THE BATTALION.
5
and dying by desuetude was certain to melt away before the
artful intrigues of man when its possessor accidentally at long
intervals was thrown into his company. But when woman,
with her powers of entertainment, with the gem of unbounded
influence rooted in every modest action, assumed her proper
station as man’s helpmate, and the sterner sex, refined, pol
ished and civilized by her magic charms, as if by a smelt
ing process, with homage recognized her true character, then,
and not till then, did the practice of flirtation rise a source of
enjoyment to man.
Not till criminal connections at European courts had van
ished in general under the healing influence of ideas of en
larged propriety, was flirtation, the great bugbear
■of modern puritanism, introduced into the world.
Such was the origin of this abhorred custom.
Such are the weighty reasons that establish a presumption
in its favor. In slavery,in barbarism, in ignorance, unknown;
in polite society, in courts and cottages, in peerage and
poverty, enlightened by the rays of Christianity, it receives
the homage of a goddess. It it is a luxuriant growth,
springing from a soil fertilized by civilization, the natural
and necessary inference is that it is beneficial and
consequently justifiable. It is generally acknowledged
that any practice whose radical principles originate from
the influence of modern civilization is justifiable, and when
ever the propriety of such a custom is discussed, the whole
burden of pjoof devolves upon the objector, because its
origin from Christianity and modern improvement and the
fact of its uninterrupted existence for two centuries is a suffi
cient vindication until a defense of it becomes impracticable
by irrefutable objections. Then until this basis has been
undermined, we have only to remain on the defensive, forti
fied by the popular presumption in our favor until the strong
hold becomes untenable from the irresistable attacks of our
opponents. But even if our position is impregnable this does
not preclude us from adding to its natural strength by addi
tional reasons. The very nature of flirtation appears in con-