Page:Advice to young ladies on their duties and conduct in life - Arthur - 1849.djvu/167

Rh this, of which she was the subject; and yet this is precisely the light in which conduct such as we now allude to is viewed, and young men do not hesitate to speak of it, among each other, in even stronger terms than we have given.

Before a young lady reaches the age of twenty years, she should, as a general rule, discourage all particular attentions from young men, and endeavor to hold her mind as balanced and independent in regard to all her male acquaintances as possible. The subject of marriage, except as an abstract question upon which certain opinions are held, should never be allowed to come up when thinking of, or in company with, her young friends and acquaintances. To have a lover before she is twenty, is, in most cases, a misfortune for a young girl. In nine cases out of ten, this lover is not the one that would be accepted if the affections were free at twenty or twenty-one. The love of boys and girls is never founded upon a true basis, but is merely the offspring of blind passion. It may turn out well. The parties, when their minds expand, and they become men and women, may be exactly suited to each other; but the chances are altogether against it. Nor is the love of a man, whose mind has attained maturity, for a girl who is still too young to accept wisely an offer of marriage, a love that promises happiness as