The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-03-10

From this 1t would appear that what,
Is sentimental sauce for the goose is
not rich enough sauce for the gander;
that a wifes love for her husband is
four times as valuable as his love for
her, and that when he loses her affec-
ton he has sustained four times as
great misfortune as his wife does
when she loses her husbands love.
The jury's appraisement of masculine
and feminine love gives us pause for
thought. Yet when we consider the diff
ference between the quantity of wom-
ans love, we can but agree that it was
nothing more than just that the penalty
for the theft of one was rated as mere
petty larceny, while the other consti-
tuted high robbery and misdemeanor
and was punished as such.
Reflect upon the manner in (which
man loves, and the way in which wom-
an loves. MANS love is of his life
thing, apart, tits woman's whole exist
ence. Men have died, and worms have
eaten them, but not for love" Thus
declare the poets, and nobody has ever
disproved the assertion. A man gives
to his wife the fragment of his heart
that is not set upon himself; the frac-
ton of his interest that is not devoted
to his work in his career; the portion
Of his time that is not taken up by bus
mess or golf, or his other pursuits,
Mans affection Is a bit of chiffon
that ne drapes about woman when
she is young and pretty. 1t is lovely
thing, but it lacks wearing qualities,
husbands love for his wife depends
on her age, her looks, her health, her
high spirits. If he Is devoted to her,
and faithful to her still after she gets
old, and fat, and grizzled headed, or
becomes a peevish invalid everyone
marvels at his constancy and it is the
consensus of opinion that he should be
given the Croix de Guerre of matri-
mony.
In view of the evanescent quality of
masculine affection it is easy to see
why the wives who sue sirens for van'p-
] ing their husbands never get big dam
ages. Juries do not hold that they are
entitled to them, or consider that they
have lost anything very valuable. The
most they have been robbed of Is
pinchback breastpin that may have been
useful in holding things together, but
is no priceless Jewel.
On the other hand, a wifes affection
is the most indestructable object on
earth. Hers is the love that is all
wool and yard wide, and that is guar
anteed not to run, nor shrink, nor fade
in the wash, and to stand theNwear and
4 tear of life.
She can love the unlovable. She can
q be faithful to Sthe faithless. She can
4 fish a man out of a gutter, wash him
clean with tears, and set him. up on a
pedestal and make little tin god OF
q him. So he who possesses woman,s
Il heart has not only source of daily
comfort, and strength sustaining, but he
( has also a piece Of bric-a-brac that IS
constant curiosity and wonder to all
who observe it, and that is valuable
beyond all reckoning.
More than that, a mans wire IS Ms
caterer, his laundress, his valet, ms
conscience, his saving bank. his safety
valve, his salve spreader, his sparring
partner, his standing excuse for every
thing he does and omits to do, and Tor
him to be robbed of all of that aggre-
cation of convenences is to leave MIN
poor and desolate indeed
In intimating how much man loses
when he has his wife's affections pur-
Joined from him, we must also take
\ into account the fact that it diminishes
his earning capacity and reduces his
chances of success, because 1t removes
his strongest incentive to effort.
n In the old romantic days man IN
&love proved his devotion by putting on
8his armor, mounting his battle. steed
and faring forth to deeds of valor
for his lady love. In these times the
.sInan in love proves his devotion by
Khustling out and making money, or get
s ting somewhere, to prove his attectlon
for the woman he loves.
Comparatively few men ever achieve
success or save money, or hold down
Va big Job until after they get married.
lit is when a man has a wife whom he
sloves and for whom he wants limou-
sines, and diamonds and fine houses,
&that he rolls up his sleeve and does the
8work that counts,
q There is a direct ratio between a
rams earning ability and what, he
8tninks of his wife, for men cash in their
b affections in dollars and cents. And,
curiously enough, just as mans love
for his wife leads him on to prosperity,
a an unlawful love nearly always spells
Z disaster to him, and many a mans
bankruptcy and ruin has begun in his
d flirtations.
1t is because domestic affection means
peace, and happiness, and calm mind,
and ambition, and prosperity that
wife's love is so valuable, and the man
who is robbed of it has lost his cher
worldly possession, and Is entitled TO
ouch compensation as the courts can
give him.
But as a matter of cold fact, not many
men or women are really robbed of their
wife's or husbands affection. They
lose them through their. own careless
ness, and if they had been attending
10 business watching and guarding the
Precious thing intrusted to their care,
it would have been safe from the depre-
dations of sneak thieves