The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-24
IS ROMANCE DEAD?
By MARGUERITE NJ. MARSHALL


 Is romance dead? Is the great love thing of the past? Is it no longer felt, no longer ispired by men and women of today? And if, indeed, ITO nance was with us yesterday" but not in the present hour, who or what is to blame? Doesn't the modern man know how to love? Or is the modern girl incapable of kindling a truly romantic passion?
 We thought it would be interesting to discuss the question, after reading the following letter from a contribu- tor who signs himself "Dr. Jekyl," and who starts off with a quotation from an article by Dr. G. Stanley Hall in the American Magazine: Tn our modern world most people pass through life without ever experience ing the tremendous energizing effect of perfect abandon. They feel affec- tion, but they never know the trans forming influence of great love- '
 Precisely" comments "Dr. Jekyll." flor most of us romance, like MT. Pulitzer's indispensable man, is not.
 "The average modern courtship is a prosaic affair; efficient and satis- factory, no doubt, but it does not present material for 10 feet of film during its entire course.
 "In consequence we devour novels, we crowd into theatres, we make idols of movie stanS-for each of these agencies caters to our insatia- ble desire for romance, which all of us crave and none obtains.
 "Why does a woman listen 10 a smooth scoundrel,' as you somewhat harshly call him? Because he gives her romance! The genuine, artistic philanderer is a rarity; the average man is too impatient and self-con- scious to use much real finesse.
 But occasionally there appears a man who can and will take pains to act the ardent lover with as much studied care as do the matinee idols. Mark him well, for, like Cassius, such men are dangerous.
 ITO those who aspire to the con- quest of feminine hearts I would of fer this advice: Be romantic! You need not be wealthy. You need not be good looking. You need not be spectacular. But you must be diff ferent-.-you must be romantic. This is the first and greatest command ment."
 Mrs. Alice Foote MacDougall, after IT years in business, says that it is a cruel and distressing life for wom- en. Gina Lombroso is first vice presi- dent of the Men Who Would Save Women From Themselves club, but we nominate Mrs. MacDougall for second vice president. (Of course, Charles G. Norris, author of Bread" is president.)
 Among business women there are undoubtedly martyr complexes. Busi- ness life may be cruel and distress ing for them, so may married life, or professional life, or the life of a splendid sinner. In a word, life.
 And what does Mrs. MacDougall, or anybody else, propose to do about it?
 Speaking of life, nobody says more in smaller compass than the French man, whose name we don't know. but who wrote the following quat rains:
 La vie est vaine,
 Un peu d'amour-
 Un peu de haine-
 Et puis--bon jour!
 La vie est breve,
 Un peu d'espoir-
 Un peu de reve-
 Et puis--bon soirl When The Wife's At School Will The
 Husband Play FooIs
 For Vassar alumnae who are also bored wives a school Is to be pro- vided, according. to President Henry Noble MacCracken.
 For the husband of bored Vassar alumnae it is evident that vacationj approaches!
 The average German blonde is re- ported to have 90 miles of hair.i This long distance method of computing the coiffure reminds us of the ac- count of a dream recently published in the Atlantic Monthly, To the dreamer a heather king presented eight small pieces of cardboard, on each of which was drawn pig, and ordered that they be placed end to end and yet be made to cover mile. Pigs have hair" argued the dreamer.
 "Yes," said the King.
 And hair is fur"
 "Yes." And fur is long-and eight fur longs make a mile."
 You win." said the King.
 Ninety per cent of. women's silk stockings are bought by men. accord- ing to an investigation by Columbia professors.
 Instead of Say it with posies," the gift bearing males slogan is Say it with hose-s!"
 
 The otter is unusual. for it's habit of coasting down hill, using the snow in winter and making slides Aa ar,l~ nf nt 10 GO n