DOVES. (Liberal Review.)

Waikato Times, Volume VII, Issue 363, 10 September 1874, Page 2

DOVES. (Liberal Review.)

It is melancholy lo reflect that of the many men who have lived nnd made themselves famous not a few have rendered themselves ridiculous when quivering under the smart of Master Cupid* dart. Even the great Dr Johnson made- an ass of himself when he fell thoroughly in love, while the absurd rbodomontade which celebrities such as Hozlitt, Dean Swi/t, and Lnurence Sterne, have said and written of the objects of their affection, prove that when the amatery god attacked them their common sense took to its heels as rapidly as it possibly could. Not a few of those who have not made fools of themselves, under S'miltr circumstances, have done that which ennnot be regarded otherwise than as decidedly unsatisfactory- nnd unflattering to their discretion and good taste. They liave proved themselves unable to live happily and amicabl) with those whom they have choien to wife. Shakespeare, for instance, there is very good reason for believing, found it impossible to contentedly jof» along with Mrs Shakespeare, and he showed how "rotten,"' in his ca»e, " was the state of Denmark," by leaving her on his death, a bed, the like of which could, probably, at the present day, be bought for the sum of five pounds. Milton, Byron, and many other* havo proved that it does not follow because a man is blessed w ith the possession of genius he knows how to manage a woman. The deduction to be drawn from all this is that it is a very dangerous thing for a more than usually intellectually gifted mau to fall thoroughly in love, i unless the object of his adoration happens to posses a spirit kindred to his own, which, in nine coses out ot ten, she will, probably, not do. It is true that John Stuart Mill was attracted by the intellect as much as by the other qualities of the lady whom he made Mrs Mill, but he was to a great extent an idealist, as well as a thorough-going philosopher, and the fact remains that talented men seem to be oftan iiresistibly drawn towards consummate stupidity, or something even worse. The consequence, as experience has shown us, often is that, after they have become fairly caught in the toils, they either mako bad husbands or they do that which should induce thorn to forfeit their self-respect and which most certainly causes them to fall in the consideration of ■ their fellows. It may be that the gifted beings are too exacting, it may be that what other people consider laughable is simply poetry reduced to practice. All that can be fairly said on this is that genius should pay some deference to common place, and not expect common-place to abjectly bow down before it, which common-place, being a bit stubborn and egotistical, will most certainly decline to do; further, that poetry can rarely be practically realised in this sublunary world. As a matter of fact, the man who attempted to regulate his life according to the standard of poets— by the way, some of the poets themselves have shown that they are the last people who would think of doing so— would ruu a most excellent chance of being set down as an idiot. The safest people to fall thoroughly in love are comparative nonentities. The doing so becomes the event of their lives, without, any barm being done or any great wcrk retarded. A commonplace young man and a commonplace young woman may become attached to each other, marry, and withdraw themselves from alt active participation in any but their own immediate concern*, and no one will feel inclined to weep or think that the world has sustained any ssrious loss. But the case is different when a man who is something out of the common does this kind ot thing. Moreover, men out of the common are not adapted to the dove-like existence. They may, for a tnn*>, willingly, nay enthusiastically, bury themselves in some secluded spot with the woiuau of their choice, but, Jafter a short period, they are bound to como forth from their retreats and mingle once more in the rushing stream of active life. *adder if not wiser than they were when they willingly forsook it for » season. Probably, during tho time of their seclusion thpy discover faults in tho character and weaknesses iv tho intellect of the lady of their choice which tie/ did not notice when first the spell was ctst upou )

them, or wlncli they may have detected, but in the significance of which t.hev rotuscd to believe. Commonplace bemgi can put up with the acquisition of knowledge auch as this under similar cireuuistantvo with an equanimity •mounting to positive cheerfulness. Little " tiffs," instead of permanently weiilcnmir the relations between thum, leem only to have the elleet of drawing them closer together. The density of the wife renders Her blind to the density of her luibband, and vice vers&, und, vu they have no object in Ufo but lo minister to tlie enjoyment of each other, they can easily become resigned to any amount of billing and cQoing, in. the belief that it is quite in the natural order of things, and that they are fulfilling the object of their distance. In the event of their not interesting themselves in any of the philanthropic, or political, or social movements of the age, they never feel any irresistible impulse to break through the bonds with which they have fettered themselves, and forsake a dead-and-alive existence, the ruling motne of which is the acquisition of personal comfort, for a more active ono. The selfishness of these commonplace people when they fall in love is something little short of terrible. From the moment the cloves have declared their fondnes3 for each other, and nutter* have been comfortably arranged so far as parents or guardian* are concerned, they practically alienate themselves front the majority of their kind. Place them in a room and they will sneak about together, show that they are not interested in fact, they would be glad if you were out of the way, and demonstrate, by a countless number of whispers and gesture*, that they have numerous secrots in which yon have no «hare. At the same time their impression appears to be that they are among the most important beings in tho unfverae, and that they are doing that, which is remarkable, und ihould command tho sympathy of all those whom they treat cavalierly. Before marriage they see each other as often as circumstances will permit, after wedlock they are in the habit of working themselves up into a perfect fever of excitement if they loie sight of the face they love for more than five minute's at a tuna than are compelled to. In mo&t cades this Sort of thing lasts only for a season ; in other* it eudures through life. The actors rarely teem to imagine that they are in the habit of wasting much valuable time ; so lout; as they live "respectably" and do not put their hands into their neighbours' pockets and steal therefrom, they evidently consider they are quite doing their duty. Philosopher* have ere now stated that love is unselfish, but as a matter of tact, the reverso is the case, and certainly it* influence Og character i* often very far from satisfactory.