Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-05-13
DAILY SHORT STORY
cHADWICK'S SHRINE.

| hampers were being ransacked for
lunch Chadwick managed to convince
Miss Norton that the view from the top
of the rocky little hill by the roadside
was well worth the climb. Together
| they assembled the winding footpath
| that wound its way up the hill and
| stood on the summit looking across the
brown fields OF Tuscany to the faint
blue line Of water in the distance.
| Close at hand was ciump OF stunted
olive trees. and beneath the trees was
the shrine Of some saint. They had
been on the summit of the bill but
| few minutes when a peasant woman
came toiling up the path and with
scarcely glance at the two Americans
kneIt before the shrine and began TO
mutter rapid prayers while she deftly
fingered rosary.
They watched her In silence; Miss
| Norton with a smile OF understanding
and quick sympathy and Chadwick
I with that look of SardOnic cOmplacency
that men Of his type affect in the pres
| ence of religious devOtions.
| Her beads told. the woman shambled
down the path again, the bright ker-
| chief about her head making a moving
bit of color against the brown of the
landscape.
Her prayers seem to be a sort OF
machine made product" Chadwick OBJ
served.
| Tho 0iPl finOpF at him
Don't sconf,'' she said.
Chadwick shrugged his broad shout
| ders
I'D hate to be an interpreter of Ital-
| ian in celestial realms" said he. Did
you hear how she reeled them OF! l
couldn't make out a word OF it,
II didn't try TO understand" said
she. Il was thinking of the pictur-
| esqueuess OF it
1T did have it's COLOR he admitted,
and. pointing to the shrine. continued:
II wonder what saint that is? The
tip of his nose is gone. and he seems
rather weather beaten.
! The girl laughed in spite OF her eff
| forts TO maintain grave expression.
Aren't you ever serious?' she said
chidingly. Don't such things ever
! impress you as rather solemn
Il confess TO an undue sense OF the
homogeneous" said he. Still, l think
it applies largely to exteGnals. The
spirit OF the thing - its underlying
meaning does impress me tremen-
dOusly. I'm very much in sympathy
with these shrines. Indeed, 1 main
tain one myself"
The girl eyed him narrowly. She
was vainly trying TO fathom the i'm
port of his words.
Where is this shrine OF yours" she
asked
! Wherever 1 am" said he.
do you ever worship before itY' she
inquired.
Many times daily" he declared.
Il didn't realize you were in sym
patty with anything Of the kind" she
observed.
Didn't you:" he asked cheerfully.
We'll, I've many excellent qualities as
yet undiscovered"
I'D like to hear about this shrine"
said she "A pagan SO devout must
certainly appeal to that abnormal
sense OF the incongruous you claim for
yourself"
When l seek my shrine I'm not a
pagan he declared. It's not a
shrine like this. It's a mental shrine,
and In it 1 have placed my patron
saint"
What sort of saintY' she demand
ed. with = hint OF incredulfty in her
voice
Chadwick looked at her with a de-
| liberate gaze. He was smiling as he
went on:
"A very gentle saint that any man
might be proud TO worship; a saint
with brown hair aud dark eyes and
all the beauty and goodness OF the
that is ensbrined in the heart OF every
honest, right minded man; in simpler
words, the ideal woman"
The girl looked at him and cOlored
slightly.
And that's your Wanted shrineT
she asked
He nodded.
IFS not as picturesque as this one
here, said she
ut is to me- he declared. Anyway,
the mere worshiping at the shrine has
made different man OF me"
She looked across the brown fields.
DO Won say Italian prayers to your
| saint - she asked
I'D say good English ones IL
dared" be replied Thank goodness
| my saint has not been transplanted to
spiritual abOdes aslyet But 1 only dare
utter Intellectual petitions TO her image
in the shrine"
"Wbyr" she demanded
I'm afraid a direct intercessiOn to
her might result Ina her discouragIng
my worship" said.b4
Perhaps not" she said softly. look
ing toward the blue thread Of water.
He took a step toward her, but she
darted past him and began to descend
the path.