The Winslow mail., 1898-08-06

! shut up for years in a boarding school
fer young ladies" ard never saw a mar
! but Tho brothers and uncles, r-sat
every day with the sterner sex and
worked out mathematical prablems and
recited lessons in Latin and Greek. And
! so one night the "eo-ed'' girl crept to
bed and cried, she was so lonely.
| But in the morning she locked in her
! glass and smiled. The happy face she
saw there really startled her. 1t was
: not because there were fewer trials to
face that day. The night had swept
none Ct them away. 1t was only that
I she had at last "reaehed 6. conclusion"
and this was it: She would write to the
Platon;c friend; she would tell him
| how much she needed him. She did not
care If he did ''read between The lines"
she rather hoped he would. Why
/ shouldn't he guess what was really true
that she loved him? She knew. that
he would not be sorry to know that she
did, for didn't she now realize hew re
/ luctantly he agreed that Platonic
friendship was altogether dcliHhtful.
and that often there was a sort CT sad
ness in his voice when he talked OF their
future plans that were always sc eparate? ?
The "co-ed" girl for the first time in
months sang blithe little air as she
sealed up her letter and took it to the
post Office. Before she droppedit in she
asked for any letter that might have
come for her. There was one and it
said:
"My Dear Little Sister: When I come
home-which will be shortly-b viii
bring with me ore of the dearest girls
in the world. [ say one Of the dearest,
for you know have always regarded
you, and always shall, as a peer among
women. Knowing you, has changed
for me the world ofwomen. 1 have told
my wife that is to be al about you, and
she is prepared TO think as much of you
as do etc., etc.
The ''co-ed" gilt did not mail the let
ter she had written. She did not cry
when she got home. She folded the let
ter, with the one that she had sealed so
happily, and slipped it away. Then.she
sat down and wrote another letter Of
hopes and good wishes for another
woman's future happiness. 81 will not
disappoint him." she said. 81 was the
one who taught him to think as he did.
[ Changed the world of women for
him. That means that he oncc did not
Ebelieve that women could be true and
brave and modest. Though I may never
know the best of his love, will never
lose his respect"
How do 1 know this story? The
"co-ed' girl told it to me herself, with
Ia little catch in her voice, but brave
light in her eyes. Why do I tell It?
Certainly not TO prove that the belief
Ecf a wise old philosopher was all based
on thin air, for friendship such IS he ad-
vocated lived and fiourished and win
live and flourish always. But t viii not
thrive in every soil: To bear he perfect
fruit that Plato hoped for it, the soil
must be especially prepared, and that
is Of the sort made up entirely of GER
taiG circumstances. Plant the seed Of
Piatonic- friendship in q heart that is
not previously occupied and there is
bound to sprout up nothing IN the world
but crop OF ordinary, old-fashioned
love that is too commonplace to be assO-
ciated with philosophy.
Plato may be Blamed for bringing
about much unhaPpiness, but all have
not been unhappy who haVeadopted his
philosophy. There have been men and
women lie world over whose friend
ship has been so strong and unselish
that the gods themselves might have
been capable Of none more perfect. Tt
would bequite as unhappy state cfaf-
fairs to have such friendships impos-
Istblr as it would be to rob the world
Of ali such but these. No, DO notten
the coed girls story to prove that
Plato was wrong. Wiser than I have
pointed cut the errors Of his philosophy
long years before this, and yet some
how it has not been killed, or suffered
very materially for its faulty and seamy
side being shown. Itell the story-well,
tell It because know there are many
other women like the ''co-ed" girl who
make the mistake OF Thinking there are
higher things in the world than just
loving ard being loved, only to wake
and find that after all the clevcrest may
feel lonely, particularly if the clever
est" happen to be women. Friendship
and loYe are excellent comparisons
Where it is possible to combine the two,
earth's ideality is added to.
The coed" girl has not been over
whelmed by her mistake. She .sniilas
and says that now she is equipped to be
the best Platonie friend in the world;
| that she is sure she can never make the
mistake again of confounding love and
friendship. And the man that loved,
and who down in the depths of his
| heart-though he does not know it
cares more for her than for any ether
woman, is happy with his dear, unin-
teliectual little wife, and still talks over
his affairs with the coed girl, believ-
ing It is as fellow never could with
his wife" Yet you could, my dear Pia-
tonic-friendship man, if your wife, was
the right sort. and the "co-ed' girl
would have been that to you. But Cupid
and philosophy invariably make a
muddlc!-Afargaret Hannis, in St. Louis
Republic.
/ Drink in Neuralgia.
Sufferers from neuralgia are warned