The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-11-18
THE TALE OF A TAB.
Which Shows that Young Men Should
Read the Labels on Their Coats.

|
Several weeks ago. says the PiItsburg
! Dispatch, Il gentleman, known in this
! transaction as Eugene Reading, bought
! a dark gray Norfolk summer coat while
/ making flying trip to Boston On
| the inside of the collar of the coat was
| fastened the manufacturer tab bear
/ ing the insignificant characters: Lot
/ 2l,133. B. 3S." When Reading tore the
| tag OFF his eye caught some writing on
| the side which had been next to the
! coat. He read: Melissa Policy, West
Bowdoin. Maine" He put the tab into
his pocket, transacted his business, and
a couple of weeks after his return to
Pittsburg decided to make a test of this
| gentle hint to mankind in general. He
wrote letter to Miss Policy, in which
he told her that he had discovered her
name upon the tab and congratulated
her upon her excellent workmanship,
saying that one who could sew so neat
ly must, indeed, be young lady of
other commendable and lovable quail
ties. He emphasized his sincerity by
calling her a pretty tailoress," and
professed the strange awakening with
in his heart of something akin to genu-
inc regard, if not affection, for the lady
who had made the garment.
The letter carried safely, and in due
time came tho following frank, yet
modest reply:
West BOwdoin. Me-, Aug. 13 1886. Dear
Friend: received your letter of conYratula-
and hope the coat is made nice. But I
should like to know what kind of coat il is
If if it is Norfolk. As to the pretty tailoress,"
there is no such word i'll the book: but do
not know what the male sex would do if it
were not for the old maids to do their tailor
ing. So ] will close with many thanks and
. ~ '-- MELISSA & POLICY.
L. S.-Hou say you purchased your coat
some time ago. Have you been thinking it
over all this timer Excuse me for being SO
saucy, but hope you have got it settled.
MIR, Reading had evidently '.got it
settled" and. if any doubt had remain
ed in his mind, the gentle hint in the
postscript had wiped it away, for the
return mail carried letter full of burn
ing words and such other nonsense as
lover. or one ambitious for that posi-
ton, is apt to use. A correspondence
followed. and letters passed each other,
going and coming between them, at an
average of twice and then three times a
week.
The conclusion finally reached by the
young Pittsburger, who had received
ample encouragement in his suit was
that life would be burdensome without
his pretty tailoress," for she has
proven to be such from her picture.
which he got one day recently; and af-
ter all, the term ''old maid" which she
had applied to herself, was n ruse to
test the interest of her Pittsburg aG-
mirer. She has his picture, and from
the dissertation she wrote upon it has
certainly concluded that her strangely
captured lover is man of handsome
face and kindly features, for she writes:
''lf you are Just half as good as you
look, | am proud of your professed adj
miration and interest in me-"
That sentence is what clinched the
matter as far as Reading was concern
ed. He Immediately wrote proposal
of marriage and asked that her accept
ance or refusal be sent by telegram. He
received the following:
Eugene Reading; Yes, with pleasure:
MELISSA.
The overjoyed lover almost hugged
the district boy who delivered the mes
sage to him, and, after reading it over
and over, wrote the following with
trembling hand:
Good. ] am coming as soon as l can get
leave of absence.
And Just now there is n clerk about
the City Hall who is fretting under re-
straint, and every day he prays his chief
of department for 4 vacation of two
weeks to 90 to Maine.