Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-05-09
DAILY. STORY
THE TEAR.

| a test tube. ills expression WAS not
| cheerful: it was serious.
John" he said, you sowed the wind
| and are reaping the whirlwind. Your
| marriage was IL very unwise one both
| for you and for Ellen. Without il she
would have remained with her mother,
who now lives Il thousand miles away
| from her. As for you, the drag OF
| sick wife upon you has been your ruin
In one sense, doctor, your words are
| true; In another | question If they are.
| The great Creator has placed us i'll
world in which our better nature is al
ways struggling with our SelfishnesS.
| If we lived here always there would
| be but one criterion for our judgment
success. But we know not what cri-
| terion VIII take its place i'll the exist
| ence TO come The poet tells of IL peri
who gained admission to paradise by
| offering Il tear of Il repentant sinner.
Well, if l am ever admitted 10 heaven
| shall have gained my place there by
| Il tear, though not of repentance"
The doctor held Il 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 other lovers drift
together. At that age l held Il girl as
something holy. something far above
what | regarded mans coarse nature.
l remember one evening when we were
walking together she slipped her hand
within my arm. and il seemed as if
had been touched by an angel from
heaven. That touch alone was enough
to decide my fate.
You remember how | took all the
prizes. i'll college. and you and father
and the rest had great hopes for me-
The career you predicted fired me with
q desire for success. Then | cut
brilliant figure at the law school, and
six months after graduation Won the
Springer claim in court. 1t put me at
once at the head of the junior bar
Il we'll remember" said the doctor.
at was just at this time that Ellen
met with the accident and you told me
that she would he an invalid for life.
knew then all you said about her be-
ing Il drag on me as well as when YOU
mention it today. l had "A long strug-
gle between the career ahead of me,
which would need ceaseless devotion.
made clear case in favor of the for
mer. Ellen needed mother. not Il
husband 1t was not case of wheth-
er | loved the career ahead of me or
her the more; it was Il case of mex
orable common sense. / confess |
shrank from breaking my decision to
her. but. knowing it was the turning
point of my life, nerved myself by Il
supreme effort.
Il well remember the night l called
on her for the purpose. 1t was among
the first warm days of the season. and
she was lying on a 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
~ from her great faring invalid eyes.
l maintained an inward stoicsm. Aft
er a few irrelevant words l 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, L 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 graphic picture of a lost career.
but told her that were it best for her l
would give it up in order to devote my
Self to her"
The speaker ceased and there was
brief silence
she released you?" asked the doc
tor.
''She neither released nor held me.
She listened without word / could
see at times her bosom heaving, then
repressed by an internal struggle not
apparent on the surface. L finished
with the words, L shall never become
reconciled to that memorable fate which
has forced us apart Then l waited
for her reply"
The speaker paused. He was think
ing
1T was?"
"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" |
LIE uOctOr turned ana raced MS VS.
itor.
And you don't regret your-inde- |
cison?"
No"
There was a longer pause, during |
which the doctor looked out of the win
dow. Then he turned and said:
John, l am, as you know, at the |
head of my profession in this city. But |
l am forced to admit that you stand in |
Il far more eminent position
That afternoon the doctor drove w
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 XnrId'S Ia h, |