IS IT LOVE? // part two

Continuing from where we left off yesterday...

LOVE ADVICE FROM THE VICTORIANS!

(part two)

IS THIS LOVE I FEEL, OR JUST A FLEETING PASSION OF THE HEART?

Make a mental note of the statements that are true of your feelings.

• Are you in love with the ideal of your beloved, rather than with the actual man or woman before you, with all of his or her imperfections?
• Are you more amiable towards him/her now than you expect to be as his/her spouse?
• Is there any other man or woman in the world of whom it would give you pain to hear was to be married?
• Do you weary of your beloved’s presence and feel relieved when he/she goes away?
• Do his/her faults annoy and irritate you more than others’ faults do?
• Do you exercise more charity towards others than you do towards him/her?
• Do you ever feel ashamed of him/her, especially when you see him/her with your friends of high esteem?
• In this great change of becoming married, are you seeking an escape from duty to enjoyment?  Restraint to indulgence?  Wholesome discipline to perfect ease?
• Are you younger than age 22?  (22-24 is the ideal time to marry, according to the Victorians)
• Are you uneducated in economics?
• Are you weak and dependent spiritually?
• Do you harbor secret feelings or wishes in an attempt to be agreeable?
• Do you expect to always be flattered, indulged, or admired?

If you checked affirmative beside any of the above statements regarding yourself, it is suggested that while there is yet time, you eschew your beloved's acquaintance, and allow it gently to drop.  It is best not to pursue a course of marriage.

If you are one of those fortunate enough to have found yourself in a situation of such pure love (in which none of the above are true of you),  you may feel assured in betrothing yourself to your beloved, should the occasion present itself. Return tomorrow for the third and final installment...

"NOW THAT WE'RE ENGAGED, IS OUR LOVE GOING TO LAST?"