The times., 1901-03-28
SEuI Among the PrOphcts.

Occasionally a person of whom no one
would expect common sense shows sud
den CLEAN of It. and the effect is reassur-
ing to those who wish to believe in
human nature Therefore. when such
thing happens, it is well that the news of
it should be noised abroad.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox has been advising
her readers to burn their love letters.
To anyone who knows anything about
Mrs. Wilcoxs writings it would seem
likely that she would be the very person
to advise the keeping. chershing, and. If
necessary framing of such tender
epistles. so that in case one became
famous the most secret emotions of ones
soul might be put into a book for the
world to read. one would suppose that
she would urge everybody to write as
many and as impassioned love letters as
II is possible to crowd into one lifetime,
and keep them all. using them as literary
material if possible. There are some
novels which certainly sound as II they
were made UP Of old documents of that
kind, ferreted out of the piSeon-holes in
the secret desk of the writer, and divest-
ed of names. dates, and discriminating
evidence generally But instead, here
y
such records of heart history. and do it
promptly. She says:
Don't keep love letters
Unless YOU are receiving them from your own
wife or husband or your iancee, you might bet
ter keep a box of dynamite in your Kitchen OF
introduce internal machine INTO your mousse
hold than to guard package OF love letters
LET them perish in their own fires as soon
as absorbed BY the eve and heart.
eff your engagement IS broken. even though
WORT &
il is worse than folly to keep the letters eN-
changed during the existence of tender reia-
tions. -
Your lover may some day be President of the
United States or your sweetheart the wife OF
great celebrity and unnecessary pain and an
noyance ensue from the unearthing OF those old
letters by some accident.
Burn them / say: burn them.
at is one thing to have your husband or your
wife tell YOU of an early rehearsal of Cupid's
drama before YOU met It is another to encounter
the love letters written during that period-Whlch
seem to your eyacting heart more realistic than
the role you have been engaged TO play for NE
OF course. in giving this eminently
wholesome advice. the writer had to give
II in her own way. which is not exactly
distinguished for that quality. Moreover
a prnbIem, which she does not solve. IS
suggested in the last paragraph of TINS
impassioned. not to say hysterical, eXhor-
tation 1t is. whether a person has any
right to read letter addressed to an
other person and not intended for the
casual finder to see. The general rule is,
of course that no such right exists; but
Some peopIe consider the rule abrogated
in the case of a love letter. Novels and
plavs have been founded on situations in
which the jealous husband or wife dis
ccyared Ina the poclet of an old coat,
somewhere else, q letter addressed to the
spouse of said husband or wife by some
body who was very much IN love. In these
novels and plays it is usually assumed
that the reading Of the letter was quite
justifiable and right. But was it?
The thoughts which any person puts on
paper in the form of a letter partake
of the nature of a private conversation.
They are intended for the eye of the per
son addressed and for the reading of no
body else. Particularly is this so when
the letter is of the peculiarly intimate
character above indicated If such a let
ter was written before the marriage Of
the recipient and while the writing Of 1t
was perfectly legitimate and right, there
is no more honor in reading it than there
would be i'm listening at the keyhOle to
d private conversation. in case Of a sus-
pected indebtedness there might be a
question But in the other case there is
none at all. However. the safest plan is
certainly to burn every letter which one
would not willingly have fail into the
hands Of strangers. Thus the feelings Of
the writer are guarded as they can be in
no other way.