Dearest Jesse,

This is a conundrum indeed! Miss Pickworth would dearly wish to echo poets throughout the centuries who have advised young lovers to follow their hearts. After all, what could be wrong with swooning over some handsome young devil, falling prey to his ardent courtship, and welcoming his proposal of marriage with great joy?

Alas, Miss Pickworth fears she must advise against all that the heart demands. She has seen far too many marriages built on exactly such unsteady foundations. Love does /not/ spring eternal. Passion knows /plenty/ of boundaries. And ardor can easily succumb to that devouring monster known as "daily life."

When daily life asserts itself (sometimes the very morning after the wedding), a marriage begins to show the skeleton on which it has been built. Let not the bones be those of heedless amour! Let not the flesh be that of feckless and foolish passion!

Therefore, gentle reader, Miss Pickworth begs you to run! Run from such a man as you have described in your letter. Cast your eyes and set your heart only upon a virtuous gentleman who shares your love for the Lord. Resist all temptations to the contrary (though there may be many). Make every attempt to employ your head and not your heart. For there can be no doubt that trouble, pain, and suffering must follow in the footsteps of the young lady devoted to a cad. Nor can there be any question that the woman who wisely chooses a man of worth, honor, and Christian temperament will find herself enjoying greater marital bliss than she ever imagined. And all this despite that tiresome and interfering creature, "daily life."