, 1880-12-12
A SS-WIDOW.
She Tells Her Own Story.


From the EdttfoSntdT~ .
DEAR LIZ: I have just read your letter. l
1arf, do. I larf good. pwhat n girl you are1
Round for glory through the medium Of q yellow
cover, are you? Well. sail In; shall never
oyertake you, because am not travelling In that
direction.
Do you know, Liz {you invited my confdencc).
that / am the bgg est fool outside Of Dedlan9
~ motley fool, as Shakespeare says; durnedt
complicated fool, as Sut Lovengood expresses
it; a piebuld, pinto, Dolly Warden, aud measly
fool. Put all these adjectives In, and daven then
you will hardly get tho true tnwardness OF my
idiocy. And what do you think Eve been. and
gone, and done? But Won't tell you just yet.
want to give YOU some iden Of my physical
state hoping it may palltate the absurdlty of the
rest of me. fou know the physical Ia the foun-
datton of tho mental and moral, and il it gets
into shliy-shaily, p-s bod, -kneed conui-
ton, the whole superstructure begins to wiggle
aud lean- know I am not we'll. 1t don't agree
with mo to be shut up within four brick walls,
where tho sun never shines, and l have turned
pale, and my hands and feet arc always cold.
Therefore. have lost my attitude OF proud ~
independence, and find myself in leaning post
ure, You can fill IN the
space with tho simile OF the vine yourself. And
SOL wonder If / had better confess my weak
e ei il be S Fl Pe Il
the point at once. I have fallen In love.
The cat is out Of the bag at last, aud a
wretched looking specimen it Is,
Now, If my "sweetuess" would only make
love to me after the fashion Of the average male
u week. But here is q sort Of double, back
action. ten-donkcy power Rochester, aJd be can't
tEeat me enough to do big feelings 5ua5ics
him night and day. What perverse animals We
women urei A certain amount Of kicking seems
Indispensable to our happiness
What makes na11nr than QnVfhinr A}Gf3 ia
the fact that this individual has literally moth
ing to recommend him to my interest but the
Victor Hugo defines man as the animal that
laughs: hand my name down to posterity for
defining women as tho divinity TINT climbs.
ment Of MY lite. either in Imagination or reali-
ty; climbing tho tence Mr.. Taft has built about
himself. Am like mouse that prospects with
untirIng zeal the vulnerable spot In the trap for
tho morsel of cheese that seems 30 tempting.
But, mind you, the m0uSa acts on her best judy
@n11 t ner m rsf st
there is nothing but starvation.
For tell you, Liz, that love don't last after
And, great heavens, who would want 1t tor It
is the most tormentfng. OF oil Internal condi-
tons that ever was harched. 1t binds you neck
You are srakcd out with short halter. and all
you can do Is to wind yourself up into tortured,
complicated knots and snaris in never-ending
There are but two happy moments in the
whole experience. The first Is when you cut
loose from your senses and drop in, There is
daredevil rccklesness in this species of aOau-
donment thai challenges all Heaven for compctl-
ton. Then follows the double distilled quiutes-
sence of PurRatory tabel 1t with a word OF four
letters and pass on) into which you are SUBJ
merged: aud presently this Hood flows of, and
you crawl forth to the light OF day weak, holp-
aa Se sppy ae ass a e Be- os
torment.
AND As LIKE AS NOT YOU'LL TAKE THE DIVE
4 n IVY rH1 NexJ n .
l tell you. my girl, stand dumbtounded be-
fore this last sentence; give myself up for q
eaSe And Sa 51t a me aons 70 II T.
tion bow-wows" In ono line OF small caps. AL
hopelesly insane, and no keepers to take care
And this lover Of mine; lover, indeed-hal hal
If you could hear that laugh it would curdle
your blood. it Is 80 bitter and wicked Well.
Us for sense, he don't begin to be my equal.
t.Msn.-A man don't need sense II he Will carry
around Il little private bulldog in his disposition
eycs.) Ihave never heard Mr. Taft make but
one attempt at laugh, aud that WIS when he |
hd said sal I Sqttng to
OF damp frc-crackers. There .may be other !
laughs where that came from, but surely it was |
way as an advance guard. He hns no wit, and |
no appreciation Ut It IN others, and you know, |
madam, that Is my strong suit. But Mr.. Taft |
{, heavens! he's as dry as Mark Twan's Inst !
joke, and as depressing in his influence as the |
funny column IN tho newspapers.
He is 4 lawyer. said he was homely, but that !
cannot be. There is dignity and character In |
his face, and reticeuce, and modest self-respect |
Worth makes weight; and It seems as II he had |
aeasy na ooudB sdBe Sod a I bd IN sa
stocky,1net fat, but fu!l; and as he wears his
IS regular little brick He les stands , SQUARE on on
bis dew~claws, and has the finest walk OF any
man M In the city. He clips 1t OF down street
blcs" all my admiration OF handsome men by |
being SO much handsomer than tho hand I
s9lnest sS OF +. them without any beauty at ail
He Is on the shady side OF 40, / think; but |
you know l was not spring chicken myself,
Until l got released from my hated marriage
thing about Mr. Taff-a cool ulabaster polish
That seems widely removed from tho heat Of |
youth. Let me see what it is. He seems auto
be had accrcted his existence from some other
source, to show the Lord what could be done
without His assistance.
was in bis library one day, and then l could
understand him better. There was all the dry,
EubDishy books On law that ever were written.
Volumes md volumes; Chttty, and Blackstone;
there we're sAfcs aud holes iunumerable full OF
paper bundles, and these were cases he had had,
dese books Hc Il bus ste fed Ton On them; Ss hey y are m
Incorporated tn every atom OF his body. He is
! man made out Of the rAw material of books,
heir contcnts The ten pounds or or SO Of originaI
man, material which he brought into the world I
las served as stock on which to graft cutting |
If lAw: and tho cutting has absorbed the original
Until there Is nothing but law in the whole con-
:ern.
tlfcm.-Can he love woman, wonder? Is It
n the soul of the law to impaant such pas /
iou?) l.
Yes, Mr.. Taft is book-worm- Way back In
he home nest, remember, We brats found !
look one day, and dissected 1t under a
microscope: aud It Was full of '+chawred-up
,aper.' as we told mother aftetward, who wits In
be habit Of Spanking us when our scientific in
took cruel turn.
II was An unfortunate thought, this OF the |
'oOk-w worm. coming to me in his library as it
lid, for was Instantly filled with the idea that
le, too, WIS filled with chewed-up puper In
etd, it seems likely, and If SO am sure the |
eces were cnewed up by rule and red lined on |
ao edges; also. that they are packed in accord |
ng to the most perfect method. all the spnce |
cling fully occupied. His appearance bears me |
ut In this. His form Is 20 plump, and bis skin |
0 creamy fair. He Is just as compact ns he can |
e; and hts actions, though rapid prompt, and
raceful, seem to be by rote. He has set yr}xr- |
ltrE Of movements and when he Rets through |
hem he IS wound up and goes through than |
gain. |
l cannot tell you what intense curiosity !
ave about him. His simplest acts arc full of !
ltereBt for nc If hear his name but men, |
oneo, can feel my ears prick up and set for
ard instantly. No matter how dead uay be
ard. 1NN
MuRDERAT1os, Liz! Think Of woman OF my
kt1cr experience cOifE up all her logic against