The Story of a Doctor's Telephone—Told by His WifeFirebaugh, Ellen M.
General
The Story of a Doctor's Telephone—Told by His Wife
Firebaugh, Ellen M.
Physicians -- Anecdotes; Wit and humor
After a long time the younger man raised his head and spoke in broken
words, "Doctor, I must not keep you here. You are needed elsewhere.
Leave me to Remorse. I am young and you are growing old, Doctor, but
will you take this word from me? You and all in your profession should
long ago have told us these things. The world should not lie in
ignorance of this tremendous evil. If men will not be saved from
themselves they will save their unborn children, if they only know. God
help them."
The doctor went slowly homeward, his mind filled with the awful calamity
in the household he had left. "It is time the world is waking," he
thought. "We must arouse it."
* * * * *
Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.
"Is this Mrs. Blank?"
It was a manly voice vibrating with youth and joy.
"I want to tell you that your husband has just left a sweet little
daughter at our house."
"Oh, has he! I'm very glad, Mr. Farwell. Thank you for telephoning.
Father, mother and baby all doing well?"
"Fine as silk. I had to tell _somebody_ right away. Now I'm off to send
some telegrams to the folks at home. Goodbye."
Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. Ting-a-ling-ling-ling. Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.
"This is Mrs. Blank is it not?"
"Yes."
"Will you please tell the doctor that father is dead. He died twenty
minutes ago."
"The doctor was expecting the message, Mr. Jameson," said Mary gently.
This, too, was the voice of a young man, but quiet, subdued, bringing
tidings of death instead of life. And Mary, going back to her seat in
the twilight, thought of the words of one--Life is a narrow vale between
the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. The eternity before the
baby came, the eternity after the old man went, were solemnly in her
thoughts. But they were not cold and barren peaks to her. They were
crowned with light and warmth and love.
And into her thoughts came, too, the never-ending story of the 'phone as
it was unfolding itself to her throughout the years. Humor and pathos,
folly and wisdom, tragedy and comedy, pain, anguish, love, joy,
sorrow--all had spoken and had poured their brief story into the
listening ear of the helper. And when he was not there, into the ear of
one who must help in her own poor way.
O countless, countless messages stored in her memory to await his
coming! Only she could know how faithfully she had guarded and delivered
them. Only she could--
Ting-a-ling. Ting-a-ling. Ting-a-ling-ling-ling.
[ Transcriber's Note:
The following is a list of corrections made to the original.
The first line is the original line, the second the corrected one.
"That's about five miles out, isn't it. Whose sick out there?"
"That's about five miles out, isn't it. Who's sick out there?"
Well, where is the _doctor_?"
"Well, where is the _doctor_?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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