T H E TORCH OF REASON, S IL V E R T O N , OREGON, T H U R SD A Y , OCTOBER 21, 18iT
about H am let, and ten thousand
conjectures upon every other crea­
[ a ROMANCE BY SAMUEL P. PUTNAM.] tion of his m aster m ind, hut not
reciprocity depends. I his is one of one question raised about the m ys­
n atu re’s most persistent laws, and tery ol his ow n creation, or what
it will seek until it rinds what sa t­ were those rare and wondrous in­
isfies this dem and. Science, then, fluences which conjoined to mould
must teach men and women how Huch a consum m ate genius. But
to construct m arriage, for a happy the secret is there; in his parentage
and abiding m arriage can lie found­ resided those subtle affinities, those
ed only on these principle«. Do felicitous conditions, which flowed
you want faithful loves? They ex ­ to such magnificent ends
“ Now, it m ust he the work of
ist hy reasons which science can
unfold, and hy none other shall we science to find what are these
have them . Social evils m ay also sources of greatness. She need not
find remedy through these truths. despair, she has conquered greater
W hen men and women are fitly difficulties than these. Astronomy
joined they will not w ant to change. trium phs through the persevering
T he hem ispheres would fall ap art calculations of centuries. Medicine
betpre a m an will leave a woman laughs at the impossible, hut <>nlv
at the price of vigilance, her disci­
heim ost loves.
“‘‘One true love holds in it thees- ples also holding counsel with each
sence of all other loves, and a true other through the ages, scanning
love will never fail. It has the every form and trea tm en t of d is­
.q u alities of perpetual youth; it ease, and com piling exhauf-tless
W hat
never grows old, except as the ra r­ treaties in their behalf.
est wines gr<»w richer and stronger might not he done with the sam e
w ith age; it is alw ays fresh, because zeal in this new science? It s a
It draw s its essential life each from sham e th a t in th is nineteenth cen­
-the other, and so renews itself. tu ry of wonders she has scarcely a
¡Bulwer gives th is b rillian t ep ig ram : resource at her com m and, out of all
‘H e who has loved often has loved the treasure-house of the past.
fiever? Power is cum ulative, and Golden opportunities have b»jen
m ust centralize to become strong. lost; but tln-re are plenty left, it
The sam e with love. Love will man will wake up and use them .|
not yield her utterm ost « w e ts and lie
• m ust carefullv studv * and define
d e p th s except to one, hence various every force, condition, and fact
rand sim ultaneous loves a r e not con­ which enters into th e ancestry of
sistent a t once with depth and en- genius. Instances m ust he noted,
durence of love, and promiscuous d ata and stati-tics gathered, which
loves are possible only as they are shall form an encyclopaedia of
superficial and selfish. When m an every m anifestation and circum ­
stance entering into the physical
seeks women he loses woman.
“ I say we ca n ’t afford to let the and psychical constitution of genius
church or state monopolize all the and w hich shall furnish a com plete
au th o rity on this subject anv longer. sum m ary of the organic qualities,
It w'orks to the regeneration of o u r 1 tem peram ents, dispositions, tastes,
race; and, as s«eh, science must pursuits, intelligence, a n d culture,
take a part in it.
belonging to the parentage of every
x‘Th«Te are deep and underlying philosopher, poet, inventor, and
principles at the root of m arriage artist known to fame. W hat in v al­
o f more im portance to the world uable aid it won 1<I he to science if
th an it has ever dream ed. They it had preserved a record of these
are m any; hut I speak now of hered­ ancestral facts in the lives of Ho­
ity, because the laws of love are mer, Galileo, P lato, Byron, Shelley,
one with heredity. They w’ork to Elizabeth B arrett Browning, George
the-sam e end and integrity. Love Eliot, C harlotte Bronte, and the
is true to its own. Every strong innum erable dead, whose rapt and
and abiding love is made up of glowing visions still keep us coin
strength and virtue, energizing and panv, and form a living h o s t”
creative principles which do not
“ If these tru th s are so im portant
end with themselves, hut reach on and far-roaching, ought they not
to the fulfilm ent of loves purpose, to speak for them selves, and m>t de­
and so restanip and perpetuate pend oil science to expound them ?
themselves. A great and enduring W hat can outreach hum an feeling?
love im plies such an adaption of If th at cannot guide us, may we
m eans to ends as must involve the not well despair of science? In
harm ony of its whole scheme, and deed, if feeling is worth anything,
so give a prom ise to its fruits. Who should it not agree with science,
shall say th a t Beethoven was not w hether conscious of the agreem ent
th e product of such harm ony,— or not; and so, justifying itself
him self an embodied sym phony, eqally with science, m ay we not
whose source was pre-arranged, ami dis|w?nse with the science?”
set in these m ighty processes of
“ I cannot sav to w hat extent
life and love? Loqk at i t ! How feeling is blind, and must he edu­
absurd th a t the world lias never cated like every other sense. I a d ­
thought to ask one question about mit the im pulse to love, as an in ­
the m other of Shakspere, as helping stinct, can he left to itself, the same
to solve the problem of his great­ as m an’s appetite for food; hut what
n ess’ Volumes have been written to eat—-what is poison, and what
GOLDEN
THRONE.
nourishm ent— has not been left to iuglv do these laws act, as noted
mere taste alone. Science and ex­ by observation and study, th at,
perience has long ago broadened given sufficient d ata, the chances
m an’s knowledge here. Besides, we of success in love may he calculated
don’t know w hat feeling m ight do, as easily as an eclipse! Like a
if everything was right to start m athem atical problem , you can
Given the
with.
Ignorance and sin have prove it both ways.
m ightily disordered things, and known q u a n tity — love—and the or­
tnrowu obstacles in the way of feel­ ganic constituents of the lovers,
ing. Feeling is broad, but the con­ and I will tell you the sum of it
ditions for its exercise are narrow. all; or, given the result of a love or
Thv fact is, th a t feeling has never m arriage, I will tell you the organic
had a respectable chance for itself, relations of the other q u an tities.”
“ Well, your enthusiasm does
especially with woman. For in ­
stance, give a woman the privilege am ount to the sublim e,” laughed
of «election out of al, the eligible C harlie; “ you could make a h an d ­
men in the world, and say, ‘take some trade out of your science, tell­
your choice, hut choose wisely,’ and ing the fortunes of lovers.”
“ This is the idea,” answered the
I believe her choice woubl show
a perfect concurrence between feel­ doctor. “ I f science doesn’t go so far
ing and science. Be this as it may, as to tell folks where to find suc­
we need all the help we can gel cessful loves, it can at least tell
from knowledge; there will still be where they won’t find th em .”
“ I believe,” said W ill, “ that
trouble enough. As things go now,
it is the merest accident if a man thoughtful minds are brooding over
or woman falls in love right; and these things more th an is generally
the chances arc ten to one th a t m ar­ supposed. There is much feeling
riage will end in a tragedy. M any vaguely afloat th a t som ething is
unfortunate episodes of love are wrong, either in m arriage as a sys­
due to various interventions throw n tem, or in its abuse.”
“ Yes,” continued the d o c t o r ,
in the way of aflection, which, if
unchecked at I he outset, would “ health, intellect, and heautv are
flow to no evil; hut, impeded, it l)e- all at stake in this m atter. I re­
eomes a disease, which, once fast­ cently heard a lady severely con­
ened to a victim, is hound to run its demn another because she refused
course. It is <1 mgerous, ami should to live with her husband. Said she,
he deprecate d .—these u n n a tu ra l re­ “my m other alw ays lived with my
strain ts to feeling. A bnorm al con­ father, although she perfectly hated
ditions of m ind and body ensue to him ; >et f<>rthe sake of her children
induce too great susceptibility, and she would not leave him .’ I in ­
the im agination is ready to lay wardly rem onstrated against such
hold of almost any available— and a m istaken sense of duty, and
too often it happens the most incon­ wished for the sake of science I
gruous—object. V ictor Hugo u n ­ could know the fruits of such a
I have since learned
derstands this phase of love, when m arriage.
he writes of ‘dangerous m om ents to th a t some of the children had been
an isolated young girl, whose heart insane. One was alm ost imbecile,
is like th<* tendrils of a vine, which while an u tter lack of sym pathy
seiz • hold, as chance determ ines, of and love existed between them all
’ he capital of a colum n, or the sign­ I t is a curse to bear children in
post of a tav ern !’ There is much hatred. Forced m otherhood is in­
that passes for love th a t is only a iquitous; and a system is either
deep and awful w ant of love; and it wrong in itself,«or has much in itself
is th is wild hunger th a t is left to to reform , which makes it necessary
grow upon one, th at blinds the soul or possible for children to lie born
for a tim e to its finer needs of love. except in love. The prim e motive
But these needs of a fine and noble to m arriage should be love and hap­
love will not long he denied. If piness. If this is not so. of what
not realized, another hunger fol­ use is m arriag e?”
“ M arriage is deemed necessary
lows, to the disgust and death of
love. H appy for such, if not bound j to insure responsibility and order
fast when love’s illusion wrapped in the protection of ch ild ren ,” a n ­
swered C harlie.
them in a h alo!”
“ G ran ted , and you m ake virtual
“ How can you help these th in g s?”
ask' d W ill; “ folks will alw ays m ake adm ission th a t m arriage, as a legal
in stitu tio n , rests upon no claim s of
fools of them selves.”
“ W hy, th a t’s what I’ve been ta lk ­ its own, but upon those of offspring.
ing about; teach them the science If a t this point all su p ern atu ral
of th is thing. It won’t h u rt any- dictum for m arriage is removed, its
claim s become reduced to those
hodv, and may do a little good.”
“ The trouble in such cases is,” which are purely n atu ral. It is to
said the doctor, resum ing the same these n a tu ra l claim s I would ap ­
argum ent, “ that lovers don’t want peal, as the true and only sanction
to cool down. True, science m ight tion for m arriage. We have found
n«»t keep them from the h allu cin a­ th a t m arriage has no object or value,
tion, and its first and tran sito ry and should therefore have no claim s
phases of passion, but it woubl save in itself, except those of love. Now,
them from m arriage, by showing
when love ceases to such a degree
them at fitst their co n stitu tio n al i
as to m ake m arriage »»dious, and
unfitnes* for each other.
“ W hy, do you know, mo u n e re -, subvert the very purpose for which