Is ものを similar to けど?


Another sentence from my JLPT practise book, this time in a section explaining
the use of `ものを`.

> 借金{しゃっきん}で困{こま}っていた友人{ゆうじん}を、助{たす}けようと思{おも}えば助{たす}けられた **ものを**
> 、見捨{みす}ててしまった。

I _think_ this sentence is saying, "My friend who was having debt problems /
if I had thought about helping I could have helped / but I forgot about it."

If I'm on the right track in the meaning, then I'm not sure what `ものを` is
bringing to the party here.

Is this sentence equivalent:

> 借金{しゃっきん}で困{こま}っていた友人{ゆうじん}を、助{たす}けようと思{おも}えば助{たす}けられた **けど** 、見捨{みす}ててしまった。

If so, what extra meaning does `ものを` have that would make one choose to use it
over `けど`?




～ものを (sense [1]-1 in
[Daijisen](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E3%82%82%E3%81%AE%E3%82%92&stype=1&dtype=0&dname=0na))
is similar to ～けど, but using ～ものを signifies the unsatisfactory feeling of the
speaker. In your example, I think that using ～ものを instead of ～けど expresses the
regret of the speaker.




～ものを (sense [1]-1 in
[Daijisen](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E3%82%82%E3%81%AE%E3%82%92&stype=1&dtype=0&dname=0na))
is similar to ～けど, but using ～ものを signifies the unsatisfactory feeling of the
speaker. In your example, I think that using ～ものを instead of ～けど expresses the
regret of the speaker.

