Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-09-20
DAILY SHORT STORY
THE YOUNG LECTURER.
IO-iginail

and he was treating Of the emotions.
Love" he said, lis perhaps the emo
| ton which is best calculated TO illus
trate the actual ShallOwnesS Of our
emotional natures. y man sees Il wom-
an whom he desires to possess. The
| faculty Of Imagination makes her
paragon in his eyes. Constant dwell
| ing on one subject produces mania. If
| he marrieS the ceremony is scarcely
| performed before reality uSurps the
| place 50 recently occupied by emotion.
and the woman appears 10 him as her
real self. with the particular faults be
! longing TO that particular woman. Ii
| lie does not marry he is in time cured
| OF his mania. and the object that has
excited it becomes commonplace TO
him. But he IS not immune. The love
| emotion may again and again be eX-
| cited. the object III each case being
a different woman"
When the class was dismissed the
| students passed out of the lecture
room, and if any of them disSeuted
| from his views the lecturer was not
made aware of the fact His remarks
upon love produced no marked effect
| on the young men of his class. but
! among the girls there was 4 babel of
| tongues Indignantly denying the lee
| turer'S position. most of them aVcrrinS
/ that the "coXcOmb" had been Tilted.
| One girl. ana only one. stood by him.
/ q modest feminine creature Who would
/ never be suspected OF harhorinG such
| heretical sentiments. But as she had
not east off the awkwardneSS of her
Eirlhood and answered TO the common
/ place name of Euphemia Smith the
other girls declared that she agreed
| with the young professor because it
was not probable that she would ever
/ have II lover.
| Ten years passed. The man who
used his chair" simply TO gain Il live
| lihood while he studied Il profession
/ had become an eminent attorney. He
/ had been recently introduced to a lady
/ who had taken possession of his heart.
| He had forgotten his lectures on men
| tai philosophy and on this particular
| occasion was declaring his passion.
| Nevertheless he had formed analytical
| habits and must needs fall into them.
There is nothing he said. that so
/ strongly points to 4 divinity in our ma
| lures as love. Never have l been 50
! impressed with this as since my heart
/ has been beating in unison with yours.
| SclfishnesS dies in the presence Of love
! as 4 noXiouS vapOr is diSpCllcd by the
/ sun. 1t is my delight to serve you. l
! would even die for you. Every flash
| Of Your beautiful eyes. every note in
! your mrIOdious voice. every one of YOUR
many adorable traits. impeIs me to
| east myself 1T your feet ana beg YOU
| TO permit me 10 fOreGO all selfish pleas
ure for the one supreme joy Of being
! your slave"
| Il regret said the lady coolly. that
I cannot agree with you as to the ma
! turc of love. Love is perhaps the emo
ton best calculated to Illustrate the
| actual shallowneSS Of our emotional
natures"
How can you say that? You would
| not did you love rs l love. My passion
! for you is not an emotion; it IS akin to
! the nature of the great Creator. n
! spark from heaven, a blessed privilege
/ beside which the pleasures. the ambi-
/ tons. the successes of life dwindlc into
| nothincneSS'
The faculty OF the imagination"
| ST." replied in an argumentative tone,
= y
| Constant dwelling on one subject has
! produced mania. After marriage real
/ ity would usurp the place of emotion.
ana l would appear TO YOU with the
particular faults that belong to me in
/ dividually."
Il would become every day. every
! hour, more and more devoted. If l
am not blessed by being permitted to
/ spend my life in loving you the bright
/ prospects before me viii wither like
/ burned parchment
ION the contrary, you will soon be
! cured Of your mania, and l shall be
/ come commonplace"
Il can never love another"
"You will not he immune. The emo
ton may again and again he excited,
| the object in each case being a differ
/ ent woman"
! Something in the lady's eye-the sus-
/ picion of II smile-servcd to kindle the
/ flame Of memory. 1t rushed upon the
/ lover that the object of his love had
, been quoting his own words.
You are n graduate Of ="
Il am"
"And attended my lectures:"
Il did"
strange" lie said. that 1 should
not have remembered you. There was
n Girl-a Miss Smith-in the class OF
/ '92. l think. but she did not resemble
YOU"
Papa used to say that looked like
colt when l was in my teens"
There was a short silence, during
which the man endeavored to recover
from his confusion.
What rot l must have talked in
those days, l was infatuated with
realism and materialism and all that
/ I wonder that the college authorities
/ appointed boy OF twenty-siX TO lee
ture on abstruse subjects. But how
came you TO remember SO much twad-
| de
There was a special cause"
She hung her head and toyed with a