St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-02-23
THE LOVE LETTERS STORIES.

/
The old writing desk. with its odd brass
! trimmings, mahogany veneer, its carved
! legs and heavy back. was covered with pa
pers. Ii was the week after the funeral
and the executors OF his esta Re mad spen
several days ransacking his study, arrang-
! ing, preserving ana destroying his papers,
preparatory 10 the arrival OF his nephew
and heir. 1t was not an easy task straight
ening out these papers. lie had foolish
way of saving his letters. There were not
many of them, It is true, for he wrote very
| little during the latter part OF his life. but
| it was dificult Tor his executors 10 decide
what should be kept and what burned. So
it happened that when they found in half
drawer package OF three love letters tied
| together with a bit of ribbon. yell
low with age and fragrant with the
musty OdOr Of time, they spread
them ont on the desk and concluded 10 leave
them there until the new master arrived,
when he would decide upon their fate. The
search had continued all day, and the sun
was making giant trees OF the rose bushes
| which grew beside the library window. when
the executors left the room and locked the
door behind them. For long time there
| Was silence ulDlnhtll save d. TIE llut
ing complaint of those hapless scraps of
paper buried beneath pile OF letters, half
smOthered by the weight and the Tustling
which was only TO be expected when 50
many sheets of paper, bent and cramped.
creased and wrinkled 10y years of cOnline-
ment suddenly found themselves AT liberty.
| AT length one of tine letters in the package
"a square, Old-fashiOned letter written on
heavy blue paper-loOked around the Ii
brary with an air of curiosity and inquired
| i'm shnll feminine voice what was the
cause OF this unusual confusion.
Don't you know" grayely asked the
| quill pen, which was suspended la the rack
behind the inkStand.
NO" replied the letter. ''What is ito"
"Where have you been?" asked the pen.
"Where do you SUPPOSE" answered the
letter, petulantly. Il have been shut up
in that musty old drawer for nearly thirty
years. It's wonder am able TO breath at
at all. Would you mind sprinkling a little
dust in my face? This air is 50 fresh il al
most suffocateS me-
The pen regretted that il was unable to
do So but informed the letter that when
the housemaid cleaned up the room i'm the
morning il would doubtless be accommo-
dated.
Under those circumstances" continued
| the pen. IL don't see as you are TO blame,
so will tell you. He died last week, and
What is that you tell me?" interrupted
the letter. Has he died? Well, thought
he would live forever"
''You knew him, then?"
Il did," answered the letter, ''yery well.
was written to him By young lady he met
at the seaside when he was young and
handsome. They had driven together.
walked and read together all the summer
long. and when she went away to her home
i'm the South and he came came back here
everybody thought they would be married.
So have heard him say repeatedly. lie
thought so, too. / was the first letter she
wrote to him, and l don't suppose there ever
was anything he thought 50 much OF as lie
did of me.
The letter said this with such an air of
conviction that for moment none of the
| other letters Ventured TO contradict it.
He used to press me TO his lips" con-
tinued the letter proudly, land he slept
with me under his pillow for week"
II think" observed a letter half con-
cealed in a thTee-cOmered pink envelope
which was resting uncOmfOrtably on its side
by the inkStand. that he used to care a
| good deal for me. too
YOU retOrted tine blue letter. scorn-
fully, for even a wOman's letter detests
| rivalry. ''Nho are you. pray?"
Il came from woman, too. replied the
triangular letter. nettled at the others tone.
"Ahi indeed
Eyes" returned the pink letter, warmly.
land she was beautiful. too. She was the
sister OF his college mate. They met AT her
home where he spent his first vacation.
They fell in love at once. and when he went
back to college she wrote me. l came be-
fore you did and l know he thought more
of me than he possibly could of any other
letter"
"Humph! That is what you know about
it; I'll leave it to our friend, the PEN
WELL" observed the pen. with judicial
dignity, Il have noticed that a man usually
thinks more OF the last letter he gets than
he does of the first. Men are torgetful
creatures"
You are not the last letter he has had"
retOrted the pink letter. quickly. There
are others he thought more of than he did
of you"
Il don't believe there are" answered the
blue letter holly. He used TO put me be-
tween the leaves of his Latin books. and
the professor thought he was the hardest
student in the class
He didn't marry either of your authors.
did hep observed the pen, gracefully
changing the subject
NO" replied the blue letter. ''but it
wasn't his fault. lie wanted 10 marry the
woman who wrote Inc badly enough.
don't know that she exactly Tilted him.
but have always thought she
Il did. She was an inperious
woman and commanding. and deter
| mined 10 have own way. which she gener-
ally did. They cOrueSpOnded for a year or
so until there was pile of letters Just like
me that would cover this desk. One day
he tore up the rest. leaving me alone. and
from what he said knew that she had re-
fused him."
What did he say?' inquired the pen.
Not much. Only very few words. 1t
was more in his tone than in the words
themselves. As he tore up the letters he
sighed and tears stood in his eyes. Well.
he said to himself. sadly. i hope he will
make her happier than l could have done .
why didn't he tear you, too?" asked
the pink letter"
Because he thought too much of me, -
replied the other.
well" remarked the pink letter. ''the
girl who wrote me died or he would have
married her. IL she had lived he would
never have fallen in love with your author. =
Don't he too sure OF that" broke i'm The
pen. sagely, for it knew considerable of the
world for pen. The first love is not al
ways the lasting one. So have noticed. .
Yes. but this would have been an eXcep-
ton. He loved her so much. Why, YOU
never saw such devotion. They were so
young, too. But they were as devoted as
two grown people. Isn't that unusual ~
At this the pen spread its points in smile
I 4 f..Is - -,.Inrr