The Washington herald., 1922-08-04
Real Love Stofi les.
In Uacie's Feststeps.

China, mother held up the idea to
us girls that one Of us ought to
fnd 1t in herself. to carry on the
good work which he had begun.
Well. was the plainest and hardi-
est and most blessed with a love for
new experiences. so II became nat
ural to think OF me as the one to
go.
prepared. accordingly. to be a
teacher of English and hygiene
and whatever else could get across
I'm a government school in west
China; and soon found myself with
in a year of setting out upon the
adventure.
In the meantime I settled down
teaching high school. Then i caught
influenza and had to go to the coun-
try to get strong again. Thinking
to be useful at the same time, l
chose to spend the summer in an
isolated farming community, which
had been represented by a city char
NY Uodiu as HCCu VI ShC W
organize its recreation.
Recreation! Such q stolid, compla
cent lot / had never dreamed could
exist. They had their own rooted
notion of pleasure, which consisted
among the older ones OF carousing
and gossiping, and among the
younger-for the most part already
cousins-of early counting. In which
they wanted no assistance from me.
set myself the task of sticking
1t out for the summer. Ny services
resolved themselves into taking
shifts at night with wornout farm
wives who had teething babies.
Daytimes slept, except when
went around to sewing societies in
an effort to know the people better.
1 soon arrived at the conclusion that
this was a segregated settlement
whose general average OF intelli-
gence was low. and that 1t was get
ting lower from close intermarriage.
The one exception was the COM
munity doctor. He was a plodding.
serious young man who had all he
could do bringing infants into the
community-stupd infants who
would grow up into stupid people.
Stupid doctor. thought I.
One night one of the teething
babies developed a high fever. and
I sent for the doctor Before he
came the little thing died. 1t was
a hot August night and my first ex-
perience with death. 1 met the
tardy doctor. blubbering almost as
desperately as the mother. He was
irritable.
flung at him: 20. I'm not crying
for the reason you think 1 am. I'm
crying because they don't all die
young in this degenerate place"
He told me with restraint that l
was suffering with nerves.
The following Sunday we took a
long ride together for the nerves.
We talked: we argued; we quarrel
ed. He called my point Of view
toward the village unsympathetic.
Humanitarian. l told him he was
misdirecting his energies; that he
was sentimental. He denied none Of
1t.
I'm one Of them. you know. The
only difference between them and
me Is that got out"
1t seems that his father before
him had been the village doctor.
and his mother, still living, one of
the farm girls.
And your wife will be one. and
you'll be shut in to this deadening
existence all your days, and to what
end? II you want to sacrifice your
self why don't you pull out and go
to-China?"
Because he was needed right where
he was. re said. We never got past
that In subsequent arguments. But
he did not seem averse to arguing.
determined to night It out along
that line II 1t took all winter.
In fact. did spend the rest Of the
year there, taking the place of the
one teacher in the one school. They
| were slow lot. But I found that
by catching them young II was not
impossible to touch Off a spark of
| ambition in them. In each, how
ever hard to get at. there was some
desire for new experiences. which
endeavored to meet with tales from
the outside world. magazines. music.
and in the case Of the more prom
ising ones, by trips to the nearest
cities. I grew fond of them.
In the spring l let the doctor
laugh with me over, my youthful
! dream of being q missionary to
China, Then ] married him.
Have I given up my idea Of car
! rying on my uncle's work? BY no
means. Never were. heathen more
| in need of missionary work than
the kind of community which now
! call my home. e
Besides. I'll get my husband out
Of it yet, even IL we have to wait
for our son to take his place before
we set out to foreign parts.
Am I stupid? Yes. but happy.
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