The Washington herald., 1914-06-11
The Wife Of the Prophet.
ny JOHN ID. BARRY.

| ny JOhN
There was man who had high aspirations. He
married a woman whose character seemed like his
own They looked forward to long life of useful
ness together.
For several years they were happy, giving each
other the consideration born of sympathy knowing the
| joy of service as they worked side by side.
Then the began to change. He saw that his
aspirations old-fashoned. He developed others
that he considered higher. Gradually he the no.
tice of the world.
Men felt that a new leader had come, a prophet,
heralding a great
Meanwhile, the wife was content with the old
way. In the way she beauty, no truth.
At first the amused by the loyalty of his
wife to the old way. He tried to lead her to his
views. He had no doubt that he should succeed.
To his surprise, he found that her views. were
fixed. After long interval it became plain to him
that she could not change. And yet he longed to
change her. He persisted in his efforts.
His persistence only made his wife the stronger.
For she loved the old ideals. They had become
part of her being.
The man grieved over the inability of his wife to
receive the truth. He spoke of her in the kind
est way. however.
Nevertheless his friends blamed her. They said
that she not fit to be the wife OF such and
that she keeping him back. The man himself they
ptied To one another they said it would be better
if the two were to separate.
But the man refused to consider such PLAN He
declared that he loved his wife less for her OBJ
stinancy, but more Besides, divorce would hurt him
in his public There only one thing for
him to do he explained, to bear his burden.
incidentally, he did what he could to help his wife
But the years passed he found that the truth
crowding her out and he could share his thoughts
with her less and less.
Nevertheless, he remained conscientious husband
Meanwhile the wife went on all the more faithful
y following the old ideals The new ideals she tried
hard to understand. They seemed to her strange
fantastic unreal, impossible She wondered how her
husband could have become so different from the man
she had married. And yet she loved him just the
same And just faithfully she longed TO serve him
But her fidelity did not falter, nor her faith in him.
nor the hope that day he would be to her as he
had been
The time came when the man was recognized by
the world a great figure. His name was a house
hold word People loved him and honored him.
They also pitied him. They pitied him because he was
so sad because he had so disappointing wife a COM
panion so unworthy.
Occasionally in the public press the man was COM
miserated. There were those who coAmmiserated him
to his face.
At such times his sadness would deepen Inva
riably he would speak of his wife in the kndest way
as if she were worthy of being his mate as if she
were as good as he was himself
Often he said that she was not to blame She was
doing the best she could. Then he would add: She's
a good woman. She's good woman Some day she
may the light"
Always he careful to treat her with gentle
kindness, one might treat wayward child that
one loved.
This kindness she meekly accepted
In her presence he would express ideas that he
knew she did agree with so that she might have
the opportunity to profit
She would listen ntently and she would make no
reply.
Her silence became to him one of the greatest of
his burdens.
But this burden, too, he tried to bear with pa
tiencc
When the man died the world burst into acclaim. |
They compared him with the prophets of old.
But the world felt no sympathy with the wife
Nevertheless, at the funeral, the wife was given
the position of chief mourner
People said that she walked with an air of be-
as if wondering what it all meant and
why she was concerned
But one observer, man who had strange ideas
about life said that she walked like one with halo
about her head and that her eyes shone like the ewes
OF martyr.
Copyright by John D. Barry)