, it would be a mistake to say to
Miss Doe's grandmother, "Have you ever tried making synthetic
gin?" or "Do you think any one will EVER lick Dempsey?" A more
experienced person, and some one who had studied the hobbies of
old people, would probably begin by remarking, "Well, I see that
Jeremiah Smith died of cancer Thursday," or "That was a lovely
burial they gave Mrs. Watts, wasn't it?" If you are tactful, you
should soon win the old lady's favor completely, so that before
long she will tell you all about her rheumatism and what grampaw
can and can't eat.

Finally Miss Doe arrives. Her first words are, "Have you been
waiting long? Hilda didn't tell me you were here," to which you
reply, "No--I just arrived." She then says, "Shall we go in the