Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1888-08-17
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IN A MAIL BAG,
A Curious Mixture of JOY and Sadness,
Humor and Pathos.

as to move awayP Don't hug up so
close to me, you-you black-bordered
envelope"
Excuse me. feel so badly that I
hardly know what am doing. know
YOU do not like my company; nobody
does. don't blame them. am sorry.
You look happy. you dainty pink en-
velope, sealed with blue wax. Blue
wax is the symbol of love. is it notp"
..Yes, true love. Love true and puro
as the skies, and as enduring. am a
love letter."
And the pink envelope fairly glowed
with the bliss of its scaled kisses. 1t
bore the smell of forget-me-nots. and
its pretty direction was as fine and per-
feet as copperplate. Truly it had a
right to glow and throb--for it was
love that kindled its warmth and sent
thrill through its every fiber.
"Alas! carry a sad message to a
far-off homo"
what is itp Tell me. Love, you
know, is very curious. and-and-my
pretty lady never sent such letter as
l am before in all her life. Tell me
your secret and l will tell you mine"
stop that nonsense, you two there
in the corner of the bag, can't youp"
"Who are your" asked the love-
letter quickly. 1t was such happy.
giddy thing that it could afford to
brave and face even business-like
envelope with the picture of mighty
structure in one corner
"Well, I'm a full-grown business let.
ter, and Pm on my way to tell man
that our firm can not give him any more
credit. I'm tired of hearing you two in
the corner Cabling. and l wish you
would quit it at once"
Love and death, my staid friend,
are so closely allied that even the COM
monest of us ought to consider and
have patience.
well, well, who spoke in that dear
toner"
Il come from great poet. He is a
leader of mankind. He helped to free
the slaves; and he has done much good
in this great world. He is now an old,
white-haired man; and he sits in the
golden sunset of life, respected, be-
loved and esteemed by the whole world.
He has written his name upon the page
OF time, and all the ages to come will
never erase that name. He is known
as Whittier"
And for brief period the mail bag
was silent. 1t was great company they
those wonderful, mysterious. differ
ent, queer and curious missives were
in. The dainty pink love letter nestled
against the black bordered one. The
one carrying sad, sad message to
some one far away. The stern, bust
nesslike letter. with never word or
line of rythm in it, lay side by side
with commonplace envelope bearing
poem fresh from the hands and brain
and heart and soul of one of the purest
singers God ever gave the divine gift
OF poetry to. And then another voice
broke the stiffness, and the rest shud-
dered as they heard its rough, brutal
tones.
"And if We air keerful, pard, We kin
kill the ole cuss wi one blow o. yer
little tap-presto; he's dead an the
swag is yourn."
'Who dare speak of such theme as
murderP Do you know that l came
from the hand of one of the highest
judges in the landP Reveal yourself.
villain, and let the strong hand of the
law throttle your murderous design
before it goes further came from
long. legal missive with a red seal
But the criminal letter said not word;
it only slipped down out of sight and
was covered finally by a letter from
farmer. In this latter letter was a
check for one hundred dollars; and the
letter was worded rs follows: "Send
me the one thousand in green goods
soon as possible. l think l can use
them without much trouble"
Then all was quiet again for period.
20, dear boy, l hear bad news from
you, Don't do it any more. 1t has
killed your mother and is killing me,
your poor old father. Don't drink!
don't drink! don't drink"
"Aye! aye! SO say we ALL" cried out
four or five from little pile.
''And when we cracked the last bot
tie, Jack, a sigh went around our little
circle. We had piled in the stuff pretty
freely and were feeling good. The last
bottle! That almost broke our hearts
Our motto is-'a merry life and a |
short one"
Gracious. smell something like a
drunken mans breath. l don't want |
nothing more to do with you," brske
in long. lean, spidery envelope as it
slipped down among lot of jolly let
tiers from some school girls. The spin
ster's letter lay there, drinking in with
keen delight the merry prattle of the
girls letters. 1t felt young again and
it made stern determination to en-
ter the lists once more and battle
bravely for some mans heart. Heller