The Test

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The story is of the two husbands, one rich, the other poor, both confronting matrimonial disaster. The rich man is about to lose his wife because she is unworthy. He comes to hate all humanity and contemplates suicide. The other husband is about to lose his wife through poverty and illness. He contemplates robbery. The poor man is driven to the last ditch. He leaves his hovel with the intention of committing robbery. He breaks his way into the house of the rich man. The owner has a revolver in one hand and a vial of poison in the other. He is debating which road he shall take into the grave. The rich man hears a burglar. He turns the revolver upon the intruder. The poor man then tells his story. The rich man thinks it a lie invented for the occasion. To test the truth of the burglar's statement, he hands him the poison with the words, "This drug will not prove fatal for an hour. Prove your love for your wife and children by taking this and I'll give you $1,000." The rich man pretends to pour the poison in the glass, but instead turns it upon the table. The poor man drinks what he thinks is the poison. The rich man is touched by the other's nobility. He keeps his promise to the poor man and begins life anew.