[…] a well-worn pathway courted us / To one green wicket in a privet hedge […]
Schmoozing patterns are similarly consistent. When men gather in groups to stand and talk, they show a distinct liking for certain kinds of places. They are, for one thing, strongly attracted by pillars and flagpoles, obeying a primeval instinct, perhaps, to have something solid at their backs. They also favor edges. Schmoozers do not stand often or long in the middle of big plazas.
Unfortunately this isn't a scare-line, but a frozen truth, and it behooves every druggist to provide himself with ice-economizers.
There is a Chinese saying: One who does not know how to smile has no business to be in business. How much truer is this of people engaged in the business of diplomacy!