It was as though the two men were witnessing a grim
tragedy.
Trained under the influence of his parents and from them receiving the
highest ideals of life and his duty to the race, Dan had been drawn
irresistibly by the theoretical self-sacrificing heroism and
traditionally glorious ministry of the church. Now, for the first time,
he was face to face with existing conditions. Not the theory but the
practice confronted him now. Not the traditional, but the actual.
It was, indeed, a tragedy.
The boy's face was drawn and white. His eyes--wide with that questioning
look--burned with a light that his old friend had not seen in them
before--the light of suffering--of agonizing doubt.
In his professional duties the Doctor had been forced to school himself
to watch the keenest suffering unmoved, lest his emotions bias his
judgment--upon the accuracy of which depended the life of his patient.
He had been taught to cause the cruelest pain with unshaken nerve by the
fact that a human life under his knife depended upon the steadiness of
his hand. But his sympathy had never been dulled--only controlled and
hidden. So, long years of contact with what might be called a disease of
society, had accustomed him to the sight of conditions--the revelation
of which came with such a shock to the younger man. But the Doctor could
still appreciate what the revelation meant to the boy. Knowing Dan from
his childhood, familiar with his home-training, and watching his growth
and development with personal, loving interest, the old physician had
realized how singularly susceptible his character was to the beautiful
beliefs of the church.
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