The Washington times., 1918-10-18
Gratitude Is a Wonderful
Thing
By Mrs. Wilson Woodrow.

ner nauo appreclaIIVely IN hi1
own; but q angel like you'd soften
up a stone. II ever ! can do any.
thing for you, just say the word
and III be there hook, line, and
sinker."
The nurse happened to have an
afternoon on that day, and through
a miscalculation overstayed her
time. In the hurry OF changing
back to her uniform on her return
to the hospitak she neglected to re-
move from her finger a very Valu-
able and beautiful diamond ring
which was the chief item in the in
heritance she had received from
the old man. Only after she had
arrived at the ward and was bust
ling about getting things ready for
a visit from the stan did she hap
pen to notice it.
One OF the strictest hospital
rules is that no nurse shall wear
any jewelry on duty, and the girl
was at a loss what to do. She
had no time to return to her room;
the doctors and the head nurse
were even then advancing down
the ward toward her. Some sharp
eye would be sure TO spy that for
bidden ornament.
The False Trust
In her quandary, she slipped the
ring from her finger and thrust
It into the hand OF the hobo be-
side whose cot she was standing.
Take care of that for me- viii
you, Jack?" she murmured a swim
aside. I'm giving It to you. be-
cause l know l can trust you"
But when. she went back to her
post in the morning, she found his
cot empty. He insisted on leaV-
ing almost as soon as It was day
light, they told her. We asked
him If he didLt want tc stay and
say good-by to You. but he said
you would understand why IL was
necessary for him to hurry on
And although she hired detectives
and used every means to get some
trace Of the fugitive. she never
saw either him or her ting again.
You can drSw almost any moral
you please from this parable. One
might be, not to cast pearls be-
fore swine. Another, that II Is un-
wise to put too great a strain on
even the sincerest gratitude
But to me the most obvious one
seems to be that gratitude in
stinctiVely shies at any emphasiz-
ing Of the obligation. II resents
any tit-for-tat idea, any suggestion
Of a bargain. II wants to express
itself "like Diana's kiss, unasked
and unsought"
The old bookworm recognized
that the little girls sympathy was
disinterested, absolutely without
thought OF return, and therefors
was pleased to requite her far more
generously than her service could
have called for. The hobo was
perhaps equally grateful but when
she showed that she felt be was
under an obligation to her, he per-
versely threw her down
The sense Of obligation Is always
irritating, indeed, especially when
one sees small chance of repaying
the favor. There is something in
all Of us which frets against an un-
paid debt. We don't want to be re-
minded Of it. Excuse the necessity
for it as we may, we can't help buE
regard 1t as a slur upon our capa-
bility. 1t lowers us In our own
self-esteem- We all take a pride
and satisfaction in feeling that We
are square with the world.
Don't Cast Up"
used to know a country editor,
one of those village sages to whom
everybody in the community ear
ries their troubles and perplexi-
ties. Every issue of his paper car
ried at the head of the editorial
column this bit of counsel: Don't
cast up"
That's what causes more than
half. of all the rows and dissen-
sions, political, religious, md per-
sonal. that / have to settle" he
would say. Forgive US our debts
is easy to pray; but when it comes
to forgiving our debtors, and then
forgetting that there was ever any
debt to forgive. there's scarcely one
man in a million that can meas
ure up to the mark"