Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 10.pdf/401

 368

THE LAW OF THE LAND. X. THE PRICE OF HEARTS. By Wm. Arch. McClean. A POUND of flesh, to be by him cut off nearest the merchant's heart at three thousand ducats was the price nom inated in the bond of Shylock. A pound of flesh, but with it no jot of blood, Shylock admitted in making his bargain was not so profitable as flesh of mutton, beef or goats. The nominated price was for a pound, neither less nor more. In these later times it is not of flesh alone nearest the heart, nor of bloodless flesh that prices are nominated. It is the heart itself, full of hot blood, of more or less weight, that is bought and sold. It is more profit able now than flesh of mutton, beef or goats, and its price exceedeth that of all other flesh. To have value there is need of but one requisite, it must be a broken heart. The break need not be made manifest by physical appearances, a mental break, an emotional break, or an imaginative break is sufficient. In ancient Venice three thousand ducats was the price of a pound of flesh of a mer chant. This epicurean nineteenth century has lost all taste for the flesh of man. The market price for it established of old has dropped out of sight. It has no price and there is no market for it. It is a daintier morsel that is now dealt in, whose market value fluctuates up and down in price in the market where it is bought and sold. It is the heart of woman. It can not be said that the price of the hearts of women is regulated by any law of supply and demand. To the one selling it is the only heart she has in the world, while to the buyer there are other hearts in other fish that swim in the sea. Like other com

modities, however, the market price of hearts is not fixed by the seller alone. It takes two to make a bargain and the price paid for a heart very seldom bears any compari son to the price asked. It is interesting in this connection to note the prices woman has estimated as the value of a woman's broken heart. It is rare that she asks a greater sum than fifty thousand dollars for her heart. Occasionally she asks from twenty to twenty-five thousand dollars. Frequently ten thousand dollars is asked. The price more usually asked than any other is five thousand dollars, and it is known that as low as one thousand dollars has been asked, but not less than that. It must be remembered that these are the prices asked for hearts punctured and torn with mental and emotional rents and tears, for the world over, the whole heart of woman is beyond value, priceless. It is unfortunate for woman that the price of her heart is fixed by mankind. Though she may name a price, it is not the market price ultimately fixed by mankind. It must be admitted that there seems to be some in herent mistake in this order of business but so it is; woman is always the seller, man the buyer, and man ultimately fixes the price to be paid by man for the broken heart of woman. This market of broken hearts is found in courts and juries. Woman brings her ac tion for breach of promise of marriage and man pays the price nominated by juries, es timating the value of the woman's broken heart. There are so many elements that enter into making up the price that it is impossi