The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-12-17
SOME FAMOUS LOVE AFFAIRS.

Love affairs may become famous In them
selves from their Intensity. lhsir length. tho
nsure they cut In . Law court, or from any
thing clso out Of the common connected with
Thorn. Or they are famous because they ere
or were the afAirs OF celebrated people. II
| Is In this latter sense that we use the phrase.
| II the most commonplace wooing OF the most
commonplace people possesses an Irresistible
interest, what shall DO said when the loves
on which we look are tho loves Of the In.
mortals?
And nrst let US think how some Of those
whose especial study IL love-that 10 to say.
the poets--have managed their own love af-
fairs. 1t Is true that poctasters and pretend
ers to genius have always had short tempers
and wild. undomcstio ways. but what OF real
poets and those who have the long patience
ef real genius? II would seem that for good
family mon who can love their wives and
bring up their children sespectabiy they can
rot be beaten.
"Men do not make their homes unhappy
because they have genius" says Wordsworth.
.'but because they have not enough genius.
A mind and sentiment OF higher order would
render them capable Of seeing and feeling
nil the beauty OF domestic ties" or this
| Wordsworth himself is an example. Miss
,Martineau. who was neishbor OF his. de-
scribes how very happily he ana his wifs
went down the hill of life together. They
seemed like lovers counting. they were 80
tender md attentive to each other"
~
| Referring to tho obscurity of much OF
Browning's poetry, Wordsworth said, when
he heard that the poet was going to marry
Miss Barrett. the poetess: Il hope they'll
understand one another" Certainly Mrs,
Brown ing did think she understood her hus-
band. for sho wrote to friend mob "dy
exactly understands him except me- who am
In tho inside OF him and hear him breathe"
| II It is n risk to marry any poet. 1. seemed
to Miss Barrett's friends tempting OF prov
idence and doubling Of this risk for two of
this irritable profession to wed. Contrary
to expectations the result was exceptional
happiness In the biography OF Robert Brown
ling there are the following words which ought
to be considered by all who would solve the
problem how 10 be happy though married. ~
"The deep heart-love. the many sided In
tellectual sympathy, preserved their union
in rare beauty to the end. But to say that
II thus maintained itself as II by magic,
without effort of self-sacrihce on his part
or of resignation on hers. would be as unjust
TO the noble qualities of both as it would
be false to assert that It's compsnsating hap
piness had ever failed them
The other great master OF song belonging
TO our time and country was also conspicu
GUS for conjugal felicity. In 1850 Tennyson
married Miss Emily ssilwood. the daughter
of solicitor The young couple liVed io'
the first two years at Twickcnham, Their
first baby died, but In 1853 there was another.
n wear old crazy with laughter and babhie
and earth's new wine" liz SIC same year
-rennyson was described by Charles Kings
lev with whom be was staying, az i'm
proved by the birth of his child" In Amer
.ca, too Longfelow and Lowell were excel
LENT husbands
No more beautiful love OF man ana womai
Ia on record than that of Dante for Beatrice
whom he saw first in 1874, He only met nc
once or twice. nevertheless when she mar
, ried he fel-4efAously Ill, and when abe died
as She did shortly after. his life was In dan
ger. and he became "a thing Wild and saw
age to look upon" Throughout the cheer
less wanderings of storm beaten existence
beatrice was the muse OF his intellect and
the angel OF his soul
On the 9Th OF April, 1927. happened the most
famous event In Petrarch's history He sa"
Laura for the first time. Who Laura WAS
remains uncertain still. We may, however
reject tho skeptical hypothesis that she was
n mere figment of the poets fancy ana II
we accept her personal reality, tho poems OF
her lover demonstrate that she WINS mar
ried woman, with when he enjoyed re-
spoetful and not very intimate friendship
~
Tho poet and divine, John Donne, who be
came dean of ST. paul's in 1921, had married
a lady belonging TO rich Family without
the consent Of her parents, and In conse
ouence was treated with great asperity; II
fact. he was told by his father n-law tina
he was not TO expect any money from him
The doctor went home and peIred the pithI
note. "John Dome, Anne Dome. undone.
which he sent to the gentleman In question
and this had tho effect OF restoring them L
favor. The couple were very poor at irst
hut things soon got brighter, and they livet
mos, happily together until Mrs. Donne who
had been married when only sixteen year,
of age died sixteen years afterward at tn
birth OF her twelfth child.
Another poet and divine who was not uh
done by his marriage but greatly helped ant
comforted was George Herbert. II was oil
! exception to the marrying In haste and re
ptrting at leisure. for he and his wife mar
lied on the third day after their hrst inter
view and there was never any opposition be-
, twixt them, unless It were contest whict
should most Incline to compliance Win In
others desires" Herbert made his wifs =
aImoner and paid to her regularly tenth o.
all he received as tithes. to be spent on TN
poor OF his parish,
There was an exception, however. TO TN
rule OF marrying In haste and repenting a
leisure in the case Of Walter Savage Lando
and his wife. The poet met his future wiz
Mt a ball. and determined on the instant Il
marry her Not long after he had done 81
Mrs. Lander came TO think that "a CONVEX
I, sation with her husband was incomplete with
out a quarrel" Even In the honeymoon sh
; wounded the poor mans vanity. Lander wal
reading some Of his own verses to his brid
-and who read more exquisitely f-when al
at once the lady. releasing herself from hi
arm, jumped up. saying: "oh. do stop. Wal
J ter. there's that dear. delightful Punch per
! forming in the strsst; must look out OF tn
window"
I'll And nh ~ there be an Elysium on earth,