Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-07-04
DAILY SHORT STORY
After Graduation.
TOriginal.1

/ had just been graduated from the
seminary, he from college. He had led
his class from start to finish. and his
family was very proud of him. 1 re-
member the old fashioned watch key
lie wore. the badge of an ''honOr" So
| ciety, and it was more to me than the
decoration of the Legion of Honor TO
a French girl or the Victoria cross TO
an English girl But what was my
| delight during those long evenings late
| in June or early in July when he sin
gled me out from among the other girls
| for walks after tea and seldom would
| dance with any one else during our
gatherings after nightfall. He seemed
| inclined to talk with me as to his choice
| Of a vocation; but, confess, none of
the professions seemed TO me to be eX
allied enough for him unless he was to
| become a bishop, and this was not in
his line. He was rather calculated, l
thought, to invent a new system of
philosophy, as Herbert Spencer had
| lone.
That same spring John SiSsOn came
home from a small institute where
| they taught engineering or mechanical
| drawing or something like that. 1t
was understood that he had barely
scraped through, and, the institution
not being known to us girls. taking the
| two together, we did not place a very
high estimate on John or his education.
| The truth is that we were at an age
when education is everything. and peo-
MIA hot
The point seemed to be to educate and
let the boy use his education as best
lie could when he got it. John and /
had been brought up together, and now
that we were grown he seemed in
clined to be very attentive. But why
should l accept the attentions of one
who had been graduated low on the
scale in an unknown institution when
l could have those of one who had
been graduated first in the oldest uni
YerSity in the land?
Five years passed. Marshall King
man had received the appointment of
assistant professor in his alma mater,
but. whether it was because he had not
the faculty of imparting his knowl-
edge, or did not think he was getting
on fast enough, he soon resigned il to
embrace good opportunity TO go into
business. John SiSsOn had managed
to pick up some knowledge of civil en-
cheering though it was said he had
failed to take his diploma. The truth
is John, from the time he was In
school, was infatuated with an out
door life and was better satisfied with
building culVert or a henhOuSe on
his fathers place than in study. He
was always called crack Drained from
certain impossible suggestions he
would make with reference TO ways of
doing things. He went TO the far west,
and the next we heard of him he was
back with Il view to securing capital
to invest in a wild scheme for draining
Il lake or q marsh or something of the
sort. OF course no one would listen
to him, and he went west again. Two
or three years after this he was back
again, but this time as quite an i'm
portant parsonage, for he had done his
draining, securing the funds by an is
sue OF stocks or bonds, or something on
paper, and the property had become
very valuable. l ought not to say
what he came for, but my story com
pels me TO admit that he came for me.
Had he come Il year or two earlier
doubt If | should have listened to
him. l am n practical woman and adj
nit that in the choice of husband /
would always recommend i girl to con-
slider intrinsic worth. | am not roman
tic and see no sense in a girl choosing
man who gives no promise. l had
long looked up to Marshall Kingman
and the wonders he would do. He
made a mistake by going into business.
Those who took him in, expecting he
would I'LL certain department TO their
profit, found to their cost that he had
no head for an administrative position.
The friend who had given him the
opportunity told him one day that what
he was trying TO do was beneath his
requirements and recommended him
to leave business and find something
nearer the lines on which he had been
educated. When Marshall came to me
and told me this, thinking, as he did,
that the man had paid him a compli-
ment. the poor fellows deficiencies
came out plainly to me. He had shown
in his tutorship that he had not the
faculty for imparting knowledge 10
others. Now it was evident that he had
not the faculty for using it in practi-
cal field. ! could not advise him; l
could only sympathiZe with him. He
wrote several books after this, but they
were not on practical subjects and were
not largely read. He is now doing |
hack work for q publishing house.
Being practical woman, could not |
but listen to John Sisson. who pleaded |
his cause very deferentially and mod |
estly. He said that what he was about |
was not high grade of work and that |
deserved a more intellectual man, |
but he hoped would take pity on him, |
and he would return IL with a life of |
devotion. l considered the matter for /
several days and then became his at !
famed wife.
Fifteen years have passed and have
brought n great change in my estimate
OF peoples attachments. My husband
astonishes me every day by the num-