North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1869-06-02
Loves ExiRencles.

Loves ExiEencies.
Readers Of Shakespeare are often inclined
to be vexed with the mighty master for
making his heroes and heroines so fckle--
or at least SO hasty-in their love affairs
"was ever woman in this fashion woocd?
Was ever woman in this fashion woni"
We are prone to exclaim, when we find
some graceful young lady meet, admire,
and accent lover all in a few minutes
with a fine Indifference to what he is
what he has done, or what he is likely to
be. So with the men. Look at the
changeful Protcus in the 1.-TWO gentlemen
OF Verona Valentine introduces him to
the peerless Silvia and in few moments
Proteus is deeply in love with her, and
has quite forgotten Julia. His own des-
cription OF the position is almost comical
in its simplicity:
"Even as one heat another heat expels.
Or one nail bv strength drives out another:
SO the remembra nee of my former love
Is by newer object quite forge item"
Then Silvia transfers her affection from
Valentine to Proteus and Valentine
transfers his affection from Silvia to Julia;
and Julia. to complete the little arrange
ment-not to stand in the way, as it were,
of comfortable cimax--transfers her
affection from Proteus to Valentine and
they all resolve to get married on the
same day.
Doubtless much of this apparent alb
ruptness is due to the exigencies of the
stage. Dramas are only compressed lives;
and, especially in the compression Of love-
making, all the fine and delicate by-play
which would extend over weeks or months
or years, in actual life, must be omitted
In the drama we have the more prominent
phenomena-the marked stages-linked
together as artistically as possible, but
often showing signs of disconnection to
which no advertisement Of ''ive years
having elapsed between the first and sec
ond acts' is likely to reconcile us. In
real life we should look upon the man who
fell in love, proposed. was accepted, and
married, all within week, as an unhap-
py wretch. He has experienced none Of
the rare delights and torrents, the doubts,
miss ivings, and aspirations Of awakening
love he has not even an extended con-
seriousness Of the beautiful period when
the lover, having won the love of his par
tcular lady, finds himself
"as rich in having such jewel
As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl
The water nectar, and the rocks pure gold"
Just as the air is beginning to throb with
the harmonies of love-when hope and
doubt are mingled, and the alternatives of
despair and JOY arc composing wonderful
melodies, full Of pastoral symphonies and
songs without words-the wretched crea-
ture shuts off the music, withdraws into
domesticity, and (metaphorically) instead
of blowing the bellows of a grand organ,
descends to the turning Of mang'e. We
beg, therefore, to record our conviction
that what is called ''love at first sight" is
blunder, and that a marriage inme-
diately following it almost reaches the
dimensions of crime. PROFESSIONALLY,
when man seriously falls in love, he
naturally wishes to marry the object of
his choice but, to look at the matter from
utilitarian point of view, it is in the
postponement of the wish that all the fun
lies. lie need not be in hurry to get
married. He will get plenty of marriage
erb warning people against suicide, which
tells them that ''when one is dead, it is
for leng time" When one marries, it
is for long time. There are some un-
happy persons who, when they 60 out for
ramble into the country, have scarcely
thought for anything but the end Of
their journey. They Fix their gaze SO
persistently on their destination, that they
cannot drink in the beautiful sights and
sounds around them-the tender color of
the way-side flowers, the yellow light Of
cornfields, d the moving majesty of the
clouds. They long to take their ease in
their inn, and surrender themselves to the
quiet pleasures of dinner and the toasting
of their feet before the fire. Why not
enjoy both morning and afternoon ?-why
not linger by the way and dream day
dreams and spin sweet imaginings out of
the light materials of sunshine and color
and the sweet air, and then, when the
inevitable dinner and rest arrive, surren-
der oneself to the calm and comfort Of
that period also? Only let it be clearly
understood that there is to be an end to
the journey. TO make love for the mere
pleasure of making love-without a
thought of the tender associations con-
nected with marriage and the long life
which follows marriage-seems to us the
most barren of amusements. 1t is form
of eating the east wind, upon which no
human being can live profitably