Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-05-21
DAILY SHORT STORY
Confession Before Marriage.
LOriginf.1

IeI me frankly, Agnes, WIFI uo
you think of my lower?"
Personal appearance"
ayes. You can't judge of his mind
in one meeting
Frankly, then, 1 don't like the look
Of his left eye"
"Oh, dear! Have you noticed thati"
"You' appear to have noticed it your
self"
81 have tbeen worried to death about
it,
HAS he explained it?"
81 have not asked him to do So"
"NIy advice to you, Louise, is to give
him an opportunity to explain. If he
doesn't, 1 would break the engagement
wouldn't marry a man who would
keep anything back"
My resolution was taken. That very
afternoon L asked Paul:
"Why do you wear n monocle? 1t is
so friglrtfully English
Because, sweetheart, 1 consider it
useless to wear two glasses when 1
can see as well with one"
ri notice you always wear it before
your right eye"
Yes. That is the better one OF the
two"
/ began to feel uncomfortable. He
had admitted that one of his eyes was
better than the other. He noticed some
thing was troubling me, for 1 saw him
looking at me inquiringly.
I hnf
the eve of Il marriage it is the duty of
each of the parties to it to explain ev-
cry defect, no matter how trivialT'
His brow contracted slightly. You
mean that if l should ne blind in one
eye you would break the engagements"
You wrong me. l only wish for per
feet confidence. L don't want to find
out anything after we are married"
you'll have it all to find out" he
said coolly. land more important mat
tiers than defective eyesight. You may
find that 1 have an imperious dispOsi-
ton, a bad temper. 4 graspinS nature
indeed faults enough to make me a
poor husband for any woman"
THAT is risk we all have to take,
and since we are unconscious of our
own faults there is no deception in not
confessing them. But if, for instance.
1 wear false teeth or my foot is made
of wood
Il would love you just the same"
cit would be fault for me not TO
confess it, persisted.
He showed very plainly that l had
| offended him. He sat looking ut me for
a few minutes. scowling. then said:
VERY well, l will make a confession
| which may cause you to break your
engagement with me. But l will not
place you in position TO be intiu-
enced in your decision. l will write
nv confession on a scrap OF paper and
leave it with You. Take plenty of time
to come to a decision whether or no
you can live with a man with such n
| defect rs mine, then write me-"
! Going to my secretary, he took up a
bit of paper and pencil and wrote his
message, then, without looking at me.
| hurried from the room. l waited
| breathlessly till 1 heard the front door
| close after him, then spraug eagerly
| for the paper he had left on the desk.
| Great heavens! What a revelation!
Il wear a glass eye"
I sank down on the sofa limp as n
wet cloth. Never. never; l can never
| live with man with glass eye. The
horrid thing would stare at me the
| first thing in the morning and continue
| its dreadful ogle till the last thing at
night. No; it is all over between us.
But what n misfortune! Poor Paul
How sensitive he is about it, l don't
wonder that he is so. If it is such a
| 81, 60 IN q
much more terrible it must be for him,
Besides, he suffers all in losing me
that suffer in losing him.
| 1 must be as gentle as a dove in
| breaking my decision to him. There is
no need to take time. My mind is
made up. We must part forever.
l took up the pen that he had just
| laid down. kissed it as 1 did so-then
began to write Il note which when
read it seemed very harsh. l wrote an
other, then another and another till
l had written half dozen, each grow
| ing more tender, more loving. The last
| was simply, Come back and let me
comfort you for life" This l sent to
him posthaste.
When he came 1 was alone in the
room to which he was ushered.
looked for serious, melancholy eX
preston, but was astonished to see q
very merry one. He clasped me in his
arms, saying:
Louise, pardon me if I am little
late Just as 1 was about to read your
note my glass eye fell on the floor, and
as 1 am very nearsighted L spent some
| time hunting for it,
Never mind, Paul, dear. You will al
ways have me to find it for you"
"You see," he said, taking off his
monocle. when l hold it off there I'm
| as blind as bat, for my left eye in
addition to nearsightedness has astig
| matism."
He looked at me. both his eyes fairly
dancing. The truth rushed upon me
His glass eye was his eyeglass.
/ suppose that the knowledge that
| oftor oil ho hoH fyun natural nUne