The Opelousas courier., 1889-02-23
n0HEARTS EVER BREAK?
.r,,ta Miseries Often Memorlzed
into Chronic Grief.
..nss,on or Even Duty May Assuage and
sndeed Quite Heal the Wounds Of
the Sighted Lover-The Wor
ship of Realities.S

sspce Washington Irving wrote his
.,orv Of 1.-THE Broken Heart no one
.lae has yentured to write one bearing
similar title. We have grown more
cynical and literal. 1t has been shown
al anatomically speaking, hearts do
nj break-at least, they very seldom
5o-and we refuse to accept the
nhrase in its metaphorical implica-
sion. Probably no burlesque was ever
more enjoyed than Camille; or the
Cracked Heart" Its enormous alb
snrdity was indorsed as a just satire
mon the facility with which that Or
can was assumed to sbe shattered. Al
verv long intervals We read in the
newspapers of a heart that has liter
INV burst from excess OF anguish in
ia nerson whose life blood it pro-
peled. Such a physiological phenom-
enon IS sure to awaken interest at a
period which worships reality so much
that when Joshua Whitcomb in the
,aOld Homestead" washes his face
with actual water from a bona
fde pump, the audience breaks
into d ~rapturous applause. But in
hearts that metaphorically break there
d little belief. The world is apt to
turn up its nose at them and say it is a,
vitv they had nothing better to do.
The world believes in being amused
Ehen ii IS not at work; and there is no
amussment in discovering that here and
there d human being is SO worried and
stricken with life's bewilderment as no
longer to be capable of holding up
against 1t bravely.
There are a good many strong and
eOarsely healthy natures, incapable OF
ieeling pleasure or pain with extreme
Intensity, who take the ground that
nothing is worth that abandonment of
sorrow which leaves mind or body too
weak for battle, Take, for instance,
one Of the deepest of all griefs, the
treaehery, perfidy and ingratitude of
one whom we have long and profound
edly loved, in whom we believed more
completely than in ourselves; fdr whom
We would have laid down. if necessary,
almost all that the world esteems good.
Whence is the compensation to come
that shall be balm to the wounded
spirit, cause it to feel any thing like the
happiness which once is felt, and pre-
sent to the imagination aught where
Eith memory will not interfere by call
Inc back the presence that has SO won
tonly departed? What is the secret
which explains the fact that we still
cling, perhaps through years, perhaps
through a lifetime, to tendcrest recol-
lections of those who have repaid love
with insolence, devotion with indiffer-
ence. generosity with selfishness. mag
nanimity with meannessP lis such
Ienacity weaknessp Then it is weak
ness In which some of the best women
excel and some of the best men are
proficient Is it explicable on the as
sumption that those who r as faith
less IS they are fascinating have an in
aeiectible charm of temperament and
manner which is the rarest possession
bf The most invincible virtue? Do the
lalse and the treacherous bind US by
aspell which honor might be glad tc
0Wag Does Lothario remain potent
eyen 70 those he has abandoned. be
cause his magnetism is sweeter, finer
apbtaer than Chevalier Bayard'sP
Then again, do hearts really break
always I'M the metaphysical meaning
e TIE shock ever SO violent and per
manent that life loses forever after
considerable portion OF the comfor
and happiness it formerly hadp Doe
nos the deceived friend, when The
irenzy Of the first twenty-four hours j
over Q recover from his disilluslol
sad not only conduct his business q
though nothing important had hap
pensds but eat with undiminished ap
petate and sleep dreamlessly and well
Dees Werther, even If he abstains iron
suicide, always live on with o hear
which simply performs its muscuia
Raty M q manner more or less I'm
paired to be sure, but which neve
npEA beats to passion, because passlo
eaa never more be felta Are there nc
1aaallles who forget their Armands 9
saey conquer their consumption an
eestle down into unremorsefu an
aeEai-respectable middle age? DO IN
measurable disappointments AWAY
saRke existence q desert? Is there ne
sAeh y thing as forgetfulness 9
Aeasa miseries instead Of men
efAzAng them into chronic griefs
peesnot the expectant treatment ofts
sAsN the most bruised and bleedin
soal-expsctancy that still looks 4
ealplness, both in this world and e
@aEsa 10 Gomez is there no trt
en4aesophy In that vulgar maxim Whle
5%slaaslls us there are aa good fish in a
a3 y evsr were taken out? Can It
fssSaale that any two souls, IN spite
I'D alyergences, are 30 made for eat
~ when sandered by imperative ia
ssaf again can ever find q twinp
ns ~ not wise enough to ansW'
81 Naese questions which we 50 blith
Rpiound Al year after year null