•j 1 6 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



THE STORY OF TWO WOMEN. 



There was a woman on whose heart was pressed the heavy hand of Sorrow. 



Her heart was bruised, her head was bowed, her life bereft of hope and light. 



This woman was not strong, and so she sat her down and cried : 



" Woe has come upon me, and my love lies dead, his work unfinished. 



Xo more is heard his name upon the lips of men. With him is Hope 

 entombed. 



Henceforth my life shall be devoid of light, and o'er his grave I'll place 



A broken shaft to show the incompleteness of his life cut short of full fru- 

 ition." 



And so it was. Her life was void. His name forgotten in the homes of 

 men. 



Again there was a woman on whose heart was pressed the heavy hand of 



Sorrow. 

 Her heart was sore, her head bowed low, her life bereft of light. 

 But strong this woman was, and brave, and she stood up amid the stress 

 Of this her dire calamity, and gazed undaunted on the face of Sorrow. 

 " My love shall live ! " she said. " His work unfinished I take up. My life 



I give 

 To see his hope fulfilled. His name shall still be spoken in the courts 

 Of Wisdom, and a monument I'll raise to show fruition of his cherished 



hopes ! " 



And so it was. And wise men came to bring her aid. And lo ! Her life 



was full 

 Of light, and blessed with fruitful works. No broken shaft raised she 

 Above his tomb. Instead she reared a monument enduring as is Truth 



eternal. 

 And the wise men bring the tribute of their learning to this shrine. 

 His name is honored still in Wisdom's court. His work complete. His 



hope fulfilled, 

 And Sorrow conquered, chastened, owns the sway of Love. 



Professor Starr, of the University of Chicago, said he had known 

 the Davenport Academy of Sciences for twenty-five years. When a 

 schoolboy in Iowa he had been attracted by the reports of its meet- 

 ings, and especially in its explorations of the mounds. Ten years 

 later, while teaching in Coe College, Cedar Rapids, he felt the need 

 of a scientific library, and came to Davenport, where he spent ten 

 days studying in the Academy's library and museum. Since then his 

 interest in the institution had been increasing. Continuing, he said, 

 in substance: 



The people of this city should be proud of the Academy. In the 

 first place, we have here a library of many volumes that are rare and 



