Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1927-02-11
DISEASE
KNOWN AS
LOVE
By H. M. ROBERT
tcOpyright By ". q. chspman.S

i Der Of the faculty as he entered
the room. II pity had been
known In the year 2216, It might have
been said that pity was reflected upon
their faces. As It was not, the look
must have been merely curiosity.
The white-robed, sterilized nurse
would have been called beautiful three
centuries before. But her wealth Of
blond hair was hidden by the hideops
hood that was the fashion, and In
her loose garments she looked more
like mandarin.
She, too, gazed curiously at the
young fellow who entered and took
his station respectfully before the pro-
fessors.
mo. A 90 w P a." began the eldest
professor, addressing him by the name
he bore, you are still decided to be-
come the subject Of this experiment."
Eyes. sir" replied the young man.
you are making 1t In the interests
Of civilization. You have weighed the
conseQuences2 You know that II will
mean persecution, ostraclsm, and,
worst Of all, the existence within your
system Of diabolical germ, which
has become so rare that II Is peces-
sary to demonstrate Its existence by
performing this inoculationf"
II have considered all the conse-
quences. gentlemen" replied the young
man.
The three professors addressed the
nurse.
mo. B 81 f f T." began the second
professor, "you, too, have volunteered
to sacrifice your happiness for the
sake Of sclencef You, too, are under
going this martyrdom with full
knowledge Of the consequencesT
The other two asked her almost the
same question, though not in identical
words. There was faint smile upon
the nurses face as she replied:
Eyes, gentlemen, am prepared to
suffer this martyrdom," she answered.
'Then you have both been warned,
as is required by law" said the eldest
professor II shall now proceed to In
Oculate you both with the rare germ
known as dIplococcus amoris, found
only in Patagonia and FIJI"
1t was weighty experiment. Dur
ing the three centuries that had
elapsed love had become rarer and
rarer. Marriages we're now and had
long been regulated by the state.
Spasmodic cases Of love had been re-
ported to the medical faculty, but ex-
cept for these epidemics, now becom-
ing rarer as the principles of hygiene
were better understood, there had not
been a case in years.
1t was the desire Of the physicians
to observe genuine case of love, In
order to revise the textbooks of this
disease, that had led the professors to
cast about for two suitable subjects
AS soon as the disease developed they
were to be placed for q period of years
upon desert island, to avoid the
spread Of the malady. They would be
supplied with food and home and
left there until the virulence of the
disease was believed to have abated
at is a splendid thing to sacrifice
ourselves for science" said A. 90 W J
IA, enthusiastically.
"Yes, It is, indeed" answered b ~
r r 7. Nevertheless the same faint,
almost inscrutable smile played about
her features as she spoke. The young
man wondered whether the nurse had
fully realized the nature of the expert
ment, the suffering that 1t would en-
tail. However, he said nothing. but
barred his arm for the incubation with
the rare microbe, a supply Of which
had come from the Fiji islands only
few days before.
The first professor, having steri-
lized his needle, drew up q minute
quantity Of gelatin out Of tube In
this substance were millions of the
deadly diplococcus. He inserted the
point Of the hypodermic into the
young mans arm. A 90 W P IA did
not finch at the pain. Then, having
withdrawn the needle, the professor
performed the same operation on the
young woman.
bNcTyDOuy uOliccu lhhL inc bdLht
faint and inscrutibls smile played
about her features, but nobody com
mented upon that fact. Even In 2215
1t was the privilege of young women
to smile.
The operations completed, the pro
fessors solemnly shook hands with the
victims.
"In three hours" said the middle
professor, "the symptoms should be
gin to take effect. This Is 115 o'clock
At 11s, therefore, you will both be
come q menace TO society. At that
hour the boat will be waiting to cor
vey you to your island home"
The professors withdrew, leaving
the young victims together in the lab
oratory of the science building. Stu
ated on the seashOre, In the curve OF
the wooded heights Of Brooklyn, Il
was an ideal spot for experimentation
The hum of the great distant cill
came only family to their ears.
In three hours time the vessc
would anchor off the dock to carr.
them away to the South seas, there I,
remain for a term Of years until tn
deadly virus had been eliminated.
The young man shuddered as h,
thought Of the awful fate in store TO
them. Now that the act was lrrey
ocable he began to think Of the sac
rifice. He remembered u hundre
friendships, the college days who
he had been the heart and soul Of !.
set. All these memories he mus.