The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-11-14
A PERSONAL advertisement.
By Kenneth Herford.

Marcarct Adams eyes sparkled with |
delight as the thought occurred TO
her. She dropped the paper she had
been reading to the floor of the porch |
ana ran into the house. shortly she
came out with Il block OF stationery in
one hand and q pencil between the
fingers Of the other. She picked up
the pink paper that she had thrown
down and read again the advertise
ment that had caught her eye. The
paper was one of the common "matri-
monial Wee.lics' which are circulated
througI'out the country, hrt which are
never seen in the cities of their publi-
cation.
The advertisement that the girl read
was wCrdod as follows:
~ Young nan of excellent family
aud character, black hair and eyes,
height feet. worth 100000 would like
to correspond with young lndN of cood
station, blonde preferred, object
matrimuni. e"
Then there was printed the address
OF the young man with black hair ana
eyes, Vt was "BoN * L., Jackson.
Mich"
Margaret Adams lowered the paper
from her eyes. Il wonder If | ought
to-" she asked herself. "Of course 1T
would be- only in fun, He's in fun too.
Why should man worth S5O.Oo0 adj
vertiSe for a wife? PshaW' The ideG
is ridiculous I'll write to him at the
address given and then If | see he is
in earnest III just tell him what Il
fool he has been making of himself
[ hope hell continue the correspond
encc, thorGh; it will he relief from
the dreadful monotonN ON the farm.
What would the girls back in board
ing school say to such an eScapade2
I believe they'd all snap up the chance
To write to man like this one that
I'm going To write 10. And he's in an
other state, too. Lot in Ohio. and |
don't believe there's any harm in it.
Yes. III write. and I'll write now"
And resting the pad of paper on her
knees the girl began Il letter in pencil
| to the tall man with IlaCk eyes She
| did not say much. She told him how
| she had run across the sheet contain
| ing his advertisement and how the
wording of it had struck her and made
such an impression on her that she
| could not Withstand the temptation to
| write to him. It was Just nice little
| letter, such as frank, fun-loving
|
| Shl would W1to' ana Nh"h Shc hau
| finished she slipped it into an envelope
and addressed it.
BOX * -, jackson, Mich" she
| wrote.
And that night she mailed her letter
not without certain pualms and
| tWingeS of her conscience, however
| ut the village postofiice.
| Thc next day ana the next nlSht ana
day passed, ana on the morning OF the
thlru there came letter Tor net
written in Il bold. upright hand ana
addressed l." her III hef own name
| Whlch shc had ilahliN signed 10 lhe
| letter
The envelope bore the jackson post
marx, ana she knew II was irom hlm'
as she had come To speak "l the un-
Known tn herself when alone
She took the letter away down by the
front gate of the farm yard to READ II
under the oak tree there. 1t was a
good letter. 1t appeared sincere The
writer who signed himself John
THOMPSON ana added ms address,
certain number on well known and
fashionable Jackson Street--protesseo
| interest in his new-fuund correspond
|
ters would follow.
| That night one did. Margaret wrote
her second in more familiar vein, fol
she was becoming Interested. Two
days brought her a reply. It, too. was
more familiar than the first had been
She wrote again and again. and after
the fourth letter she. received her cor
respondent addressed one Dear Mar
SSret.
| Margaret smiled when she read that
hut her smile was more one of pleas
ure than mischievOusness. Then sh,
addressed him as My dear John" anC
after as Dear John
As the letters increased i'm number
the girl found herself awaiting then
with impatience; then ItJic by lttl'
she began 10 read them over two anC
three tunes when they did come, plac
ing ;hem afterwards with the first, tiet
together with II bit of blue ribbon an'
tucked away in a back corner of he
dresser drcWer.
Her mother thought nothing of th
letters her daughter was receiving from
Jackson. Margaret told her they wer
from bog she had met at an academ.
dance when she was Il pupil i'm tn
seminary the year before. 1t was lie
but ii was a white one, The truth
thought the girl, would spoil the fun
and FUN IS not so common that one cal
afford tn spoil it just as it ceases to b
merely amusing to become really inter
; estrg, 20" ;he girl was becoming nor
: and more Interested in her unseen, un
: known "orresr srOndent as the days Wen
by.
, "a.