Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-07-05

Ht WdHte 9Oa 10 WHY niui. i kHoN
how you regard mon. Doris. though not
a m~an-hater. you are worse, absolute
ly indifferent to them. but I Pray you
have some pity On this lonely soGl and
do not allow your prejudice TO keep you
from doing a charitable act. ! know you
are good TO the roor and Berwyn Is In
great need 20. fudge" and Miss
Doris Drummond threw down the I'M
finished letter and got up and walked
across the room to the window. Why
can't his friends take care Of him with
out thrusting the burden on strangers?''
She turned and looked deaantly around
the vacant room. 20, well, | don't care,
anyway" With which comment she
went back to the letter and then dis
covered there was one enclosed from
the said brother; she opened 1t and
read:
My Dear Miss Drummond; Pardon
my presumption in addressing You so
informally. but my sister vas so kind
as to send me a letter you wrote to
her and I wish to humbly ask permis-
sion to have one for myself.
Yours very respectfully.
BERWYN MCKRoN."
What arrant nonsense, / shall DO
nothing of the kind, and Grace ought
to have known as much" She took q
seat and ~ruminated. 20 no.: It Is i'm
possible," What! Write to a man I
have never seen. why wha. shall ! say"
Still she sat and thought about 1t.
20. well. what are the odds anyway"
she queried. and drawing a chair to her
desk dashed off the following:
'iMr. Aekron, Dear 5ir--I had a very
strange epistle from your sister be-
seeching me to write to you. also enclos-
ing one from yourself asking the same
favor. Now | do not see why you
should be thrust into my life or ! into
yours. nor why destiny should assign
me such ar unwelcome role; but out Of
regard for your sister, who represented
you in the last stages of human endur-
ance, though what I am to help you to
endure l have 40 idea, I comply with
the demand made upon me. So II In
due curse of time I send in my bill
for services rendered or swindle you out
Of a few thousand dollars, you will bear
witness II was none of my seeking and
you must ~exouerate me from all blame.
Now, what can | do for you? In what
direction do your tastes lie? Shall
discourse upon the prize ring or the
grand opera? II is a little dificult. /
think, to know just how to approach a
perfect stranger; nevertheless give me
the u and | shall attempt 1t though
| fail"
"fhere--if he can derive any enjoy
ment from that trash, he must be an
angel.
After the letter had gone she felt
chagrined, and would have recalled It.
AS she dwelt upon what she had writ
ten, the wording seemed impndent and
brazen, while she had only meant to be
humorous. 1t caused ner a great deal
Of uneasiness and humiliation, for her
nature was mild and gentle, an dshe
was afraid smhe might unwarily have
hurt a fellow mortal. She had hoped
when she wrote. that her letter would
huya thu affant 80 ettaaot,n Ar Aor~r
but now since her OWL Ill advised reply
worried her. she found herself looking
almost eagerly forward to an answer
which would set at rest her doubts as
to whether she had offended him. When
at last one did come, she was aston
ished TO find how great the strain had
been. He seemed to have taken her
letter in the same spirit it was written
and II he had been her most intimate
friend apparently could not nave under
stood her letter. After that it was cas-
Ter to write to him, and she carried on
the correspondence with no lack of in
terest, and presently found herself an
ticipating his letters with a pleasure
that was akin to pain.
At length the climax was reached,
when a letter came with an offer Of
marriage. She was not wholly unpre-
pared for 1t, though had dreaded lest
it come to pass, at the same time al
most longing for 1t. She was not quite
sure of herself; she loved the PERSONAL
ity as expressed through his letters, but
how about the man himself? So she
told him how she felt and accepted him
with the reservation pending such
time as they should meet to ratify the
compact.
His answer showed his disappoint-
ment. but he agreed to the conditions
she imposed, and the correspondence
continued with renewed interest as time
went on
Doris grew ashamed of her doubts,
but could not bring herself to yield
Internationally. One day a letter from
Berwyn announced that his partner was
coming east and he was sending a let
ter of introduction to her by him, as
he intended passing q few weeks in her
c{tv and altar hio roturp RorUv, moa,td