Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1901-01-31

uluS Vi d literary AOdA =. Auu Wudt
was the mysterious cause of the sep
aration of the two lovers? These are
the questions that are agitating the
reading public in both England and
this country, and it is this mystery.
rather than the undeniable charm of
the literary style, or the spirit of wo-
manly devotion shown in the letters,
that has made them the sensational
success they are. The public is never
quite so happy as when busted with
literary puzzle, and the more unsolv-
able the puzzle be the happier the
dear public is. Stookton's The Lady
or the Tiger established its authors
fame, not alone because it revealed
him at his best, so far as style and
skill were concerned, but because it
propounded a question which could be
answered with equal certainty, or
rather equal uncertainty, in two ways.
Discussion was, therefore, unavoid.
able, and the success of the sketch
and incidentally that of it's author was
assured. An English Woman's Love
Letters contains no such psychological
enigma as does Stockton's tale, but
mystery surrounds it's authorship and
puts why" writ large and bold
across nearly half of the letters, and
this mystery alone is sufficient to win
public attention for the book
There are in the volume eighty-six
letters-besides nineteen so-called
"casket letters''-all written by a wo-
10 ha he
marry. The omission of all dates, all
names of places, save cities in Italy,
which were visited during a brief
journey, and all proper names that
could in any way identify, successfully
removes all possible clew to the iden-
tity of the writer. In the preface, we
read:
1t was necessary condition to the
present publication that the author
ship of these letters should remain
unstated. Those who know will keep
silence; those who do not will not
find here any data likely to guide
them to the truth.
This anonymity of the letters opens
the way for unlimited speculation,
put Cqudlly dltl oStlNC 10 IuC QuSoLlOl
whether or not they are genuine
whether they really are what they
claim to be, or are merely the product
of some clever literary workers skill.
The sincerity and the candor which
characterize them speak of genuine
ness, the smoothness of the literary
style, the beauty of thought, and the
nt in xunrd h MT Of
the practiced writer and yet SINGER
ity may be successfully feigned, and
a finished literary style may be pos
sessed by woman of culture, even
though she be not a professional
writer. These are, therefore, the first
riddles the book propounds, and they
are in nowise easy ones.
The third riddle is no less difficult
The story the letters tell is virtually
left untold. Only by a sentence here
and there is the reader able to OBJ
tain some slight knowledge of the re-
lations the two lovers bore to the peo-
pie about them. 1t is known that she
who wrote this letters was young
she was not yet % when she died
and that she was a woman of culture,
refinement and endowed with an emo
tional and poetic nature of marked
power is evidenced by the letters
themselves. The man whom she
loved is seen, of course, only as ideal
lied by her-there is nothing of his
writing given save one brief quotation
from his final letter, and an occasional
phrase from those which preceded it.
The impression gained of him, how
ever, is that he was about as is the
average Englishman, strong, healthy
fond of sports, by nature reserved
kindly but unimaginative. These two
people, living not many miles apart
finally met, she, with her impulsive
ness, to love him early in their &C.
quaintanceship, he, with is stolid good
nature, to take somewhat longer in
making up his mind, but doing so at
last, and they then became engaged.
Separation of the Lovers.
Their love moved smoothly at first
an occasional quarrel and makeup and
seems to have looked with disfavor
upon the engagement, being the only
shadows in that time of sunny happi-
ness. Her health being delicate,
trip to Italy became necessary, and
the writer of the letters went with
her "Mother-Aunt, her cousin Arthur
"a lad who was like brother to her
and some friends to Italy, expecting
that the lover would join them be.
fore they returned home. He did not
come, owing, evidently, to his mother
wishing him not to do so, and, al
though they met afterwards, and the
wedding day was fixed for a date
earlier than had been planned at first,
there came suddenly letter from
him which told her that they must
never see each other again.
There is no fault in you: the fault
is elsewhere; can no longer love you
as / did. All that was between US
must be at an end; for your good and
mine the only right thing is to say
good-by without meeting. know you
will not forget me, but you will for