The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1900-02-16
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qTKAG4UY IN LONG LITTER.
Chicago Man Tells How His Life Was
Changed When Girl Wrote Him
Three Hundred Parey.

Some one had said something about
long letters and at once half dozen
men in the crowd had stories to tell.
When they had all finished the man
from the South side began.
MY story" he said, rather signif.
cantly, lis true. 1t deals with what
probably was the longest letter ever
| written. I've never told it before, be.
cause-well, because it carries with it
an explanation of why am bachelor.
You'll have to take my word for the
story, although l still have the let
ter at home and could show it if !
| wished.
Ten years ago was living in Kan
sas City. l never was much on senti-
ment, but the girl in the story was
not OF the ordinary sort. Besides, she
had fortune in her own name and
her father had more money than he
could count. I didn't love her for her
money, though, and would have liked
her just as we'll if she had been head
over heels in debt.
"One night mustered up courage to
tell her that 1 loved her. Instead OF
falling on my neck and expressing sur
prise. as conventional girls are sup
posed to do, she looked me straight in
the eyes and said she knew it. More
over, she loved me and would marry
me it l would make her one promise.
That was plain and fair enough. Kan
sas City girls are that way. l told her
l would make her hundred promises
and keep them all. Then she said she
wanted me to promise that l would
stop smoking cigarettes.
II don't know what prompted me to
tempt my own undoing. but 1 did. l
assured her with all earnestness that I
had never had cigarette between my
lips. She looked rather panied and
said: %! Then could see her freeze.
THAT evening I left her in bad
hulnor. She refused to talk any more
about marrying me or much about any,
thing else. l couldn't understand it.,
for l had not smoked cigarette for
more than a year and never was con-
firmed in the habit. Before took nv
departure she said she would write me
a few lines the next day explaining
it all.
'Two mails were delivered the mex:
day before the explanation reached
ME. 1t was 300 pages in length, but it
was direct and to the point. There was
one word to each page. The letter was
written in book of cigarette papers.
ITO shorten the story, my coat was
an old one and the papers, which 1 had
bought more than year before, had
dropped from the pocket just as was
proposing. The girl loved me all right
enough, but she didn't like cigarettes.
hence her requirement that promise
never to use them. When l swore that
l never did she thought of the papers
that she had tucked under the sofa pill
low and got busy disliking me.
I'm the letter she said that a cigarette
smoker was bad enough, but that a
cigarette smoking liar was worse. 1
would please consider our engagement
off and not call again. l tried to ex-
plain, but to no avail. What could [
do?
my one satisfaction, though" con-
cluded the man from the South side.
is in rejecting on what happened after
she threw me over. She married man
who smokes more cigarettes in a week
that / have ever smoked, but he was
wise enough not OF let her know it till
after the wedding."-Chicago Tribune.