pletely ruined a promising social career by the unexpected failure
of one of his pet juggling tricks and the consequent dumping of a large
dish of mashed potatoes on the head of a vice-president of the Equitable
Trust Company. Besides, people almost always distrust "clever" persons.

It does not "do," either, to "ride your hobby" at a dinner party, and
the real truth as to the cause of the sudden social ostracism of
young Freddie H----, a New York clubman of some years ago (now happily
deceased), is that on one occasion this young fellow, who had developed
a craze for marksmanship amounting almost to a mania, very nearly ruined
a dinner party given by a prominent Boston society matron by attempting
to shoot the whiskers off a certain elderly gentleman, who happened to
be a direct descendant of John Smith and Priscilla Alden.

It might also be remarked that the possession of certain physical
gifts--such as the ability to wriggle one's ears or do the "splits"--is
in itself no "open sesame" to lasting social success. "Slow and sure"
is a good rule for the young man to follow, and although he may somewhat
enviously watch his more brilliant colleagues as they gain momentary
applause by their ability to throw their thumbs out of joint or squirt
water through a hole in their front teeth, yet he may console himself
with the thought that "the race is not always to the swift" and that
"Rome was not built in a day." The gifts of this world have been
distributed fairly equally, and you may be sure that the young girl who
has been born a ventriloquist very likely is totally unable to spell
difficult words correctly or carry even a simple tune. Ventriloquism, by
the way, is also passing out as a form of dinner party diversion, and it
is no longer considered a priceless accomplishment to be able to make a
dog bark or a baby cry under the hostess's chair.

CONVERSATION AT DINNER

Gradually, however, conversation--real conversation--is coming into its
own as the favorite pastime of dinner guests, and the young man or lady
who can keep the conversational "ball" rolling is coming more and more
into demand. Good conversationalists are, I fear, born and not made--but
by study and practise any ambitious young man can probably acquire the
technique, and, with time, mould himself into the kind of person upon
whom hostesses depend for the success of their party. As an aid in this
direction I have prepared the following chart which I would a