Be it
remembered that there must always be something to smite one. We may be
smitten by a scoundrel, or by something unworthy our affections. Empty
titles and mustaches often smite the susceptible young. Sometimes the heart
is smitten by a pretty face and form; and sometimes by a rod of gold. The
simple fact that we are smitten is not enough; we should know who or what
it is that smites us. When we are drawn to each other, it should be by a
true cord, and by an influence which binds and cements for life. The
influence of mere outward beauty is a false one. Those who are smitten by
it, and drawn thus into a matrimonial union by an interest which is but
skin-deep, and which may fade like the morning flower, are allured by a
dazzling meteor, by a mere bubble, beautifully formed and colored, but
empty within. It may dazzle the eye, but it blinds us to all its blemishes
and inward infirmities. It is deceptive. Often beneath its gaudy veil there
lies the viper, ready to poison all the sweets of home-life, and cause its
victim to lament over his folly with bitter tears and heart-burning
remorse. How soon may beauty fade; and what then, if it was the only basis
of your marriage choice? The union which rested upon it must then be at
least morally dissolved; and that which once flitted like an impersonated
charm before your admiring eye, now becomes an object of disgust and a
source of misery.
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