Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1866-10-02
Miscellaneous.
Love on the Brain.

1t is worse than than the cholic boys. It
lasts longer, as a general thing, and is equal
ly violent while it lasts. It is a disease, and
can be diagnosed as successfully as the mea-
sizes or cholera mOrbus. 1t usually common
ces with the sotteniug of the heart, which
gradually extends to the head, where the
symptoms first manifest themselves. The eff
fects upon the patients is various. Some are
seized with mania for gazing on the moon
always eulogizing the old beldam as pale>faced
Luna. Star gazing is another symptom,
which is regarded as good by cool judges
But if fever for writing or even reading
poetry sets in, the case is a hopeless one and
can only be cured by an application of mat
rimony.
Ordinarily the patient, while Iaboring un-
der this disease, is unfit for business. There
is sort of the will-o'-the wisp figure dancing
before his distorted vision, coming between
him in his daily labor, uniting him for so>
Der computation of units and tens: and ma>
king BALKAN of him generally. He suffers
loss of appetite-to the intense qualification
Of his landlady. lie looks upon bacon and
greens with utter contempt, and wants some
thing more ethereal. He thinks about tile
honey-dew of Hybla, and wishes some of the
drug stores in town had supply. He stu
dies Byron and Moore, and quotes from each
with remarkable facility. Lalla Rookh be-
comes fayorite, especially certain portion of
the Fire 'Worshipers.
The disease is confined to no particular age
or station. We had an attack of it when
about fifteen. 1t was so severe that our mo-
thcr wanted to give us paregoric: We told
her the pain wasn't that low down. We re-
covered in course of time. Once it broke
out fully in the shape of certain question
to certain lady. She answered in a mono
syllable of two letters. 1t brought us to our
senses. It swept the mist from our eyes like
fog before a hurricane. We looked for the
cloud, and saw large white bird sailing on
apond. Thought we were very much the
same kind of bird, with wings clipped. A
Jew days after, We told our chum that We
didn't see anything in that Haunting Dorothy
Diddle to admire. And we didn't
The disease developes itself most singu-
larly in those who are advanced in years.
Any one who has seen an old man in love
has seen NATURES harlequin, The old dame
gets up nothing more ludicrous, or more in
consistent. Every one feels like laughing at
the poor old fellows infirmity. We once saw
an old man who was suffering from an at
tack oft. He was far enough advanced in life
to have half dozen grand children. We
knew him we'll. He was the playmate of
our illustrious grandsire who wasn't a quar-
ter-master in the revolutionary war. If he
had been, we would have been better off than
we are now. We had noticed for some time
n singularity in his conduct We saw him
several times with roses stuck III his button
hole. We caught him once reading Burns
Highland Mary. We were out with him
once looking at his stock, and we asked which
was his favOrite heifer. He said ssWidow
Wilkins" The cat was out: We knew what
was the.m matter but when, several months
after, we saw him washing the dishes, while
the widow-that was-was nursing the baby,
We thought he was cured permanently.
There is no preventive for this disease
Like the whooping- cough and the mumps, it
comes to all mankind. But it seldom Kills
We have heard of persons dying of it, but
we have never seen a case of thak kind, and
are not willing to record it as fact All
the cases chat ever came under our own OBJ
servation, including our own promiscuous
cases, recovered in one way or other. Most
of the cures have been the result of wife
and few children. Most any preacher will
helpa person to the former, while the latter
eonae--in time. The more of them, the
sounder the cure.-AtIanta Nceo Era.