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Textbook Biomechanics Muscle Fibers and How To Interface Experimental Apparatus To A Computer 1St Edition Masataka Kawai Auth Ebook All Chapter PDF
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Biomechanics, Muscle Fibers, and How to
Interface Experimental Apparatus to a Computer
Masataka Kawai
Biomechanics, Muscle
Fibers, and How to
Interface Experimental
Apparatus to a Computer
Masataka Kawai
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
USA
The subject that I have been practicing longest is electronics. I was 5 or 6 when
my father, Shunji Kawai , taught me how to make a radio. In those days,
the radio consisted of 4–5 vacuum tubes (each about 15 cm tall with one used as a
rectifier) with lit filaments, and many additional parts. Radios were very expensive
(costing 11,000 Yen or $30 then, which translates to $1,700 in today’s US cur-
rency) and my father could not afford one (his monthly pay as a school teacher
was about 7,500 Yen), so he went to Nagoya City to learn how to build a radio. It
was fascinating to watch him make holes in an aluminum chassis with a hand-
powered drill, and attach parts with screws and nuts. He cut wires, put in insulat-
ing tubes, and soldered components together according to schematics. He taught
me how to perform all of these steps. Between us, we made ∼50 radios, and sold
them to villagers at a reduced price, which made us very popular. I did not know
how the radio works, but later made up my own theory because my science tea-
cher asked; subsequently, I confirmed my theory. In the meantime, my mother,
Yoshié , competed with my father as to what to teach me, and she taught me
how to knit. I ended up making a muffler and a sweater. Endless repetition of
(almost) the same step gave me patience and endurance when I later wired numer-
ous connections in computer circuits.
These experiences gave me a tremendous advantage over the years. The tall
vacuum tubes were gradually replaced with groove tubes (GT), miniature tubes,
transistors, low-cost integrated circuits (ICs), intermediate-level ICs (computer
chips), and large-scale ICs. At each step in this progression, elements became smal-
ler, less expensive, and more reliable. At each stage, I had the opportunity to wire
them to make functional units. When I was a college junior, our math professor,
Akihiro Nozaki , taught us how to write a computer program using an
assembler language. The mainframe was a decimal-based computer that used a
rotating disk for its immediate memory and therefore was very slow, but I thought
it was cool. In graduate school, my colleague Ron Taylor taught me how to write a
Fortran program, with which I modified a primitive word processing program and
used it for my PhD thesis with automated referencing, figure and table numberings.
My thesis advisor, Professor Erwin (Tack) Kuntz, encouraged me to use operational
vii
viii Preface – About the Author and STEM Disciplines
amplifiers, which are the basis of analog computers and essential for carrying out
biophysical measurements (Sect. 6.2.6). During my postdoctoral training, my senior
colleague, Professor Phil Brandt, obtained a 16-bit NOVA computer, and I was
able to interface my experiments (‘sinusoidal analysis’) to this computer. This
included D/A (digital-to-analog) conversion for experimental control, A/D conver-
sion for data acquisition, an interrupt service program, programming in both assem-
bler and compiler (Fortran) languages to control external devices and perform
experiments, and instant display of the results (Chap. 6). Luckily, the Fortran sys-
tem has survived, and I still use programs I developed more than 40 years ago.
My fascination with biology started when I entered elementary school. I raised
silkworm larvae, fed them mulberry leaves, and watched them grow. They made
cocoons, metamorphosed to adult moths, mated, and laid eggs. I watched these
eggs hatch and grow into larvae again. I was certain by then that in life there are
two sexes, and that their genes must be mixed to improve genes. I also caught but-
terfly larvae, fed them until they formed cocoons, and watched them metamor-
phose into butterflies. This was more satisfactory than chasing butterflies and
catching them, because they escaped or got damaged when caught. When I was
14, my parents sent me to Tokyo to live with my aunt’s family and to attend mid-
dle and high schools there. Apparently, my parents felt that chasing butterfly lar-
vae was not an adequate education for me. In high school, my biology teacher,
Mr. Minoru Okuyama , taught us developmental biology, and it was
exciting to learn how an animal is formed starting from an egg. It was interesting
to know that development of the individual roughly recapitulates the evolution of
the species. Later in college, I took biochemistry, and was fascinated to see the
Watson and Crick DNA structure. My mentor, Professor Kazutomo Imahori
, said that it was the “Schrödinger equation” in biology. I rushed to
make a molecular model of DNA using wooden balls and sticks, encouraged by
Professor Koujiro Iso . This was one of those “wow!” moments.
In the first year of high school, I became interested in differentiation and integra-
tion, and taught myself these subjects a couple of years ahead of the curriculum.
I derived the Taylor expansion series (Eq. 5.7), and a fundamental equivalence in
algebra (Euler’s formula): eiθ = cos θ + i sin θ (Eq. 5.6). Consequently, I was able
to follow the two-body problem in classical mechanics, and able to realize how a
planet moves around the sun (and wobbling of the sun), based on Newton’s law of
universal gravitation (force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between the two bodies) and acceleration (Eq. 1.7) by solving differential
equations set up based on these principles. My motivation came from a few hints
(dreams) our math teacher (Mr. Ichiro Takahashi ) and physics teacher
(Mr. Teizo Sasaki ) gave us during regular class hours, and from a
book of math formulas that my cousin, Mr. Toshisuke Kuniéda , had.
He was my roommate for about 12 months and taught me how to use the log table
for multiplication and power calculations. Consequently, I purchased a 7-digit log
table book, used an abacus to add (and multiply) the numbers, and calculated the
movements of planets. To get approximate answers, I used a slide rule. No hand-
held calculators were available in those days.
Preface – About the Author and STEM Disciplines ix
Symbols Definition
A Magnitude (amplitude) of exponential process A (Eqs. 3.6, 3.10)
A(t) Concentration of cross-bridges in the attached state A
A1 Steady-state concentration of A
AC Cross-sectional area (Fig. 1.1)
AT Total concentration (of cross-bridges) (Eqs. 2.2, 2.9)
ATPase The ATP hydrolysis rate (Eq. 4.3)
ΔAHP Change in hydrophobic surface area (Eq. 4.11)
ΔAI Change in ionic surface area (Eq. 4.12)
α ≡ 2πa Apparent (observed) rate constant of exponential process A (Eq. 3.6,
3.10, 4.15, Fig. 4.13)
α Rate constant of detachment (A → B), Schemes 1, 2 (Figs. 2.1, 2.2)
α′ Rate constant of attachment (B → A), Schemes 1, 2 (Figs. 2.1, 2.2
B Magnitude (amplitude) of exponential process B (Eqs. 3.6, 3.10)
B(t) Concentration of cross-bridges in the detached state B
B1 Steady-state concentration of B
β ≡ 2πb Apparent rate constant of exponential process B (Eqs. 3.6, 3.10, 4.2)
β Rate constant of attachment (B → C), Scheme 2 (Fig. 2.2)
β′ Rate constant of detachment (C → B), Scheme 2 (Fig. 2.2)
C Magnitude (amplitude) of exponential process C (Eqs. 3.6, 3.10)
C Capacitance (electricity, Sec 6.1)
C(t) Concentration of attached cross-bridges in C (Eq. 2.12)
C1 Steady-state concentration of C (Eq. 2.12)
ΔCP Heat capacity change (Eqs. 4.8, 4.9)
CPU Central processing unit (Sect. 6.4.1)
D MgADP concentration (Eq. 4.1)
εr Dielectric constant of water, εr = 78.55 at 25 °C (Eq. 4.14)
ε(t) Step function (Sec. 3.9, Table 5.1)
F Force, Tension (Sect. 1.1)
F(t) Force time course (Eq. 3.10, Figs. 3.1, 4.9, 4.14)
xi
xii Symbols and Abbreviations Used
xv
Contents
xvii
xviii Contents
Abstract This chapter defines basic terminology associated with force measure-
ments, and includes length, force, elasticity, viscosity, viscoelasticity, mass, work
absorption, work generation, transfer function, complex modulus, exponential
advance, exponential delay, and how to plot the complex modulus data.
1.1 Force
where AC is the cross-sectional area to which the force is applied (Fig. 1.1).
Sometimes “specific” is used instead of “normalized”. ΔF is called tension, stress,
or pressure. They do not depend on the physical size (AC) of the preparation. In the
following discussion, a word “normalized” is frequently abbreviated for simplicity.
Series arrangement
Force measured at any point in series is the same if there is no mass in between
(Fig. 1.2a):
F = F1 = F2 (1.2)
Parallel arrangement
Two forces (F1, F2) applied in parallel (in the same direction) are additive
(Fig. 1.2b):
F = F1 + F2 (1.3)
b
F1
F2 F1 + F2
where L is the length of the material (Fig. 1.1). ΔL is called “strain.” It does not
depend on the physical size (L) of the preparation.
ΔF 1
σ≡ ; and c≡ (1.5)
ΔL σ
dL ΔF
ΔF ≡ ηV ≡ η ; or η= (1.6)
dt V
1.5 Mass
d2 L
ΔF ≡ m (1.7)
dt2
Equation 1.7 defines the mass (m), which is depicted in Fig. 1.3e. The mass
can be usually ignored on the discussion of viscoelasticity of muscle fibers, but it
becomes significant in wave propagation. Also, Eq. 1.7 becomes important when
a planet movement around the sun is discussed, where there is no possibility of
viscosity.
1.6 Viscoelasticity
A material with both elastic and viscous properties is called a viscoelastic material.
The viscoelasticity (Y) can be measured by applying sinusoidal length changes:
where L1 is the amplitude of the length change, ω ≡ 2πν is angular frequency, and
ν is the frequency of the length oscillation. ΔFðtÞ is called “force time course” or
“force transient.” The transfer function from the length change to the force change is:
ΔF F1 ðωÞ
YðωÞ ≡ = (1.10)
ΔL L1
If two viscoelastic elements (Y1, Y2) are arranged in parallel, the combined viscoe-
lasticity is (Fig. 1.4a):
Y = Y1 + Y2 (1.11)
If these elements are arranged in series, the combined viscoelasticity is (Fig. 1.4b):
Y1 Y2
Y= (1.12)
Y1 + Y2
Equations 1.11 and 1.12 can be proven by applying a displacement (ΔL) and
measuring the force change (ΔF) for each element and for both by incorporating
the principle of Fig. 1.2.
Fig. 1.4 a Parallel a
arrangement. b Serial Y1
arrangement
Y2
b
Y1 Y2
1.9 Work and Work Absorption 5
If an elastic element (σ) and a viscous element (ηωi) are combined in series
(Fig. 1.5c), then the combined viscoelasticity is, from Eq. 1.12:
σ × ηωi σωi ω0 i + ω
YðωÞ = = = σω 2 (1.13)
σ + ηωi ω0 + ωi ω0 + ω2
where ω0 ≡ σ=η. This combination is called an exponential lead (also called expo-
nential advance, or phase advance). Here, 0° ≤ arg(Y) < 90° (Re(Y) > 0, Im(Y) > 0)
(see Eq. 5.13 for arg function; Sect. 5.2 for Re and Im functions), hence the plot
falls on the first quadrant (I) (Fig. 1.5c). In Eq. 1.13, ω0 is called the (apparent) rate
constant, νc ≡ ω0 =2π is called the characteristic frequency, τ ≡ 1=ω0 is called the
time constant, and σ is called the magnitude (amplitude) of the exponential lead.
Note that
The complex modulus of an element that generates work (Fig. 1.3b) can be
described as follows:
σω0 σωi ω0 − ωi
YðωÞ = =σ− = σω0 2 (1.16)
ω0 + ωi ω0 + ωi ω0 + ω2
Because Im(Y(ω)) < 0, the work absorption (Eq. 1.15) becomes negative, i.e.,
work is produced by the muscle fiber on the forcing apparatus (length driver).
This element is symbolized as in Fig. 1.3b with the complex modulus of Y(ω) in
Eq. 1.16 and its Nyquist plot in Fig. 1.5d. For ω = 0, Y(0) → σ, which is actually
replaced by process A (Eq. 3.6) in the case of active muscle fibers.
The complex modulus Y(ν) can be represented on the complex plane (Cartesian
coordinate, Sec. 5.2) with the real axis in the abscissa (called elastic modulus,
Re(Y)), and the imaginary axis in the ordinate (called viscous modulus, Im(Y)).
Here, the frequency (ω or ν) becomes the intervening parameter. In Fig. 1.5,
Eqs. 1.5, 1.6, 1.13, and 1.16 are plotted on the complex plane (c.f., Machin,
1964). This type of plot has been called a “Nyquist plot” in muscle mechanics
since the 1960’s. Figure 1.5a shows general elasticity, Fig. 1.5b general viscos-
ity, Fig. 1.5c an exponential lead (or phase advance), and Fig. 1.5d work gen-
erator and an exponential delay (or phase delay). One should be able to verify
that all frequency points of Fig. 1.5c fall on a semicircle, starting from the
origin (ω = 0) and ending at σ on the abscissa as ω → ∞ (σ is the diameter,
which can be proven by calculating |Y–σ/2|2 from Eq. 1.13. The dynamic modu-
lus is defined as |Y( f )|, and the phase shift as arg[Y( f )], where arg function is
described in Eq. 5.13.
a b c d
ω=∞ ω=∞ ω=0
ω = ω0
σ
ω=
0 ∞ ω=0 σ
ω = ω0
σ ω=0 ω=∞
Fig. 1.5 Nyquist plots of elements. a Elasticity. b Viscosity. c Exponential lead (advance).
d Exponential delay (work generator). See also Machin (1964)
Reference 7
1.12 Exercise
1.1. Based on Eqs. 1.5 and 1.10, verify that the complex modulus of an elastic
element is σ.
1.2. Based on Eqs. 1.6, 1.8, and 1.9, verify that the complex modulus of a viscous
element is ηωi.
1.3. Verify Eqs. 1.11 and 1.12.
1.4. Verify that the plot of Eq. 1.13 on the complex plane (Fig. 1.5c) is a semicircle
in the 1st quadrant with its center on the abscissa.
1.5. Verify that the plot of Eq. 1.16 on the complex plane (Fig. 1.5d) is a semicircle
in the 4th quadrant with its center on the abscissa.
Reference
Machin KE (1964) Feedback theory and its application to biological systems. Symp Soc Exp
Biol 18:421–445
Chapter 2
Reaction Processes (Chemical Kinetics) and
Their Application to Muscle Biology
Abstract This chapter describes basics of cross-bridge models, and how to charac-
terize muscle fiber (and myofibril) preparations in terms of elementary steps of the
cross-bridge cycle. Models with two states, three states, and multi states are exa-
mined. Mathematical derivation to relate observed rate constants to the fundamental
rate constants of the elementary steps are presented. The temperature effect of the
rate constants, their activation energy, and reaction coordinates are discussed.
Keywords Two state model · three state model · multi state model · cross-bridge ·
cross-bridge cycle · muscle fiber · myofibril · elementary steps · rate constant ·
equilibrium constant · activation energy · reaction coordinate · Arrhenius
equation
Many cross-bridge models have been proposed to account for isometric tension
and its transients, but most of them are difficult to follow owing to their complex-
ity and the numerical approximations that have been used. Quite often, too many
states are employed and too many parameters are used to fit scanty data, lessening
the significance of the model. The purpose of a model is to account for experimen-
tal results, and to predict results for future experiments. In this chapter, I will focus
on simple cases and account for fundamental experimental results. These cases
are limited to the isometric, or near-isometric state of contraction, which I believe
is the best way to characterize the elementary steps of the cross-bridge cycle.
If a shortening of a half sarcomere happens exceeding that of the cross-bridges’
step size (stroke distance), then multiple cross-bridge cycles must follow. In this
condition, transients are limited by the slowest step of the cycle, hence fast steps
cannot be resolved. The symbols used in the text are summarized in the beginning
of this book.
This is the simplest case, hence easiest to understand yet still of value. It is exten-
sively used in classical muscle physiology and mechanics literature (Huxley,
1957; Thorson & White, 1969; Huxley & Simmons, 1971; Abbott, 1972; Brenner,
1988). When a reactant (A) changes to a product (B) with the forward rate con-
stant α and the reversal rate constant α′, this process can be written as in Scheme 1
(Fig. 2.1). For applications to muscle mechanics, state A is recognized as the
attached state with force, and state B as the detached state without force. The rate
of the forward reaction is αA, and the rate of the reversal reaction is α′B, where
italic letters A and B represent concentrations of respective species A and B.
Although the rate and the rate constant are two different quantities, the “rate con-
stant” is often abbreviated as the “rate,” and I will follow this convention when
their difference is apparent. When discussing molecular species, I will use bold
letters such as A and B. Because the forward rate is a loss of A, and the reverse
rate is a gain of A, the rate of the increase of A is described in Eq. 2.1:
dA
= −αA + α′B (2.1)
dt
The reaction in Scheme 1 is called the first-order reaction, because one species
is involved as the reactant (A in Scheme 1). Equation 2.1 is called “master equa-
tion” of the reaction process of Scheme 1. Given that A and B are two forms of
the same molecular species,
A + B = AT (2.2)
where AT is the total concentration and is conserved (i.e., it does not change with
time). For A, B, and AT, “probability” is often used instead of “concentration,” in
which case AT = 1. An elimination of B from Eqs. 2.1 and 2.2 results in:
dA
+ λA = α′AT ; where λ ≡ a + a′ (2.3)
dt
Note that ≡ indicates “definition.” Equation 2.3 can be solved (Sect. 5.4) to
result in:
Aðt Þ = A0 expð−λt Þ + A1 (2.4)
2.3 Three-State Model 11
and
where
α′ α
A1 ≡ AT ; B1 ≡ AT ; (2.6)
λ λ
B1 α
Kα ≡ = (2.8)
A1 α′
This equation is called “mass action law”; the second part of Eq. 2.8 is derived
from Eq. 2.6.
Kα b
A B C
b’
If we focus on a medium time scale, comparable to 1/(β + β′) (e.g., ∼10 ms),
then step 1 is very fast and looks like an equilibrium, whereas step 3 is too slow
to be observed. Therefore, Scheme 2 actually looks like Scheme 3 (Fig. 2.3),
where Kα ≡ α/α′ = B/A. In this case
dðA + BÞ
= − βB + β′C; and A + B + C = AT ; (2.9)
dt
dA AT
+ λ3 A = β′ (2.10)
dt 1 + Kα
2.4 Second Order Reaction 13
where
Kα
λ3 ≡ β + β′ (2.11)
1 + Kα
Aðt Þ = A0 expð−λ3 t Þ + A1 ;
Bðt Þ = A0 Kα expð−λ3 t Þ + B1 ; (2.12)
C ðt Þ = − A0 ð1 + Kα Þexpð−λ3 t Þ + C1
The binding of the small ligand to an enzyme (such as the myosin head) is diffu-
sion limited and very fast, which can be better approximated by an equilibrium,
such as shown in step 1 of Fig. 2.4. After the binding, the enzyme (AM) under-
goes a conformational change (step 2), which is slower and its rates can be experi-
mentally observed. This case can be analyzed using Scheme 3, with Kα ≡ K1S,
k2 ≡ β, and k−2 ≡ β′ to result (from Eq. 2.11) in the apparent rate λ3:
K1 S
λ3 ≡ k2 + k−2 (2.13)
1 + K1 S
K1 S
λ3 ≡ k2 + k−2 (2.14)
1 + K0 D + K1 S
where D = [MgADP]. Figure 2.5 and consequent Eq. 2.14 have been used to
explain the ATP and ADP effects (Kawai & Halvorson, 1989). From Eq. 2.8, the
equilibrium constant of step 2 is K2 = k2/k−2.
The Scheme 3 (Fig. 2.3) was also used to characterize the Pi release step,
with replacements of C → AMDP, B → AM*DP, A → AM*D, Kα ≡ K5P, k4 ≡ β′,
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If we sight(14) naught but seas at dawn?”
“Why, you shall say, at break of day,(15)
Sail on! Sail on! Sail on and on!”
IV. Classification
There are three divisions into which all selections may be put. A
selection may be written to make something Clear; it may be for the
purpose of inspiring, or elevating one’s thoughts and feelings—to
make Impressive; it may be for the purpose of enforcing some great
truth—to make Belief. This classification is based upon the author’s
purpose.
Questions: Where the author’s purpose is to make Clear some
obscure point or idea.
Where the author’s purpose is Belief. The author does more than
make us see, or feel.
1. Is it modern or old?
2. Where is the scene laid?
3. Are descriptions given in detail or mere suggestion?
4. Is dialect used?
5. Will personation aid in rendering the selection?
6. Does the power and beauty of the selection lie in narration,
description, or in character drawing?
7. Name some definite things, sounds or objects described,
that give color or atmosphere.
8. Is the movement:
VI. Vocalization
Let our guide be as Shakespeare has so well put it:
Let your own discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word;
the word to the action; with this special observance—that you
o’erstep not the modesty of nature.
I. Intelligent Impression
A. General Preparation
Read silently the entire selection. The purpose is to gain an
impression of the selection as a whole.
B. Special Preparation
Read the selection silently a second time. The aim is to make a
mental note of the respective importance of the several parts which
make up the whole.
A. General Preparation
Before rendering a selection orally it must be given a setting. This
has to do with time, place, objects, sounds, movements, or anything
that tends to give local color.
B. Special Preparation
Read the selection aloud for the first time. In doing this, ask
yourself:
NATHAN FOSTER
By Paul L. Dunbar
Nathan Foster and his lifelong friend and neighbor, Silas
Bollender, sat together side by side upon the line-fence that
separated their respective domains. They were both whittling away
industriously, and there had been a long silence between them.
Nathan broke it, saying:
“’Pears to me like I’ve had oncommon good luck this year.”
“Wall, you have had good luck, there ain’t no denyin’ that. It ’pears
as though you’ve been ee-specially blest.”
“An’ I know I ain’t done nothin’ to deserve it.”
“No, o’ course not. Don’t take no credit to yourself, Nathan. We
don’t none of us deserve our blessings, however we may feel about
our crosses; we kin be purty shore o’ that.”
“Now, look, my pertater vines was like little trees, an’ nary a bug
on ’em.”
“An’ you had as good a crop of corn as I’ve ever seen raised in
this part of Montgomery county.”
“Yes, an’ I sold it, too, jest before that big drop in the price.”
“After givin’ away all yer turnips you could, you had to feed ’em to
the hogs.”
“My fruit trees jest had to be propped up, an’ I’ve got enough
perserves in my cellar to last two or three winters, even takin’ into
consideration the drain o’ church socials an’ o’ charity.”
“Yore chickens are fat and sassy, not a sign o’ pip on ’em.”
“Look at them cows in the fur pastur. Did yer ever see anything to
beat ’em fer sleekness?”
“Wall, look at the pasture itself; it’s most enough to make human
beings envy the critters. You didn’t have a drop of rain on yer while
you was gettin’ in yer hay, did yer?”
“Not a drop.”
“An’ I had a whole lot ruined jest as I was about to rick it.”
“Silas, sich luck as I’m a-havin’ is achilly skeery; it don’t seem
right.”
“No, it don’t seem right for a religious man like you, Nathan. Ef you
was a hard an’ graspin’ Sinner, it ’ud be jest makin’ you top-heavy
so’s yore fall ’ud be the greater.”
“I don’t know but what that’s it, anyhow. Mebbe I’m a-gettin’ puffed
up over my goods without exactly knowin’ it.”
“Mebbe so, mebbe so. Them kind o’ feelin’s is mighty sneakin’
comin’ on a body. O’ course I ain’t seen no signs of it in you; but it
’pears to me you’ll have to mortify yore flesh yit to keep from being
purse-proud.”
“Mortify the flesh?”
“O’ course, you can’t put peas in yore shoes er get any of yer
frien’s to lash you, so you’ll have to find some other way of mortifyin’
yer flesh. Wall, fer my part, I don’t need to look fur none, fur I never
had too many blessin’s in my life, less’n you’d want to put the
children under that head.”
Silas shut his jack-knife with a snap and, laughing, slid down on
his side of the fence. In serious silence Nathan Foster watched him
go stumping up the path toward the house.
“Silas seems to take everything so light in this world; I wonder how
he can do it.”
With Nathan, now, it was just the other way. Throughout his eight
and forty years he had taken every fact of life with ponderous
seriousness. Entirely devoid of humor, he was a firm believer in
signs, omens, tokens, and judgments. He was a religious man, and
his wealth frightened and oppressed him. He gave to his church and
gave freely.
As usual, he had taken his friend’s bantering words in hard
earnest and was turning them over in his mind.
The next morning when Nathan and Silas met to compare notes,
Nathan began:
“I have been thinking over what you said last night, Silas, about
me mortifyin’ my flesh, and it seems to me like a good idee. I
wrasselled in prayer last night, and it was shown to me that it wa’n’t
no more’n right fur me to make some kind o’ sacrifice fur the mercies
that’s been bestowed upon me.”
“Wall, I don’t know, Nathan; burnt-offerings are a little out now.”
“I don’t mean nothin’ like that; I mean some sacrifice of myself,
some—”
His sentence was broken in upon by a shrill voice that called from
Silas Bollender’s kitchen door:
“Si, you’d better be a-gittin’ about yore work instid o’ standin’ over
there a-gassin’ all the mornin’. I’m shore I don’t have no time to
stand around.”
“All right, Mollie; speakin’ of mortifyin’ the flesh an’ makin’ a
sacrifice of yoreself, Nathan, why don’t you git married?”
Nathan started.
“Then you’d be shore to accomplish both. Fur pure mortification of
the flesh, I don’t know of nothin’ more thoroughgoin’ er effectiver
than a wife. Also she is a vexation to a man’s sperit. You raaly ought
to git married, Nathan.”
“Do you think so?”
“It looks to me that that ’ud be about as good a sacrifice as you
could make; an’ then it’s such a lastin’ one.”
“I don’t believe you realize what you air a-sayin’, Silas. It’s a
mighty desprit step that you’re advisin’ me to take.”
Again Mrs. Bollender’s voice broke in:
“Si, air you goin’ to git anything done this mornin’, er air you goin’
to stand there an’ hold up that fence fur the rest of the day?”
“Nathan, kin you stand here an’ listen to a voice an’ a speech like
that an’ then ask me if I realize the despritness of marriage?”
“It’s desprit, but who’d you advise me to marry,—Silas, that is, if I
made up my mind to marry,—an’ I don’t jest see any other way.”
“Oh, I ain’t pickin’ out wives fur anybody, but it seems to me that
you might be doin’ a good turn by marryin’ the Widder Young. The
Lord ’ud have two special reasons fur blessin’ you then; fur you’d be
mortifyin’ yore flesh an’ at the same time a-helpin’ the widder an’ her
orphans.”
“That’s so.” He couldn’t admit to Silas that he had been thinking
hard of the Widow Young even before he had of mortifying his flesh
with a wife.
Once decided, it did not take him long to put his plans into
execution. But he called Silas over to the fence that evening after he
had dressed to pay a visit to the widow.
“Wall, Silas, I’ve determined to take the step you advised.”
“Humph, you made your mind up in a hurry, Nathan.”
“I don’t know as it’s any use a-waiting; ef a thing’s to be done, I
think it ought to be done and got through with. What I want particular
to know now is, whether it wouldn’t be best to tell Lizzie—I mean the
widder—that I want her as a means of mortification.”
“Wall, no, Nathan, I don’t know as I would do that jest yit; I don’t
believe it would be best.”
“But if she don’t know, wouldn’t it be obtainin’ her under false
pretenses if she said yes?”
“Not exactaly the way I look at it, fur you’ve got more motives fur
marryin’ than one.”
“What! Explain yoreself, Silas; explain yoreself.”
“I mean you want to do her good as well as subdue your own
sperit.”
“Oh, yes, that’s so.”
“Now, no woman wants to know at first that she’s a vexation to a
man’s sperit. It sounds scriptual, but it don’t sound nooptial. Now
look at me an’ Mis’ Bollender. I never told her until we’d been
married more’n six months; but she didn’t believe it then, an’ she
won’t believe it till this day.”
“Wall, I’ll agree not to tell her right away, but if she consents, I
must tell her a week or so after we are married. It’ll ease my
conscience. Ef I could tell her now, it ’ud be a heap easier in gittin’
round the question. I don’t know jest how to do it without.”
“Oh, you won’t have no trouble in makin’ her understand.
Matrimony’s a subject that women air mighty keen on. They can see
if a man’s a-poppin’ the question ef he only half tries. You’ll git
through all right.”
Somewhat strengthened, Nathan left his friend and sought the
widow’s home. He found her stitching away merrily under the light of
a coal-oil lamp with a red shade.
“La, Nathan, who’d a’ expected to see you up here? You’ve got to
be such a home body that no one don’t look to see you out of yore
own field and garden.”
“I jest thought I’d drop in.”
“Wall, it’s precious kind of you, I’m shore. I was a-feelin’ kind o’
lonesome. The children go to bed with the chickens.”
“I jest thought I’d drop in.”
“Wall, it does remind me of old times to see you jest droppin’ in,
informal like, this way. My, how time does fly!”
“Widder, I’ve been thinkin’ a good deal lately; I’ve been greatly
prospered in my day; in fact, my cup runneth over.”
“You have been prospered, Nathan.”
“Seems ’s ef—seems ’s ef I ought to sheer it with somebody, don’t
it?”
“Wall, Nathan, I don’t know nobody that’s more generous in givin’
to the pore than you air.”
“I don’t mean in jest exactly that way. I mean, widder—you’re the
morti—I mean the salvation of my soul. Could you—would you—er
do you think you’d keer to sheer my blessin’s with me an’ add
another one to ’em?”
The Widow Young looked at him in astonishment; then the tears
filled her eyes as she asked, “Nathan, do you mean it?”
“I wouldn’t a-spent so much trouble on a joke, widder.”
“No, it don’t seem that you would, Nathan. Well, it’s mighty
sudden, mighty sudden, but I can’t say no.”
“Fur these an’ many other blessin’s make us truly thankful, O
Lord,” said Nathan devoutly. And he sat another hour with the widow
making plans for the early marriage, on which he insisted.
The widow had been settled in Nathan’s home over a month
before he had ever thought of telling her of the real motive of his
marriage, and every day from the time it occurred to him it grew
harder for him to do it.
One night when he had been particularly troubled he sought his
friend and counselor with a clouded brow. They sat together in their
accustomed place on the fence.
“I’m bothered, Silas.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Why, there’s several things. First off, I ain’t never told the widder
that she was a mortification, an’ next she ain’t. I look around at that
old house o’ mine that ain’t been a home since mother used to scour
the hearth, an’ it makes me feel like singin’ fer joy. An’ I hear them
children playin’ round me—they’re the beatenest children; that
youngest one called me daddy yistiddy—well, I see ’em playin’ round
and my eyes air opened, an’ I see that the widder’s jest another
blessin’ added to the rest. It looks to me like I had tried to beat the
Almighty.”
“Wall, now, Nathan, I don’t know that you’ve got any cause to feel
bothered. You’ve done yore duty. If you’ve tried to mortify yore flesh
an’ it refused to mortify, why, that’s all you could do, an’ I believe the
Lord’ll take the will fer the deed an’ credit you accordin’ly.”
“Mebbe so, Silas, mebbe so.”
—Copyright by Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, and used by
arrangement.