Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-02-28
Reggie's Love Letter
. IRECTLY he saw the envelope
lying on the breakfast table he

~~~-~~~~~
81 IRECTLY he saw the envelope
lying on the breakfast table he
guessed whence it came. There
was an Enthusiastically lady-like look
about the handwriting, while the post
mark confirmed his suspicious, and the
pretty blue monogram left him no pos
sible room for doubt. NJ. C.-Mary
Chichester. Reginald Trevor had got
up late. his razor had been blunt. his
shaving water had been cold. and every
thing had combined to annoy him and
upset the placidity Of his temper: that
dear little note with the pretty mono
gram was a magic wand that suddenly
changed the whole aspect Of life.
He took up the letter with a thrill Of
pleasurable expectation such as only
lovers can experience; he fingered II
tenderly, turning 1t over and over. and
admiring 1t from every point Of view.
How deligh htful his name looked in the
delicate handwriting. He had never
realized before what a pretty name II
was-"Reginald Trevor. Esq" How
daintily she turned her T's-how grace
..
the pretty blue monogram. and. al
though there was no one to see. blushed
as he did so. kissing 1t gave him no
very definite sensation of pleasure, but
It seemed the correct thing to do in the
circumstances. for love is an exacung
divinity and demands any number OF
these antiquated little ceremonies.
When in love for the fourth or fifth
time one becomes more careless about
such trifles, but Reggie had never
well, hardly ever-been In love before.
SO naturally he was anxious TO comply
strictly with all the orthodox forms.
He opened the envelope very careful
ly, cutting 1t with a paper knife along
the top so as to leave intact the pretty
blue monogram. The letter ran as fol
lows:
Dear Mr.. Trevor-We are inviting q
few friends to 60 with us to Henley on
Wednesday next. and 1t will give us
much pleasure II you will be one Of
the party. I hope you are dsengaged
and will be able to come. Yours sin
cerely, MARY CHICHESTER"
To anyone else the letter would have
seemed prosaic enough. but to Reggie
there WAS a wealth of new meaning In
the customary Dear" and poetry in
every word. II hope you are Olsen
gagged and Will be able to come" he
emphas sized the ''I'' with delight, and
rapturously kissed the signature He
had understood that lovers usually lost
their appetites, but he was not going to
follow tradition blIndly, so he proceed
Cd to eat his breakfast. After all one
must eat to live. and was not life now
doubly worth living?
Before be had finished breakfast he
knew the letter by heart. This should
not have been a great strain on his
memory. but he looked at the note sew
eral times during the day In order to be
quite sure he remembered It correctly
The Yours sincerely" depressed him
a little at hrst; he could have wished II
had been Yours very sincerely" Then
he reflected that he had often heard
that a girls feelings We're in inverse
ratio to the warmth Of their express
sion, 30 that Yours sincerely" obvious
IL meant more than Yours very sin
eerely" Q. E. d.
He called on the Chichesters the next
day and accepted the invitation in per
son. Mary looked more charming than
ever, and he felt a glow of proud sat
isfaction as he thought Of her dear lit
tie letter nesting in his breast coat
pocket When 4 man is in love he is an
easy prey to superstition, and Reggie
cultivated a habit of carrying the note
about with him, as If it were a species
Of talisman.
Love flies fast when on golden wings.
and Reggie being man of means for
tune smiled upon his suit SO that II was
not long before he found an opportunity
Of putting the momentous question.
Is 1t not strange how fate throws
people together and gives them that
needful opportunity? Quite by chance
mamma happens TO suggest that Ed
win might like TO look at the currant
bushes, or the rabbit hutch. or the new
garden roller. or anything in fact that
most people would find thoroughly un-
interesting. and off he goes with An
geiina, and when they come back. look
ing dreadfully shy. and Angelina con
fesses that Edwin has told her how
much he adores her, could anyone be
more surprised than dear mamma
But, between you and me, should they
come back looking dreadfully bored
with nothing to confess but their ad
miratiOn Of the currant bushes or
whatever 1t was they went out to In
spect, mamma Is more surprised still
only she succeeds In Disgusting her
feelings a good deal better.
BY just such a happy chance Reggie
and Mary went out one afternoon TO
look at wonderful well that had lately
been sunk in the garden; but. oddly
enough, they got no farther than a par
ticularly shady summer-house, where
they looked into each others eyes In.
stead, and there they made the re-
markable discovery that they were
both exceedingly fond of one another.
When did you first know you cared
for me?" asked Mary.
The moment I first saw you," said
i boldly.
That's not true. You first saw me
at the Fosters ball, and you danced
nearly the whole evening with that tall
Miss Johnson"
Reggie could not very well deny the
imputation, but he protested vehement
ly tAat he could not imagine how he