The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1906-06-14
TIE EAR
.[original.l

dIOuuu duu SEE IlllGu. - KNOW you
can't do anything for her, but you
cheer US all up. =
The doctor was pouring something
from a vial into a liquid contained in
q test tube. His expression was not
cheerful; It was serious
John he said, you sowed the wind
and are reaping the whirlwind Your
marriage was very unwise one both
for you and for Ellen. Without it she
would have remained with her mother,
who now lives thousand miles away
from her. As for you, the drag Of a
sick wife upon you has been your ruin"
I'm one sense, doctor, your words are
true; in another l question if they are.
The great Creator has placed us in a
world in which our better nature is al
ways struggling with our selfshness..
If we lived here always there would
be but one criterion for our judgment
success. But we know not what cri-:
terion will take its place in the exist
ence to come. The poet tells Of a peri
who gained admission to paradise by
offering a tear of repentant sinner.
Well, II | am ever admitted to heaven.
shall have gained my place there by
tear, though not of repentance
The doctor held a test tube before a
light and observed particles floating in:
a liquid it contained The speaker
went on:
Before Ellen became an invalid we
drifted together as other lovers drift
together. At that age l held girl as
something holy, something far above
| what regarded mans coarse nature.
remember one evening when we were
walking together she slipped her hand
| within my arm, and it seemed as if
had been touched by an angel from
heaven. That touch alone was enough
to decide my fate,
"You remember how I took all the
prizes in college, and you and father
| and the rest had great hopes for me-
The career you predicted fired me with
I desire for success. Then I cut a
| brilliant figure at the law school, and
six months after graduation won the
Springer claim in court It put me at
once at the head of the junior barr
II we'll remember" said the doctor.
| ut was just at this time that Ellen
met with the accident and you told me
that she would be an invalid for life,
knew then all you said about her be-
ing drag on me as we'll as when you
| mention it today. | had long strug-
gle between the career ahead Of me,
which would need ceaseless devotion,
and the care OF an invalid wife, and !
made clear case in favor Of the for
mer. Ellen needed a mother, not a
husband. 1t was not case Of wheth
er loved the career ahead Of ME or
| her the more; it was case of mex.
orable common sense. l confess I
shrank from breaking my decision to
her, but, knowing it was the turning
point of my life, / nerved myself by a
supreme effort. +.
II we'll remember the night called
on her for the purpose. It was among
| the first warm days of the season, and
she was lying on wicker lounge on
| the porch. A wistaria vine hung down
from above and was in bloom. From
within the house came the fragrance
OF roses. Ellen looked up at me loving
ly from her great f1aring invalid eyes.
I maintained an inward stoicism Aft
er a few Irrelevant words told her
| that had come to announce something
OF deep import to us both. Beginning
with our duty to each other and to our
selves, I led gradually to the final an
nouncement. 1t would never have been
possible for me to make so able an ar
gument in court. No woman could fail
to see that under her mothers care
alone could she hope for comfort. AS
to the effect Of our marriage on me,
drew a graphic picture Of lost career,
but told her that were it best for her
would give it up in order to devote my
self to her"
The speaker ceased and there was a
brief silence, .s-
"She released your" asked the doc
tor. - H..
s'She neither released nor held me.
She listened without a word. I could
see at times her bosom heaving, then
repressed by an internal struggle not
apparent on the surface I finished
with the words, shall never become
reconciled to that memorable fate which
has forced us apart Then I waited
for her reply
The speaker paused. He Was think
ing.
ut wasp
"a tear
There was a silence while the doctor
was fumbling with. his test tubes.
"And your reply to it?" he asked pres. /
emily.
IAN embrace"
The doctor turned and faced his Wis
itor.
"And you don't regret your-inde
cision?''
NO.
There was a longer pause, during
which the doctor looked out of the win
dow. Then he turned and said:
John, I am, as you know, at the
head of my profession in this city But
I am forced to admit that you stand in
far more eminent position
That afternoon the doctor drove up
to the home Of the invalid with fruits
and flowers and spent an hour enliven-
ing the household.
Never again did he question the ac-
ton of his friend And who shall say
that the happiness of man who was
denied the worlds laurels that he
might devote himself to an invalid
WI 70 WAS loss than If would hauo honp