INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 



emblematical of his fleeting and inconstant character, and 

 with a fillet over his eyes, as indicating the uncertainty 

 with which he aims his darts; as also symbolical of that 

 blindness with which all mankind are proverbially said to 

 be stricken, when they yield, without submitting to the 

 guidance of reason, to the influence of his fatal inspiration. 

 It is also the characteristic of such an inspiration to despise 

 love bestowed ere sought for, and to account it worthless. 

 It looks for difficulty in conquest, regarding the fair one 

 who will not easily be won as only worth the winning. 



In such a contest for victory, a half-avowal of reciprocal 

 afifection is more charming than an absolute acknowledg- 

 ment; and the yielding up of a flower or a bouquet has 

 made one far happier than the far-fetched expressions 

 of a most tender note. The art of love-making is, with 

 women, the art of self-defence ; the more scrupulous and 

 delicate they are, the more worthy are they of the homage 

 rendered to them. Madame de Maintenon, who is said to 

 have subdued the most inconstant of kings, revealed the 

 secret of her power, when she said, *' I never send him away 

 content, never without hope." 



Genuine affection knows neither trickery nor calculation. 

 Simplicity and sincerity are its strength. That alone paves 

 the way for a holy union, for a happy marriage. Without 

 it all would languish and perish. A heart filled with in- 

 difference has never known what exalted devotion is. It 



