FALLING IN LOVE.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1873, 4 January 1875, Page 2

FALLING IN LOVE.

Love does not, unfortunately fo? mankind belong, hto .that \classS of diseases which, when once; taken, leaver the snf ferer.. thenceforward',, and.,for ever free from its attacks.' TlfeMother ig able to lay the balm to her soul when she-sees all her Uttte.qnes whooping gaily together till thetHreßlack in the face/ or the bous* is turned into:,-arn6»pi£aUfo* thf treatment <j£ measlesuor scarlatina, that the trouble will have vanished never to return when jthepresent ;ifttackTs over. Smallpox when-i£ comes badly is equal in violence tp;the very wprsicases of love, but. sad as are the ravages it makesj it leaves the victim consblea l>y, the reflects"l— *^>aj: be can nft.ver__catch it ftgpjn, - Personally I. would rather have several twinges of the heart thaja one*ofthetootfa fc but at'the same time I knowl have ife& remedy for jfcho E pffendmg,, molar in my' breechespDcKtirlKave the courage to use it. - Half a guinea, and resolution ■. caq cure me of toothache, but no: doctor or" dentist, alas!,.; vcan; pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, or with some oblivious^ antidote. Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that" perilous stuff whicK-weighs upon the heart. Jean Only lose my leg once,, but I may lose my heart a hundred times.' In short, from the cradle to tlie grave, from the grave to the gay, people , at all times and of all dispositions are subject to the rude assaults and practical jokes of that young larrikin demigod boy, Cupid the Smiler. liove being a perfectly new subject", and. one upon which a lamentable ignorance exists in the public mind, it has occured to-me that it would be a good idea to give the ladies of Victoria, through these columns, a few; ideas that might be useful to them in the after time. It has probab'y suggested itself to the ladies, as it haa to me, that in one respect they labor under a considerable disa<U vantage with their ; brother beings in regard to the tender passion. They excite those feelings of love in us which, according to circumstances over which we have frequently no control, cause so much happiness or misery to the relative parties. They are always endeavoring to make us love them, but till we speak and acknowledge that. their efforts are successful r they are forbidden by the laws of society, from saying a word that will declare kjjp state of their, own feelings. Man Ms. kept, and wisely, I think, the. power of* initiating amatory propositions with himself. Women can sigh their affection, let it be seen in their eyes, insinuate it. through their hightened colour, the pleasure with which they welcome us, and the, pain they are privileged to express at our, departure; but they cannot,, as things are now arranged, say they love us till we speak'th'e words "that will call for the loving; response;. „.-Until, man proposes woman is not permitted openly to dispose of her heart. . »^ The advantage .that man has under thb I present system is, that he may fall head^ over ears in love with a girl, flirt with her for months; have himself preserved by the influence of his virtuous attachment from a hundred snares and pitfalls set out to catch theifeet of the unweary youth; and in the end, if he has never spoken distinct words of love be as free to fall headyover ears with some tone" else as if he had never met her. That this is an advantage ;every man who enjoys the pleasures of ladies society must admit., There is the trading companies' formula of " Limited" stamped op every little attention he pays to the girls he meets* with and talks to. His silence, when he squeezes her hand or looks ■wistfully, into her eyes, is as full of meaning as the "without prejudice* at

the beginning of a lawyer,s She aays, " How far may I go witfc propriety P'' He, "Howfar can I without committing ' myself?" * > But although I expressed myself in v t'he second-last paragraph as a believer in.tibe wisdom of the policy that keeps tlio power of declaration, in the hands of man, I must still say that it is only the individual-man who profits by the arrangement, and that the sex, as a whole, is a fc loser. ' I daiidt care, in an articlevintended exclusively for the reading of "ladies, P^to go into metaphysical or- i moral dis- * (juisitions .and shd^Bow one's f hopes of individual, advantages will,.in most casos, outwe^ge one's sense of abstract-right or wibnifbutijl havenohesitationin sayijpfg that rjjelieve it wtfuld be for the geneyjd good of the human race if women were as free to confess and ready to admit that they love without; being asked, as *in so many, cases, they profess themselves .to be when the barrier to their pent-up feelings is removed by the declaration of, the'man. The onus of matrimonial proposition would "then rest ''equally upon the two sexes. Men would find out.how many women loved them. Proposals for marriage would probably be largely increased, while actual business would not be larger than at present. -A- few men wolucl, in commercial language, be much " sought afjter," - -but, if they remained firm, inferior lots might be in demand. ■ Choice articles would, as*, is always the case, command "the market, and men'would soon learn their true value. _„,--■ This,'however, is speculation. Xhe young ladies of;'the pre'sent'generation, whom I have taken uponjne to instruct, must make up' their minds to wait till they are spoken to,' and all that they can do is to assist the natural inclination'of the" gentleman'towards them by alljthe arts in their power. Ifc-is a. very, pretty sight for elderly persons of experience, to stand aside and witness the' first rude attempts at lovemaking that their young friends essay. The tenderer passages it may not be one's luck to behold,. The declaration is always made in secret. Kissimg, the food of loye, is administered in the absence of third persons.. Young people, from? a certain sense of shamefaoedness, do not dally, however willing, with each other's fingers while in the presence of witnesses. But the beginnings of love we are all privileged to behold; His anxiety for her appearance, or her nervousness when lie is half an hour late-fhis jealousy of the big partner she talks politely to and-- smiles sweetly on during tihe dance, that she" thinks lasts' about 100 years, because it separates Her from the sulky glowering object of her affections, condemned by. a regard for appearances to dance with somebody else in an alien set of quadrilles —the blushes, the smiles, the - tearful eyes, and the sad looks of the love-makers are familiar to every man of observation, i I like to see them; I like to see young people making love; I like to see them in it. The Australasian gives, week after week, records.of the prowess^of our young tnen in. "the athletic exerciser erf cricket, football, and rowing. It tells who train thp best horses, play the best chess, or make the best speeches in Parliament. It recegnises the existence of ladies only by saying twice a year tbat this one or that matriculated with credit. at the University, or that " Mary, eldest daughter of John-Smith," united herself to some man whose name she is for ever after to bear. But. the actiial business of life—the first meetings, the gradual progress of affairs, the falling -in love, the declaration, and the engagement—are passed over as though Mr Toots were'tlieeditor and he thought these important "matters to be of-" not the slightest conse-" quence." -' But they are of consequence—of grave and serious consequence—of _far v greater consequence than the horse that will win the. Cup, or the team that will carry off th c prize at cricket. They affect posterity im a way that chess cannot,do and that foot-, ball cannot hope for. -The whole future of the country depends, in short, on tiie manner in which the love affairs of the present generation, are carried out. I think that, as the recognised mouth-piece of the ladies .of-Victoria, and speaking in their special/..columns,.. I am. justifie.din. demanding from the editor and proprietor of this journal that they should devote at least as much space for the consideration of love as they do for matters pertaining to man alone. I would myself consent to take the management of the columns 4jsvjjfed .^o^ldvfe—^l^wpul^l;lik'e ;iti H vf 1