Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1903-11-25
HOW MUCH DOES
A MAN LOVE "A WOMAN

How much does a man love a wo-
man?" The question, asked in more
than one popular novel of the day and
mooted by several correspondents, is
Of those to which there can be no
definite answer. AS we'll assign q
fixed velocity to the wind, which
"bloweth where it listeth;" the wind
dies to a dead calm one day and RACES
as a hurricane the next.
There are men and men, and what
is still more important in tho problem,
there are also women and women.
To on mar love may be merely an
episo le, a flower plucked by the way
side, and worn until faded, then cast
aside readily for another quite as
pretty Il his eyes. To another man,
on the contrary, it may be as the
breath Of life, bound with all his
heartstrings," his cherished vine and
hg tree under which he builds mis-
home, and the loss Of which leaves
him desolate. One can measure feel
ing and emotion only by their visible
effects.
There have been men, not a few,
who. crave love, have counted all else
worthless without It, and finding the
one precious drop lacking in the cup
Of life have cast the goblet from them
and gone shrieking out into the dark
unknown, cursing fate and defying the
future, in mad despair at It's absence.
Fortunately for the race, men and
women alike, such lovers are the ex.
certion. There arc many more men
who love as we'll, but more salely,
who, denied their hearts desire, are
~henccforth bankrupt in love, yet who
live their lives as BELTS men and do
their duty to the worll and their
maker as well, perhaps better than
they might have done If the venture
upon which they risked all their hopes
Of happiness had been successful.
According to the gospel no man
hath the right to live solely unto him.
self. "who art thou, o man." asks a
quaint old writer, that thou shouldst
expect happiness? Learn instead to
do the work which God giveth thee,
not bewailing It's hardness, and SO
shalt thou find blcs3ednoss, which is
better" There be some who must
toll in the dark while others labor
in the full light Of the sun, and coal
and corr are alike essential TO the
welfare OF mankind.
With all the ridicule poured Upon
the head Of the lukewarm lover, it
is doubtless far better for all con.
cerned that most men love moderately
and are not inconsolable when dlsap-
pointed. The man who succeeds in
life is not he who bemoaas the fish
which has escaped him and tells him.
self over and over how greatly II vas
to be desired, but he who, recognizing
the fact that the loss is final, forthwith
baits his hook and proceeds to catch
another. Crying over split milk is a
prohtless occupation. The fox in the
fable who decided that grapes beyond
his reach we're not worth having was
wise, and for those who can achieve II
such belief, though It may not be true
philosophy, is unquestionably comfort
able.
Neither is It given to all men cor.
rectly 10 realize the difference be
tween the heart food. II love-" and
the clear ice drops, 81 esteem" a diff
ference which has sometimes driven
other men mad, They are calm and
phlegmatic, with no vain longings
for the unattainable, To such a one
any well conducted woman who will
govern his household to suit him,
bear his children, and make him con
Portable is a satisfactory spouse. He.
has small opinion OF sentiment, but
he cherishes his wife in his way and
is what the world at large terms a
good husband. II his wife dies his
sorrow, which scarcely amounts 10
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