Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1907-05-14
One Point Clear.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "HIs DUTY
AND "HER DUTY" VERY PLAIN.

II see," said Henry Jenkins, "that
Iowa has recently had An Enoch Arden
case"
"Has Itp" his wife replied. "What's
neeny cardonP I never heard of one
before. Is It anything like cyclonep"
"Well, yes, once in while 1t develops
cyclonic tendencies. / have heard Of
cases in which It killed people and
ripped things up very badly, but fortu-
nately It doesn't always act that way.
Sometimes, however, the Enoch Arden
Is very mild and after making its ap-
pearance suddenly and mysteriously
goes away, leaving everything lovely,
where 1t might easily have caused
havoc"
"It's funny I never heard Of such =
thing before. Is it something new?"
30, no. It probably began to figure In
the affairs of men shortly after Adams
time, although nothing is said about
one having been in the ark. The fact H.,
my dear, that an Enoch Arden is a man.
You never read Tennyson's poem about
him, did you?'
,"No. But I once knew, Come into
tho Garden, Maud by heart"
II suppose 80. That, no doubt, was
when that bow-legged boy from Cincin-
natl was keeping company with you
But there, my dear, l beg your pardon:
Let's let by-gones be by-gones. I'll read
it to you and then you'll know just what
an Enoch Arden is, in case anybody ever
happens In the future to bring up the
subject in your presence"
After he had finished the poem, Hen
rietta Jenkins sat with clasped hands
and pensive look.
"Well," he asked, "what do you think
of it?"
"What noble man he was" she said
with little sigh.
"Yes, it was rather decent of him to
60 away and die instead of hanging
around making trouble for his wife and
the other man."
"Decent9 Why, it was the only thing
he could do.'
II suppose If / were to get ship.
wrecked on desert isle and came back
after four or five years to find you mar.
ried again you'd want me to skin out
without letting you know l was still
alive"
"Henry! wish you wouldn't suggest
such horrible possibility. But If only
such thing did happen it would, OF
course, be your duty to 90 right away
without letting yourself be known"
Eyes, dear, that's the way look at it.
There could be only one course Tor a
gentleman to pursue in case of that
kind. Now, let's look at it from the
other side. Let us suppose that you
started away to visit your aunt or cousin
or something in Australia and that the
ship went down and you and few oil
the other passengers succeeded in reach
ing an island away out of the regular
line of traffic. Wreckage from the ship
on which you sailed would be picked ny
from time to time and at last it would
be decided that everybody on board had
persisted. Well, we'll suppose that
mourned very hard for you year or SO
and then met a sweet, innocent girl and
won her love and married her, and In
say about five or six years steamship
that had been driven out of her course
picked up you and your companions and
brought you back to civilization.
"Now picture to yourself me sitting II
that chair over there, and her, with
happy smile on her face, sitting where
you are now. Hist! You quietly come
up the front steps and standing on the
porch peer through yonder window
You see US sitting here filled with sweet
contentmsnt, and with tears in your eye'
you turn away never to"
Henry Jenkins, do you think I'm
foolP Do you suppose for a minute tina
I'd 20 away and leave that-that thing
here to run my house and my husbandi
If you have any such an idea your sense
is a good deal less than I've always
given you credit for having"
"But wait, my dear. You haven
heard all about it. We will suppose tina
as she sits there contentedly rocking tt
and fro she holds golden-haired chile
against her breast-her child and mine
you know. Surely, for the sake of tht
little one, you would turn away ant
never"
"What! Do you mean to say that 20,
would expect me to give up everything
for the sake of IA"
"Now, Henrietta, under those condi
tions you surely wouldn't think of intrud
ing?"
"Intruding! I like that! Intruding il
my own homer Her feelings overcam
her and she put her hands over her face
"There, DEAR" said Henry jenkins
'don't be afraid. Nobody is ever com
ing back to crowd you out"
at was good thing that Enoch ArdeI
wasn't a wOman!"
Henry Jenkins frankly agreed that i
was.-Chicago Record.