A Love Story

A Love Story A touching incident in the Titanic catastrophe was the death of Mr. and Mrs. Isadore Straus. It is related by Colonel Gracie, who was on the fated ship, and who gave one of the best descriptions of the disaster that was printed, that he heard them discussing between themselves the matter of separation, and they finally agreed that if they must die they would die together. When the officers urged Mrs. Straus to enter the lifeboat she refused to leave her husband. "We have lived together all these years," she said, "and I will not leave you now." No persuasion of the officers could move her determination. Mr. Stengel, another survivor, says that the officers then tried to make an exception in the case of Mr. Straus. "We told him," says Mr. Stengel, "that no one objected to an old gentleman like him going in the boat, but he said he would not leave until the other men did." So Mr. and Mrs. Straus went down together. Their action has been the subject for hundreds of poems, and will go down as a love story of the ages. A sad denoument, however, is the fact that Mr. Straus' body was recovered and taken to New York for burial while that, of his faithful wife remained in the deep sea — though their bodies were separated, their spirits went hand in hand to the better land. The Independent, New York, prints these lines under the title, "Together," by S. S. Cohen: T cannot leave thee, husband; in thine arm Enfolded, I am safe from all alarm. Tf God hath willed that we should pass, this night, Through the dark waters to Eternal Light, Oh, let us thank Him with our latest breath For welded life and undivided death.