Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-02-07

w.: w G
On corner Of my study table lies o
book bMnd in old gold more Isuspect
you haFs seen it. Beth has been read
ing it, but fancy che found the letters
quite as-what shall / sayY-as ex-
asperating ae l did exasEerating be-
cause, being a woman, it hurts my
pride to think that this woman writes
sych letters, SO much OF herself, Civ
ing her heart and soul to man who
apparently seemed unappreciative. Ii
books have sex, this one certainly IS
OF the feminine gender. 1t is very sor-
rowful and very melancholy; sure IAN
EnglishwomaD' Love Letters" is for
the boudoir and not for the clubroom.
The woman may have been honest and
soulful in writing these leTiers, Dus
that she was an arrant fool to keen on
sending them is very apparent. 1t is
truly much better to anuse ones self
with one's own love letters. than spend
the afternoon it takes to read those OF
a very ilnpnssicned, very much in love
Englishwoman.
In publishing this book the pub
fishers have learned the lesson that to
have known Byron and to have burned
his Memoirs although enough to
make several regulations, is not enough
upon which to exist. The subject of
| Edwin and Angelina will flourish and
continue when the memory of Byron
has grown dim. Richard LIE Gallien
| has recently said it is the duty of
| every great man to bequeath his love
letters to the public, but why limit it
to those called great? And does Mr.. LIE
Gallien mean by his love letters the
letters man receives. or the letters he
writes? Really, the burden is too
great. Love letters, to he attractive,
| should not be more than one day old.
Older than that they begin to be a
bore, and when they accumulate they
are apt to ruin ones appetite and dis
turb ONES sleep.
Seriously, love letters are meant for
but two people--the one who pens the
| lines with the hearts blood aud the one
| who reads them with understanding
and AN appreciatiye feeling; such
things are a bit too sacred TO be given
to the public But love letters have
attracted people from times ancient.
| The Bible contains a series of mHgnifi-
cent love letters-the Songs of Solo
mon. Little children are taught in
| Sunday school that the Song of Solo
mon is all about the church, but as we
grow older and know bit there are
reasons why we think otherwise.
i Beth has been revealing in Mrs.
Humphrey Wards latest effusion,
Eleanor. Jack calls it an under
done ragont of emotions. The plot of
Eleanor revolves around gentleman
called "Manisty, querulous and most
difficult to live with. MRS. Burgoyns,
the Eleanor of the book, is young
woman with tragic past; she has
married unhappily- old, old theme
then her husband has killed himself.
When we are first introduced to her
on the threshold of the book, she is
living with her aunt and cousin; this
same difficult young man "Manisty, :"
near Rome. The cousin is writing a
book which is to hold modern Italy up
as an awful example. He lie record
ing the failure OF Democracy, defend
ing the Vatican against a prosecuting
government, and he toys with Roman
Catholicism and considers it good only
for women and children. Meantime
Eleanor enervated by the Italian
climate, filed with the sentiment the
land OF romance engenders, is Of course
terribly in love with "Manisty." Be-
ing literary, she helps him with his
book, shaving hour after hour; he &C.
cents all this as a matter of course.
Then there comes upon the scene, a
disturbing element IN the form Of a
healthy practical minded young Ameri-
can girl. He Of the aesthetic habits
and the long, tapering white hands
and tho womanish voice, falls in love
| with her. and the rest OF the story, a
few hundred RACES is "Eleanor'so
jealousy and the New England girls
disturbed conscience, with here and
there an incident of an insane woman,
and a hidden poniard. Beth revealed
| in all this rehashiug OF the emotions.
/ rather ridiculed it: hence our first
| difference ON popular book.
"Beth, you can't for an instant tell
me that you think Eleanor wasn't
rather foolish, falling heels over head
In love with such an insincere, selfish,
shallow poseur as 'Manisty'?"
"a woman can't guide her affec-
tions, 2 said Beth, land he appealed to
every sense of the poetic in her.
Every sense of the poetic" my
dear, nonsense. cit was case of
propinquity and nothing else to de-.
Many an affsir has been the result of
| this combination.
However, 'Eleanor's' course makes
her interesting towards the middle of
the book, and when Lucy overcomes
her New England prejudice against
giving herself TO a man who has ever
| cared for woman before, she and
'Manisty' showed their appropriations
of Eleanor's sacrifice by conducting
her by easy stages to England"
And then engaging passage on the
| first steamer to America tn show off
her European husband after he manner
of Ohio millionaitesses. Lit strikes me
| they might have postponed their trip
to America till the question of poor
"Eleanor's'' cough was settled either
by her commissioners OF or tombstone.
but they did get hack in time, !"
said Beth, Indignantly.
but they both displayed such a
shocking amount of absence of senti-
ment that did not follow their move
ments after that with any interest.
"Well, Portia, you know man
naturally does not like to witness the
last moments of woman he has
treated badly"
Possibly you are right, Beth. 1t
was much more comfortable for both of
them not TO be reminded of Eleanor g
sacrifice. -
"Well, can seq that you don't like
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