DERTH

We would all like to find happiness, even to strive for it, particularly with the opposite sex. It is more difficult for some otherwise successful people to find happiness in love, which is not surprising. Perhaps their expectations concerning the object of their affections are too high. Perhaps some are too quick to believe as Virgil stated: "Love conquers all things; let us give in to love." My hero in this story is yet a young man, just crossing the threshold of thirty. Benjamin Jovett says, "Young men make great mistakes in life; for one thing, they idolize love too much." Perhaps the hero of my story, Derth, is confounded by love, because it may not be possible for him to understand the mystery or the character in his feminine lover. Charles Dickens said, "A wonderful fact to reflect uon, is that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other." Or perhaps love is not such a good bonding agent to secure us happiness. Perhaps love has more fling in it and less substance and durability. Dorothy Parker thought, "Every love is a love before ina duller dress."