and let them go. By the time decent people
reach middle age they have weeded their circle pretty well of these
unfortunates, unless they have a taste for such animals; in which case, no
matter what their position may be, there is something, you may be sure, in
their natures akin to that of their wretched parasites.

----The divinity-student wished to know what I thought of affinities, as
well as of antipathies; did I believe in love at first sight?

Sir,--said I,--all men love all women. That is the _prima-facie_ aspect of
the case. The Court of Nature assumes the law to be, that all men do so;
and the individual man is bound to show cause why he does not love any
particular woman. A man, says one of my old black-letter law-books, may
show divers good reasons, as thus; He hath not seen the person named in
the indictment; she is of tender age, or the reverse of that; she hath
certain personal disqualifications,--as, for instance, she is a
blackamoor, or hath an ill-favored countenance; or, his capacity of loving
being limited, his affections are engrossed by a previous comer; and so of
other conditions. Not the less is it true that he is bound by duty and
inclined by nature to love each and every woman. Therefore it is that each
woman virtually summons every man to show cause why he doth not love her.
This is not by written document, or direct speech, for the most part, but
by certain signs of silk, gold, and other materials, which say to all
men,--Look on me and love, as in duty bound. Then the man pleadeth his
special incapacity, whatsoever that may be,--as, for instance,
impecuniosity, or that he hath one or many wives in his household, or that
he is of mean figure, or small capacity; of which reasons it may be noted,
that the first is, according to late decisions, of chiefest authority.--So
far the old law-book. But there is a note from an older authority, saying
that every woman doth also love each and every man, except there be some
good reason to the contrary; and a very observing friend of mine, a young
unmarried clergyman, tells me, that, so far as his experience goes, he has
reason to think the ancient author had fact to justify his statement.

I'll tell you how it is with the pictures of women we fall in love with at
first sight.

----We a'n't talking about pictures,--said the landlady's daughter,--
we're talking about women.

I understood that we were speaking of love at sight,--I remarked, mildly.
--Now