Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1912-01-11
TRUE
LOVE
A Story Attempting to Prove
That 1t Is Immortal
By T. G. APpLEBY
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

a materialist. His friend Taylor, pro-
fessor Of psychology, is an extremist
on the opposite side. taking the ground
that man is an eternal spirit, inclosed
in material body. The two were dis.
cussing questions based upon these
two very different opinions, when Iro-
fessor Markham said:
"Take. for instance, love. To be
more particular. let us confine our
selves to love between the sexes. You
men of spiritual bent consider that this
is a spiritual condition, a mingling of
two souls We materialists take it to
be, in the initiative at least, simply a
device Of nature to compel obedience
to one of her laws. procreation."
Which we deny. Love is eternal"
"Then when couple who love are
separated by death why is the place
of the one who has been taken filled
by another?"
Ceases of real love are rare. In such
cases the place of the departed one
is not filed by another. l have known
or heard of several instances Of this
true love. but only one where the con
ditions l have stated were fulfilled. 1t
was related to me when | was study
ing medicine in Paris, and the princi-
pal figure in the story had been a pro-
fessor in the university where l re-
ceived my education.
Jean Leroux, a bachelor of thirty
six, a botanist, was one morning
tramping through the southern prov
inces. hunting for plant specimens,
when he came upon chateau in
whose gardens were many beautiful
flowers. In his enthusiasm he jumped
the wall and was soon lost to every
thing except the objects of his study.
He was bending over a variety Of aza-
lea which he had never seen, though
he was familiar with it through his
books, when suddenly he was recall
ed to himself by musical feminine
voice saying:
Monsieur is absorbed in the flow.
ers'
'Leroux looked up into a pair of
eyes that were looking into his.
Now, If you anatomists were to
claim that love acts as two chemical
affinities, which on meeting become
one and the same substance, | could
in measure sympathize with you.
Both these persons admitted after
ward to the other that the moment
their eyes met they loved
Pardon said Leroux, L am tres
passer. l have been led by my love
for my profession to examine your
plants. 1 will withdraw at once
ION the contrary, you are welcome
to study my plants to your hearts
content, and if there are any that you
covet shall be happy to give them to
you
For the rest of that morning Lee
roux and the lady wandered about in
the gardens, he giving her much in
formation about her plants. She loved
them for themselves; but, loving them.
It pleased her to learn of their nature.
She was Mile, de Ia Fontayne, who
lived with her old mother on the
place, her father being dead Made
moiSelle was some half dozen years
LerouX's junior, and since both of them
had passed the heyday of youth it can
not be claimed that the love which
flashed into being between them was
of the grosser type. Leroux when
asked afterward If that was not the
happiest morning of his life replied
that it was far happier than any he
had known before, but no happier
than those that followed.
"Mlle de In Fontayne would not per
NIT Leroux to depart without partak
ing of luncheon, or rather, the second
breakfast of the French people, and
after the meal they returned to the
garden. In spirit the professor never
left the chateau so long as Mile. de la
Fontayne remained there. But she did
not remain there very long-at least
permanently, for LerouX was obliged
to be at the university In Paris, where
he lectured. and the two found it ex,
cruciating to be apart. No great time,
therefore, passed before they We're
married, residing during the winter in
Paris and in the summer at the De In
Fontayne chateau.
"These two lived. so far as their re-
lations to each other were concerned.
In perfect happiness. No word OF an
ger ever passed between them"
"Was not that the result Of normal
nervous system perfectly assimilat-
ed?" asked the listener.
II do not admit 1t. l believe that
from their meeting they had become
one being. Nor can 1t be said that they
were united through their children. for
no children We're born to them 1t was
case OF unity between two individ-
uals whose individuality was lost in
each other. And l shall show you by
an incident which occurred that this
love continued after they were sep
arated by death. | cannot prove that
the love OF the one who was taken con-
tinued the same as before. for we can
not see beyond the veil that Provi-
dence has hung between us and that