Dr. Finsen, who discovered the “light cure” for the disease
of lupus, was greatly tempted to keep his secret to himself
and thus become a very rich man. He lay awake all one night,
perturbed as to whether he would make public his discovery.
When morning came, Dr. Finsen had “chosen the better part,” and
had decided to enrich the world with his cure. Only $1,500 a
year was paid him by the Government of Denmark, and gradually
the awful disease from which he himself was a sufferer made it
impossible for him to work more than an hour a day and to eat
hardly anything. Literally, Dr. Finsen laid down his life for
the army of fellow sufferers. Queen Alexandra, proud of her
fellow countryman, introduced the cure which bears his name to
the greatest hospital in the world, and Finsen’s discovery has
alleviated the torture of countless invalids. (Text.)
(2889)
* * * * *
Equally famous with the man in the moon and the woman in the
moon is the hare in the moon, says Garrett P. Serviss in his
“Astronomy with the Naked Eye.” The original is a Buddhist
legend. The god Sakkria, disguised as a Brahman, pretended to be
starving and went to the animals for help. The monkey got him
a bunch of mangoes; the coot picked up a fisherman’s neglected
string for him; the fox stole him a pot of milk. At last the god
approached the hare. “I have nothing but grass,” said the hare,
“and you can’t eat that.” “But your flesh is good,” suggested
the pretended Brahman. The hare assented. “Then,” said the
Brahman, “I’ll kindle a fire at the foot of this rock, and you
jump off into it. That’ll save me the trouble of killing you.”
The hare assented again, but as he leaped from the rock the god
caught him in his arms and then drew his figure in the moon as a
perpetual reminder of the excellence of self-sacrifice. (Text.)
(2890)
See GOODNESS IN THE BAD; POVERTY, CHRISTIAN.