The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1897-07-30

1hh Nhhc S@NhJ - $780,
independent of any known system OF
religion"
Certainly, as most people under
stand religion, namely as typified by
the tenets of a particular sect, but not
by any mean independent of natural
religion, and on the other hand alto
gether dependent on the existence OF a
supreme, and in the end, all-triumphant
power Of good, which, if my theory a
be upheld, will then be proved beyond
the possibility of a doubt"
Fanny thought for a moment or two,
and then spoke again.
do you know, Godfrey, if you carry
this through, you will go down to
posterity as one of the greatest men
in the whole world, perhaps as the
very GREATEST"
l knew from the tone Of her voice
that she meant what she said, and also
that if all this could be proved, her
prophecy would probably be fulfilled.
Yes" 1 said, "but l suppose that to
work the whole thing out, and prove
it, would take a lifetime. To begin
with, the premises would have to be
established and an enormous amount of
special knowledge acquired, from the
groundwork of which, and from the
records of thousands of noted cases OF
mental phenomena, that it would take
years to collect, one would have to
work slowly up toward the light. A
mar would be obliged to give his en-
tire time to the subject, and in my case
wen that would not suffice, for l am no
mathematician, and, unless l am mis-
taken. the issue will depend almost en-
tirely upon the mathematical power of
the investigator. He could not even
employ anybody to do part of the work
self be imbued with the spirit that di-
reefs the calculations, and be pre-
pared to bend them this way or that,
to omit this factor and to pick up the
other as circumstances require. Now,
as you, know l am little short of a
fool at mathematics, and therefore on
this point alone l am out of the race,
and l fear that the Secret of Life will
never be discovered by me, though
perhaps I shall be able to put some n
else on the track of it."
YES" said the girl, quietly, "that
is true enough, but you forget one
thing. If you are not a mathemati-
clan, 1 am, and 1 can enter into your
ideas, Godfrey, for 1 believe that we
have grown very much alike during
the last four or five years. mean in
mind"
1 started, for both her statements
were perfectly accurate. The girl had
remarkable mathematical faculty, al
procured for her the best instruction
that l could, but she had now arrived
at that point when instructors were
of no further use to her. In those
days, of course, there were not the ia
~cilities for female education that there
are now, and though it is not so very
long ago, learning in woman was not
thought so very highly of. Men rather
said, with Martial: "Sit non doctissima
ccnjunx," and so her gift had hitherto
not proved of any great service to her.
Also she was right in saying that we
had grown alike in mind and ways of
thought. She had come into the house
quite young, but young as she was,
she had always been a great COM
panion to me. Not that she was much
of q fo1lynr hy1f chn ,ndorc{ooI lo- b
listen and to show that she was giving
her attention to what was being said.
a thing that in my opinion a very few
women can do. And 1 suppose that in
this way, she, in the course of time,
became thoroughly imbued with my
ideas, and, in short, that her mind, as
l thought, took it's color from my own.
At any rate, it did SO specifically, and
l know that she would understand the
drift of my thoughts long before any
body else did, and would even some
times find words to clothe them before
1 could myself.
why should we not work on the
Secret of Life together, Geoffrey?" she
said, fixing her dark eyes on my face.
my DEAR" I answered, you know
not what you do! Are you prepared to
give up your youth, and perhaps all
you life, to a search and a study which
may and probably will after all prove
Remember that such a
thing is not to be lightly taken up, or,
if once taken up, lightly abandoned.
l make up my mind to understand it,
shall practically be obliged to give I'D
my practice as a doctor to do it: and
the same, remember, applies to you,
for I should prove a hard task-master.
You would have to abandon all the
everyday aims and pleasures of your
sex and youth, to scorn delights and
live laborious days, on the chance of
benefiting humanity and for the GER
tainty of encountering opposition and
ridicule."
Yes" she said, but I am willing