I’ve noticed the New York Times has been doling out love advice lately—First there was Maureen Dowd’s column An Ideal Husband and then Ben Stein’s article, Lessons in Love, by Way of Economics.This is not a new thing. In a London newspaper from 1821, called The Gossip, I found what is basically the same advice:
We think we can recommend to each of our fair readers….a mode of ascertaining the constancy of a lover, that is to ponder on the general character of a man who offers her his vows. Is he fickle in other concerns? Are his friendships suddenly formed and easily dissolved? Is her beauty the constant theme of his discourse and the sole object of his adoration? Should these questions be answered in the affirmative, let her close her eyes to the fascination of elegant address, let her ears be deaf to the harmony of insinuating tenderness….let her fly while flight is easy.
