Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-10-16
WILLIE sPRAeue TO HIS FATHER.
The Strange Letter That Was Len IN
nnishcd when He E'iied Himself

The Strange Letter That Was left I'm
nat.hed when Tie Kuied Himself
The ceattle Post InfeHigencer, in an
account OF the suicide in that city OF
Willie Sprague, son of Ex-Governor
Sprague. says:
On the stand, with disordered col
lection of books and papers, were two
letters, both written in pencil IN
steady. running hand, on small. blue
I ruled, unglazed notebook paper. One
of them was addressed to his father. IL
bore no date line aud ran as follows:
! '.Dear Father: This time ! will not
plead poverty as an excuse for nlbctng
/ this pencil-written affair upon You. l
have merely neglected to provide myself
I with ink. Another reason Is, notice
my ideas seem to flow more connectediy
while using a pencil. The time con
sumed in dipping my pen seems to
break The connection, IS IT were. 10 re
sure. there may be nothing IN tins, but
We ali have our little fads and ioibles.
81 sent you postal upon the eve OF
my departure as an item OF news, as l
imagine that news is pretty scarce down
there not that you have not Your niue
diversions and slight sensations ID the
matrimonial line, for instance; but then
one algavs likes 20 bear from former
friends and acquaintance. Not that
y0a have given me any encouragement
| 10 spring my bright scintillations OF VII
and humor upon you. Oh, no; quite
/ the contrary. The reason that | have
not written more is that nv life has been
80 commonplace and uneyentlul that
even my br4lG ~ staGnated. ana } could
not have evolved al idea for brain and
sentiment.
al suppose Won are a little curious 70
know about my movements Tor the mree
or four moons past Well, as / said, L
/ took the first thing that offered IN me
way Of Job, 81 per week, and worked
real hard with my hands ana feet, TOO
( for that matter. But it let up after
1 time and ! was able to make 1t, what III
| the parlance of slangist IS called
snap.' That is. all but the pay, that
ramaipedat 80 a week meant Just 81 for
board land pretty fair board II WaS)'
| fifty cents for washing, fifty cents Tor a
/ oath. leaving a balance OF ~ that i was
I at liberty 20 invest or not, Just as l saw
/ fit, but though the figures say S. ior
some reason / cannot explain IN pracuce
/ the p never appeared.
"Your letter was one OF those cola ana
chilling communications which pass De-
tween men when one gets bill OF goods
| CHARGED for more than is shown In the
| invoice. Talk TO me about the howllng
/ blizzard Of the frozen regions OF the
/ North Pole. the awful absence OF heat
| when a friend won't lend you ' /!
ord. MASSEY these take seats away
/ back in the rear and hide their faces in
very shame III the face OF that letter.
! With my very sensitive and highly CON
| siderate nature | cannot conceive how
| man can 50 ruthlossly knock man down,
! pouge his eye md otherwise figuratlyely
9bpse him with so little, or. III fact, no
cause. But it really matters little, eX-
cept TO my feelings, and they are practi-
cally Of no use except to myself Ihls Is
great country, and I'm III 1t. No one
has apparently caught on to the latter
! fact as yet, but I'm here. -,
Although what I'm going to say, VIII
| meet with no credence, still works OF
/ fiction are always read and demanded.
/ / was very loath TO leave Chicago.
/ Holmes. a Pittsburgh friend of mine, IS
about the only fellow | ever met who
uossessed the faculty of making me see
/ life in ANYTHING but a dark and gloomy
ospect he absolutely made me ENJOY
myself At times it WAS very irritating
and calling TO have 10 enjoy myself,
especially when had made up my mind
to be miserable, but, on the whole, l
think it was best. He has been what
dear and beloved wife would have been
TO another man. To be sure he neither
sewed on my buttons nor called me
'swcety nor 'tootsy -wootsy, but the
moral effect was there.
q" Ont here lm thrown among
strangers again, cast upon desert isle
AZ far as soul communication is con-
cerned. cannot tell how | long fer
love and affection, that have never eX-
perienced and cannot describe, yet long
for. An me, | fear my dream VIII never
be realized. But tins sentimental biz
will never do. | had lot Of IT stowed
np. and had to work it oil. Well, Invent
through some queer old experiences. but
detail too much. Well. TO curtail a
lengthy narrative, justbeiore coming out
here / struck a job that panned out Sl1
n week, and she was a corker. ! want 10
tell Won what it was more than that,
il was respectable, If you call hard,
back-breaking toll respectable. But
when one has made up his mind to de
vote the remaining years of youth and
health to the accumulation of a sulli-
cient SUN TO enable HIM to pass the
waning portion OF his life in at least
comfort and ease. one must not expect
TO find a creased toboggan slide around
tbe corner. But the deuce, at this rate
will never get to Seattle. | have
hoozv recollection of having written you
a letter containing an outline of pro-
position made me by these people, and
there"
The letter here ended abruptly in the
centre of the page and was not signed.