The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-06-03
A SMALLPOX Romance,

A SMALLPOX Romance.
1 Life is full of tragedies. Love, the
divinest part OF existence, is not free
from the blight of disease and darkness.
No matter how truly and purely may
| beat the heart-no matter how bright
may be the sunny vision of the future
the clouds of adversely, sooner or later,
are sure to come. Death, with the I'M
sparing scythe and CHASTITY shroud, may
sever the mutually beloved, or affiiction
in some other form may rob life of
nearly all its tenderness and beauty.
A few short weeks ago, there lived in
the West division, on a fashionable
thoroughfare, young and handsome
couple, who had learned to love with
the sweet intensity of olden romance.
Their affection was recognized and APP
proved by their kindred, and, very
soon, their hands were to be united as
husband and wife.
The gentleman was a fine specimen
of manly beauty. Tall, well-propor-
toned, with fine features, and free
stride, he was the beau ideal of lover.
/ The lady was all that fancy could paint
her, and as good as she was lovely.
She has lived, however, to realize sadly
that
All that's bright must fade
The brightest still the feetest,
All that's sweet was made
To be lost when sweetest.
The gentleman's business called him
to travel occasionally, and, after re-
turning from one of his recent trips, he
felt particularly indisposed, and retired
at once to his room in the fashionable
clearinghouse kept by the mother of
his fiancee. Feeling a growing sense of
wretchedness, he locked his door, not
wishing to disturb the household, and
tossed feverishly on his bed until some
of the dOmestics came to make up the
apartment. Then he complained of a
violent headache, sick stomach, and
other ills which make man Indifferent
to existence. At first it was fOndly
hoped that the attack was a mere cold,
or intermittent fever, at worst, and he
received the usual remedies. These
having no effect, a skilled physician
was called, and, after examining the
symptoms, pronounced the case one of
smallpox. This was thunderbolt to
the patient and his friends. He could
not remember how or where he had
been exposed, and they were slow to
believe the full horribleness of the an
nouncement.
Other physicians were called, and, as
usual, disagreed. Even the health of
ficer could not make up his mind at
once. From Tuesday until Friday the
sick man remained at the boarding
house in painful uncertainty. At last
his symptoms became so clear and
alarming that the most ignorant could
no longer doubt. The awful news ran
through the house like wild-fre, that
Mr.. - had the smallpox and was or
dered removed to the pest-hOuse.
But although panic might extend it.
self to the boarders, neither his tiancee
nor her mother were moved by such
vain fears. The young lady had been
his faithful nurse while he remained
beneath her parents roof, and, when
he was removed by the sanitary officers
her noble tenderness and sense of duty
braced her heart to the act of follow
ing him even within the putrid pre-
cincts of that abode of mortality and
Disagreement. She practically illus
trated the sentiment of the beautiful
song:
Thou hast called me thy angel in moments Of
bliss,
And thy angel III be thro' the horrors Of this {;
Thro' the furnace unshrinking thy steps to
pursue,
And shield thee, and save thee, or perish there
too.
Unfortunately, not even her devo-
ton, although it undoubtedly saved the
slender thread of life, could shield him
from the worst effects of the dread dis
ease. His case developed into the
dreadful type known as continent"
and when he arose from his couch of
sickness the unfortunate lover realized
the doom of desolation entailed upon
him. He was stricken blind, and might
never more behold the light of day, or
look into the depths of the sweet eyes
that still beamed with love for him.
In an age like this, when romantic
devotion is supposed to be upon the
wane, and in city like Chicago, which
is, of necessity, utilitarian, it might be
expected that the affiiction which fell
upon her idol might have alienated
from him the heart of his betrOthed.
Instances of kind almost similar have
occurred where this has been the re-
suit, but, in this case, purity and unset
fishness have triumphed. The misfor-
tunes of her lover have the more en-
deared him to his faithful lady, who is
now the light of his heart and the con-
soler of his darkened existence.
And now, while the sun of May is
waking into vernal beauty park and
boulevard, and while the shade trees
are throwing out their outrageous love-
illness, a stalwart man, erect and state
ly still, although destitute of vision,
and with face SCARED by that fell
malady, may be seen walking slowly
amid the beauties of the springtime,
and by his side is a young girl, upon
whom he leans for guidance and who is
TO him "the morning star of memory"
that cannot fade or faint. or die until
the last dread summons makes even
such sublime devotion vain to preserve
a life that must be. without such solace,
worthless and desolate beyond express
Chicago Times.