The Washington herald., 1911-09-03
Women Easy Victims of
Cupid

fatal facility for falling in love, caustic
saying which, while it has its exceptions
leAS in the main is true. Ordinarily it is little
or no trouble for girl to fancy herself
in love. "A burnt child dreads the fire." and wom-
who have burnt their fingers, so to speak, may
learn to be wary; but the majority of women al
ways in love from the cradle to the gave either
with more frequently with some ideal
which their fancy has conjured up. From the time
a girl baby is old enough to know anything she is
taught in one way another that her principal
business in life is to please that love be
her chief occupation. and that the more attention
she receives from the other the pleasanter
things will be for her.
Now, if the girl who is disposed to be foolishly
sentimental only could be persuaded that her ability
to fall in love sight in the nature of an in
herited malady which usually might be cured by a
good, sound dose of common sense, she would save
herself and probably others much suffering. Fall
ing in love! The term itself is suggestive of sort
of predestinated helplessness But any attempt so
to convince her would offend her gTeviouslv She
takes herself and.her love affairs seriously She be-
lieves every thrill oS the pulses every touch of
heart throb deep and permanent affection; and only
too often slight and intermittent attack of the
love fever ends in wedding, to be followed by the
chill of disillusion and Disappointment
OF all the dangers which beset the life path of
woman there is none so great or so disastrous
as this Of fancyng herself in love when she really
and thousands of hearts and wrecked innumerable
lives,I and there is more urgent counsel which
can be given to young and inexperienced girls than
that to beware in this respect-not to accept a
passing fancy and temporary tenderness as the
grand passion; not to believe themselves in love
until they so completely are knocked over as to
be "out of the ring" No woman need fear that
She will not know when she really falls in love
"for keeps 1t often has been said that love is like
the grip You may mistake dozen slight attacks
of cold and fever for the disease if you never have
had it. but when the real malady lays its hold upon
y9u you do not need physician to tell you what
is the matter with you; you know in every nerve
and fibre of your body.
The fact that women taught from their
youth up to live in their emotions and il were,
to keep their affections always on tap naturally
renders them easy victims to illusion in love; but
before any girl decides that she Is ready to sur
render for good and all she It to herself and
also to what lawyers call "the party of the sec
ond part" to put herself strictly to question.
The oft quoted saying Of famous English so
elety woman that no woman should attach any
Importance to q ballroom proposal-that man
should be taken seriously unless he came on pur-
pose and made his offer st II a. M.--has warp
of truth which never viii grow threadbare. Time
and place have much TO do with the emotions, and
colors seen under the light of chandelier, with
music to fili up the pauses" are by no neans the
same as IN the eooi-perhaps grsy-iEht OF the