THE NEURASTHENIC FALLS IN LOVE.
In writing this sketch it is the endeavor to carry up the different
emotions and characteristics of my life in all their phases, as well as to
chronicle the vagaries resulting directly from alleged ailments. To do
this without seeming digressions and inconsistencies is not an easy task;
therefore this word of explanation seemed apropos.
In the affairs of the heart the neurasthenic is, as some one has said of
the heathen Chinee, "peculiar." As I have lived a life of celibacy so
long, I feel free to speak frankly on this matter. After reading this
chapter I am sure that no fair reader will picture me as her matinee idol;
and I am quite sure that no good woman would undertake the shaky job of
making me happy "forever and a day." She could never learn what I wanted
for breakfast. I never know myself, which for the present moment is
neither here nor there.
When very adolescent I was engrossed in a few exceedingly tame little love
affairs which were of short duration and easy to get over. These little
loves are like mumps and whooping-cough and other youthful affections:
they seem necessary, but seldom prove serious. Aside from these, I had
been proof against the tender passion throughout all that period of my
life when, according to the poet, "a young man's fancy lightly turns to
thoughts of love." While I was getting on in years the love germ was only
sleeping, and when it awakened all the lost time was soon made up. I had
always admired the female sex collectively and at a distance, but
individually no one had ever entered my life until I met Genevieve. The
plot thickens! While temporarily--I did everything temporarily--holding a
position on one of our daily papers, I suddenly became infatuated with
this young lady who occupied a type-writer's desk near my own. She was a
charming girl of twenty and I will dive into the matter by saying that I
was madly in love with her. She gave me every reason to believe that there
were responsive chords touched in her heart, and that my affection was
fully reciprocated. I became wilder every day! I could not be away from
this fair creature who had changed the whole current of my being. I was
supremely happy and looked at life through spectacles different from any I
ever had before. Life had a roseate hue that it had never before
possessed. Music was sweeter, flowers were prettier and pictures brighter
than ever before. I seemed to be walking around in poetry and at the same
time living up near heaven. While all this was true, I was at the same
time miserable--a sort of ecstatic misery. It took away my appetite, made
sleep impossible and filled my life with wavering hopes and fears. The
suspense was killing me! At the first opportunity I threw myself,
metaphorically, at her feet, and unburdened myself about in this manner:--
"Darling, you are my love and my life and I cannot, and will not, live
without you. What is your answer? Make up your mind before I do something
desperate. Don't let me over-persuade you, loved one, but if you think I
can make you happy, say the word. My life is in your hands. If you spurn
me I shall pass out of your life forever. Dear one, what will you do?
Pray, speak quickly!"
She was listening attentively and I repeated the question that I thought
would soon seal my fate: "_What will you do?_"
My charmer gave vent to a little chuckle and said: "_Suppose we mildew?_"
That was the proverbial "last straw" with me. Or to multiply similes, my
love was blighted like a tomato plant in an unseasonable frost, and I
vowed that since I was brought to my senses I would never make love to
another woman.
A few months later I had forgotten this incident. I happened one day to be
reading a book entitled _Ideals_ which gave much information on the
subject of life-mating. As the reader may infer I was still a great
reader. In fact I was a veritable walking-encyclopedia filled with a mass
of information, most of which was of no earthly account. The book in
question had a great deal to say concerning soul affinities, why marriages
were successes or failures, and gave rules for selecting a sweetheart who
would, of course, later bear a closer relationship. The writer thought
somewhere there was a soul attuned to our own, and that sooner or later we
would get in unison. This sounded nice and impressed me favorably, as
most new things did. I recalled that Genevieve was short on the affinity
part of the deal. With the aid of the book, I figured out that my ideal
was a beautiful blonde with soulful eyes, into whose liquid depths I
should some day feastingly gaze. I made up my mind that if ever, in an
unguarded moment, I should again try my hand at love-making, I would
temper it with science and the eternal fitness of things. I now knew how
it should be done.
Soon after this I was for a short time on the road as a commercial
traveler and had some opportunity to watch for my affinity. I at last was
rewarded by finding her in the daughter of a customer who lived in an
inland town. She, too, was a charming girl, and with me it was a case of
love at first sight. I realized at once that the Genevieve affair was
spurious and not the real thing. I thought how different was this case
with Eleanor--for that was the name my affinity bore. I adored this
queenly little maid with the golden hair, and resolved on my next visit to
her town to ask her to be mine. I was combining business and heart
matters in a way that enabled me to make Eleanor's little city quite
frequently. Unfortunately, before I made a return visit I was bruised up a
little in a railroad wreck, in consequence of which I went to a hospital
for repairs. It was nothing serious, but just enough to incapacitate me
for a few days, and I thought I would fare better in the hospital than at
a hotel. The nurse who attended me was a pretty brunette and she
captivated me. I would lie there and longingly watch for the re-appearance
of her natty uniform and sweet smile. Yes, I was desperately in love with
Josephine, for besides being fair to look upon, she could do something to
add to my comfort. I forgot all about Eleanor and ideals; not because I
was a trifler with the hearts of women, but simply because in this matter,
as in everything, I did not know my own mind. I was very reluctant to
leave the hospital and remained as long as I could. Before going, however,
I made love overtures toward Josephine. That lady smiled, not unkindly,
and then turned and picked up a magazine called _Nurses' Guide_. She
pointed to a bit of colloquy which read as follows:--
_Man Patient_--"Will you not promise me (groans) that when I recover (more
groans) you will fly with me?"
_Fair Nurse_--"Sure, I will; I have just promised a one-legged man who has
a wife and three children to run away with him. I will promise you
anything; _it's a part of the business_."
Once more I realized that I was simply living on the earth.
Whenever I found a young woman who combined good looks, real worth and a
practical mind, she was usually engaged to some one else. Perhaps I was
too hard to please. I would for a while admire brunettes and then suddenly
develop a preference for blondes. I would for another short season think
that tall girls were my choice, but in a little while my fancy would
switch around to those who were rather small and petite. Sometimes I
thought that only a woman who possessed musical and literary
accomplishments would ever find favor with me. Then again I would think,
should I ever marry, I would choose some little country lass and train her
up according to my ideas and ideals. So this has been my life-time
attitude toward the feminine half of the world. It is my weakness and not
my fault. In consequence of which, am I to be despised and rejected of
women?
But, womankind, you have nowhere a more ardent admirer and defender than
you will find in yours truly!