The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1920-12-10

OF sympathy, knowing the Joy Of serv-
Ice as they worked side by side
Then the man began TO change. He
the, old way: In the new way she saw
fashioned, He developed others that he
considered higher. Gradually no won
the notice OF the world.
Men felt that n new leader had come,
a prophet. heralding q great era.
Meanwhile. the wife was content with
the old waya In the new way she saw
no beauty, no truth.
At first the man was 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 a long interval
II became plain to him that she could
not change.
Yet he longsd to change her and he
persisted In his efforts.
His persistence only made her strong
er. She loved the old ideals They had
become part Of her being.
The man grieved over the inability Of
his wife to receive the new truth But
he spoke Of her In the kindest way.
Nevertheless, his friends blamed her.
They said she was not fit to be the wife
OF such man and she was keeping him
ba *. The man himself they pitied. To
one another they said II would be bet
ter II the two were separate.
But the man refused to consider such
a plan. He declared that he loved his
wife not less for her obstinacy, but
more. Besides divorce would hurt him
in his public career There was only
one thing for him to do. he explained.
to bear his burden.
Incidentally. he did what he could to
' help his wife. But as the years passed
he found that the new truth was crowd
ing her out and he could share his
thoughts with her less and less.
Meanwhile, the wife went on. all the
more faithfully following the old ideals.
The new ideals she tried hard to un-
derstand. But they seemed to her
strange, fantastic. unreal. impossible
she wondered how her husband could
,hs had married. end yet she loved
MIN Just the same. And just as faith
FULLY she longed to serve him. Her
ldelity did not falter, nor her faith in
aim. nor the hope that some day he
would be to her as he had been.
The time came when the man was
recognized by the world as a great fg-
IRE. His name was a household word.
PEOPLE loved him and honored him.
They also pitied him. They pitIed him
because he was so sad, because he had |
so disappointing a wife. a companion so
unworthy.
Occa sionally in the public press the |
those who commiserated him to his face. |
AT such time his sadness would deep |
on. Invariably he would speak OF his |
wife In the kindest way, as II she were
worthy Of being his mate. 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: "Shs's a
good woman. She's a good woman.
Some day she may see the light"
Always he was careful to treat her
with gentle kindness. as one might treat
n hayward child that one loved.
This kindness she meelly accepted.
In her presence ne would express ideas
that he knew she didn't agree with so
that she might have the opportunity to
profit.
She would listen intentiy 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 patience.
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 bewilderment, as n wondering
what II all meant and why she was con-
cerned.
But one observer, a man who had
strange ideas about life, said that she
walked like one with a halo about her
head and that her eyes shone like tho :
eyes OF martyr