Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-05-22
THR LOVE CURE,

were darkened, the duor-bell muf-
fed and the pavement in front strewn
with rushes, while the physician s
carriage waited long outside.
In the hushed chamber Mrs. Alli-
son lay still with closed eyes. Doctor
and nurse bent over her in anxious
ministration, but the expression on
her wan features Eever altered and,
beyond faint monosyllable elicted
with difficulty in reply to question,
no words came from the pallid lips,
The watchers exchanged significant
glances.
81 will be back in an hour" said
the doctor, glancing at his watch.
As he stepped into the hall wait
ing figure came forward to meet him.
"How is she now doctor ?"
The doctor shook his head.
"Shall We 60 into the next room,
Mr.. Allison ?" said he. "I will speak
with freedom there"
The two men sat facing each other,
Mr.. Allison grasping the arms OF the
chsir as if to steady himself. The
lines of his strong, masterful face
were drawn, and drops stood on his
forehead.
"May l venture TO ask you a DELI
cate question, Mr.. Allison, ?" said
the physician. Scan it be that some
secret grief or anxiety is preylng up
on your wife's mind ?'
"Secret grief, anxiety? Certainly
not My dear doctor, how could
Jon imagine such a thing ~
81 beg pardon, Mr.. Allison. It
occurred TO me as the obly remotest
possibility. The facts of the case
are these. The force of Mrs. Alli-
sons disease is broken, and she is ab-
solutely without fever. Yet she
shows no sign of raIlying. On the
contrary, she constantly grows weak
er. 1t is impossible to arouse her.
There seems to be not only no physi-
cal response to the remedies en-
ployed, but she apparently lacks even
the slightest interest in anything, in
cluding her recovery. Unless this
condition be speedily changed
which appears altogether unlikely
can no longer offer any hope. The
patient is evidently drifting away
from us while We stand powerless to
hold her back"
Mr.. Allison groaned aloud and laid
his face in his hands. The physician
arose and, after a few sympathetic
expressions, left MIN alone.
Meanwhile, in the sick room the
nurse busted herself with conscien-
tious care about her charge. There
was no perceptible movement In the
outlines of the quiet form lying upon
the bed and the skilled watcher had
no suspicion that behind the shut
eye-lids and apathetic features mind
and spirit were still active.
'lt isn't so hard to die after all.n
ran the slow current of the sick
woman's thought. 1t is easier than
to live. One grows tired, somehow,
after so many years. 1t seems sweet
just to stop trying and-let 90. /
have accomplished so little of all ]
meant to do, but-the Lord under
stands!
"The children will miss me for
awhile--poor dears but sorrow is
not natural to young people. Pm
not necessary to them as | was when
they were little. Itwould have been
dreadful to leave my babies, but now
it is different. Helen has her lover
Roger is good man and they will be
going in home of their own before
long. Aud Dorothy-so beautiful
and such a favorite-her friends
must comfort her. And the bows
somehow they seem to have grown
away from me a bit. / oughtn't to
mind it. 1t must be so, suppose.
as boys grow into men. 1t will be
harder for their father, but he is so
driven at the ofiice-especially since
he went into politics-that he can't
have time to mourn as he would have
monrned years ago when we were
first married. How happy we we're
SO long-so long ago-in the little
house on Carlton street, where Helen
was born ! Henry has been a rising
man. Any woman might have been
proud to be his wife. Somehow i've
hardly kept pace with him, but I've
loved him-loved him I"
The air of the room had grown
heavy and the nurse had set the door
aJar. A sound of suppressed voices
reached her ear and she glanced anx-
iously toward the bed, but the sick
woman showed no signs of conscious
ness.
al need not close the door," she
said to herself. "She hears nothing"
Once more skill and training were
at fault. That which in the nurses
ears was only an ipdistinct murmur,
to the nerve sense sharpened by ILL
ness; slowly separated itself into
words which made their way to the
consciousness awake and alert in the
weak frame, as if spoken along come
visible telephone line of the spirit.
ooh, Helen!" Could it be Doro-
thy's voice so broken and sobbing?
"No hope! Did the doctor say that ?"
"NoDe, unless her condition will
change--those were his very words
father told me-" The words drop
ped drearily, like the trickiing of
water in cave.
"But she was better YESTERDAYS :"
That was Rob, the handsome young
collegian. who had been summoned
home when his mothers illness began
to cause apprehension.
$50 it seemed. But she does not
rally-she takes no notice"
"But she can't be going-to die
and leave US! She wouldn't do such
8. .thIng-motherl
The tones of the sixteen. year-old
Rupert were smitten through with
incredulous horror.