The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-12-31
A CORRECT MISTAKE.
by WALKER KENNEDY.

l
1t was clear, cold winter evening, with just
a bit too much of whipping wind . be
comfortable, and it was with sense of re-
lief that he entered his comfortable apart
ments and found cheerful light blazing in
the crate in his sitting room
saintsbury dropped into an easy chair
and ran his eye casually over the evening
paper. Then came parenthetieal smoke,
and he sat down to his desk to write his let
ters A fine, spirited young fellow helooked,
with his clean-cut features, his ell-shaped
head, his soft, dark hair and bis bright, clear
eyes. There was in short the touch of the
neat thoroughbred about him.
Saintsbury's two letters were as dissim-
liar as it is possible TO imagine. One was
merely note to Edith Crawford asking her
to go with him to see "Cyrano de Bergerac'
The latter part of the week. Yet how fond
~ ne wrote it. He began the note Dear
Edith writing the words with caress,
and he sat admiring his own rashness,
though he knew he was merely writing for
his own editication and that the aristocrat-
lie Miss Crawford would never see what he
had there written. He scrubbed the name
all over the page and then, with sigh,
4 laid the sheet aside and began to write the
| formal note which he always sent to Miss
| Crawford. Saintsbury was so deeply in
| love with this lady, that it actually scared
| him. She was SO stately, so inaccessibly
| beautiful, that it almost seemed to him
| blasphemy that he should dare to love her
| He had tried times without number to tell
| her, but he always failed For what right
| had mortal man to make love to one OF the
saints? And so things had drifted along,
and Saintsbury had lived in sort of divine
despair for more than year.
! The second letter which he had TO write
was for friend who was in love and
wished to send beautiful letter announc-
ing this fact to the woman he adored, but
did not know how to do it, Write me a
letter, John" said Dick, las If you were
writing to your own girl" John endeav-
ored to follow out these instructions. He
did not know the name of Dicks sweet,
heart, and in order to do his best he add
dressed the letter TO Edith Crawford, in
/ tending to leave her name out when he
copied the letter. He found it easy to
write under these circumstances, and when
| it was concluded he read it over and
| glowed with the beauty of it. He could
| find no fault with it, and he felt that he
could not improve upon it by rewriting it.
So what was the use OF rewriting it? Dick
had to copy it anyway i'll his own nervy
| hand. SO he took out couple of en-
velopes and addressed them and incosed
the letter, having forgotten all about
leaving Edith Crawford's name in his
friend letter
The next day at the bank he was rung
up by his friend, Daniels. II say said
Dick, over the telephone. You didn't know
that you sent me a letter addressed to
friend of yours, did you? What's up, any
way, old boy
John remembered then that he had for
gotten to erase Miss Crawford's name, and
he blushed through the phone as he re-
plied "Oh, that's all right. Just scratch
her name out and l think it will do"
You haven't given yourself away
a-plenty. have you?'' said Dick.
Go away, Dick; l can't jabber with You
during banking hours"
"All right; but you'd better straighten
this thing out soon" replied Dick, with a
,huckle, as he rang off.
Saintsbury was really annoyed that he
should have left Miss Crawford's name
standing in his friends letter. 1t was so
thoughtless and indicate in him. And as
he worried over the matter new idea
came to him. Could it be that he had
snapped the letters and sent Edith's to
Dick and Dicks to Edith? The idea was
quite amusing until he remembered that
Ediths name was in the beautiful love
letter. 1t was impossible that he could
have made such a mistake, but he was
vaguely uneasy about it, and that evening
he FASTENED out to Miss Crawford's to set
the matter at rest
He found her in the drawing-room alone,
and looking pensivey into the fire. How
,f,,t hN,, Il -,l,
in the freight glow He entered the room
nervous and confused. She arose to greet
him and he observed a slight flush upon
her cheeks and touch of uncertainty in
her manner He shook both her hands
without saying anything. She seemed a
trihe surprised and a silence fell between
them.
He broke it awkwardly: Did you get a
letter from me!'
YES" she answered, with adorable soft
ness.
We'll, did did you-can you tell me
what wrote-I mean did | say-?'
II do not understand you, Mr.. Saints
bury" said Miss Crawford, rather dis
family.
Pardon me, but mean, did ask you in
the letter you received whether you
cared
rs it possible you do not remembe;. what
you wrote me-" she inquired, with beauti.
fui iciness.
why, of course; but l fear there has
been some mistake"
Miss Crawford was not only amazed, but
she was apparently quite angry AS for
him, he was in an agony of doubt. Which
letter had she received? If he only knew
he felt that he could act. If she had re-
ceved the love letter, he would have been
delighted to let it go at that. AT any rate,
he knew that his time had come to speak,
and with this conviction came resolu-
ton and freedom from embarrassment
Pardon my awkwardness, he said, with
a smile, "and l will explain. Last night
had to write two letters. One asked you
to go with me to see 'Cyrano de Berge,
rae The other was written for friend
who asked me to write it as if l were ad-
dressing the woman l loved l began by
writing her name at the head of it, and
then | wrote love letter into which my
own feelings entered. | don't know which
one of these letters you got, but really both
| Al, nl.> "