Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1920-06-26

ten: Love hcaroth all things. hcliev-
eth all things, hopeth all things. en-
durcth all things
Not all things. Edith; not all
/ things"
at says all things"
Dave was silent for some time.
When hc spoke again she caught diff
fcrcut sound I'm his voicc-a ton" as
though his soul in those few moments
/ had gone through lifetime of "Np"-
ricucC.
Edith" he said. "whcn you repeat
ed those words | knew you had some
thing that have not. ! knew IT, not
hy words but by the way you said
/ them. Won made me know that in
your own life. if you loved, You would
be ready to endure all things. Tell
me, Edith. how mny this thing be
donoF"
She trcmbIcd with delight ut the
new tome In his voice. for She knew
that for him life would never again
! be the empty. ilippant, selfish. IRE
Sponsihlc thing which In the past he
had called life.
"In your case" she said. "thc course
/ IS simple. It Is Just case of COR
| giving"
] He gazcd for n time into the street.
while thoughts OF bitterness and re
| vCngc fought for domination of his
mind. Edith" he said. at length,
Unjust i-forgivcY
81 do not say YOU must she an
swercd. 81 merely say If you are wise
| you will. Nothing. 1t seems to me. Is
so much misunderstood as forgiveness.
| The one who is forgiven may merely
escape punishment, but the one who
| forgives experiences Il positive spir-
itual expansion"
lis that Christianity?" he ventured.
at Is one side OF Christianity. The
other side is service. II you are Will
ing to forgive and ready to serve I
don't think you need worry much over
the details of your creed. Creeds,
after all, are not expressed in words
hut in lives. When you know how
man lives you know what he believes
always"
suppose I forgive-what them
Service. You are needed right
now, Dave-forgive my frankness-
your country needs you right now. You
must dismiss this grievance from your
mind, nj least dismiss your resent
ment over Il. and then place yourself
at the disposal of your country"
THAT is what l had been thinking
Of" he said. "At least that part about
serving my country. although ] don't
think my motives were as high as you
would make them. But the war can't
last. II Is unbelievable"
I'm not so sure" she answered
gravely. "Of course I know nothing
about Germany. But do know some
thing about our own people. know
how selfish and individualistic and
sordid and money-grabbing we have
been; how siothful and incompetent
and self-satisfied we have been: and
I fear II will take long war and sac
rifices and tragedies altogether be-
yond our present Imagination to make
us unseifish and public-spirited and
clean and generous. / am not wor-
rying about the defeat Of Germany.
If our civilization is better than that
OF Germany we shall win, ultimately.
and II our civilization Is worse than
that OF Germany we shall be defeated
ultImately-and We shall deserve to
be defeated.
"But I rather think that neither Of
the alternatives will be the result. /
rather think that the test of war will
show that there are elements In Ger
man civilization which are better than
ours. and elements in our civilization
which are better than theirs, and that
the good elements will survive and
form the basis Of a new civilization
better than either"
IF that Is So" Dave replied. "if
this war Is but the working Of immu.
table law which proposes to put all the
elements of civilization to the supreme
test and retain only those which are
justifabfe by that test. why should
I-or anyone else-fght? And" he
added. rs an afterthought. what
about that principle Of forgiveness7"
1--WE must fight" she answered, be
cause 1t is the law that we must fight;
because II is only by fighting that we
can Justify the principles for which we
fight. II we hold our principles as be-
ing not worth fighting for the new civil
lization will throw those principles In
the discard. And that, too. covers the
question Of forgiveness. Forgiveness.
In fact does not enter into the con-
siderntion at all.
I'VE must fight. not because we hate
Germany but because we love certain
principles which Germany is endeav-
oring to overthrow. The impulse must
be love. not hate"
She had turned and faced him while
she spoke. and he felt himself strange
ly carried away by the earnestness Of
her argument. What wonderful
woman she was! And as he looked
Suddenly he felt himself engulfed In
great tenderness. and he knew that
even yet
what am I to do?" he said. what
am I to dor"
In the darkness of her own shadow
she set her teeth for that answer. II
was to be the browning act of self
remuneration and II strained every
fiber of her resolution.