The Savannah morning news., 1902-02-23
4 STENOGRAPHIC
COURTSHIP.
:, was u Blunder i'm Correspondence
THAT Made the People Happy.

1oarh ans he was not TO De DldHleu tON
..,,aralv for falling, but of that the
-.odar must judge for himself. Here
a,e the circums tances of the case.
Ne was young and in love-no I'M
oor,n,on combination; but he had moi
a,aared his passion, nor had he
sool,an of it to his friends. So far as
be knew. the secret was all his own
I1yben therefore, he got a letter from
+ns girl he loved accepting his proposal
- marriage, and asking him to call
~ her house that very afternoon, he
,,,oo vastly surprised. Most men would
he under the circumstances, for he
had written no letter, and made no
proposal.
Rut there was no mistake about the
r;-l,s letter. He was in the middle OF
braakfast when the servant brought 1t
N and laid it down beside him. He
Aid not recognize the handwriting, and
onening it carelessly, crumbling up the
OpI,sI06e. and throwing it behind him
into the fireplace But ne had no more
.han Glanced at the first few lines,
tban he got up from the table, and the
ranainder of his morning meal went
,,n+asted. The letter ran as follows:
"Dear Mr.. Davis:
your letter has made me very happy
Marriage is a very serious thing, but
# YOU are quite sure that you love me,
as YOU say you do, and wish me to
Se YOUR wife, L shall be very glad ii
YOU will call for your answer TINS art
srnoon. | shall be in about o'clock.
Always yours sincerely,
Anna Davenport"
His first feeling was one of utter and
oamnlete incredulity. Could the letter
he for him? He hastily looked about
for the envelope. 1t was resting IN
noriIous place, just out of reach of a
DANES that seemed to be making des-
neratA efforts to devour it. 1t was rap
ldly growing brOWner and broWneri
and curling under the heat.
He snatched it away hurriedly and
found the address was still leglble,
HIoseph Davis, Is Albemarle Place,
civ" So it was for him after all.
lie tried to think it out. He had not
written: of that he was perfect sure.
He could account for all his actions
during the last three days, and knew
that thew did not include the writing
of a letter containing proposal OF
marriage Whatever a man could Tor
get he could not forget an action OF
that kind.
He wondered whether someone had
written a letter in his name for prac-
tioal Joke That was most unlikely.
M one knew that he was in love with
the girl and, besides, it was out of
the question that any of his friends
should indulge in such an unpardona-
Bile joke.
Nor could he believe that the girl her
self was playing such q strangely I'M
accountable prank with him. She was
-, wv Sn'f oven
lean wear. and her letter, moreover,
plainly showed that she had received a
letter. which she thought had come
from him. What should he do?
All would have been quite simple If
the letter had come> from anyone but
Anna. In that case he would have
written, pointing out that there had
been some unfortunate mistake. 1t
would have been an awkward letter to
write. but it might have been done.
But coming, as it did, from the girl
he loved, he felt his position to be Pc
culiarly embarrassing. Suppose he
wrote saying she had made a mistake.
He might put it as nicely as 1t could
be put but it would still, he feared,
forever wreck his chances of winning
her.
He glanced at his watch. He was
already late for business. There was
n certainly no time for the writing of a
\ delicate letter such as the occasion de-
manded, if he decided to write at all,
and he determined to think it over
during the morning, and see whether
he could get any possible clue to the
mystery.
His business suffered that morning
n He found it well nigh intolerable to at
tend to his ordinary routine work when
his mind was busy balancing pros and
cons and searching in vain for the best
way out of the dilemma.
There was no mistaking the tenor of
Annals letter. She was prepared to be
MS wife, and the knowledge delighted
n him beyond measure, but was it fair
III ior him to take advantage of her mis-
ake? That was an ugly question.
II was not a subject upon which he
could ask advice, for that would be to
give away the girls secret. He tried
write out the rough draft of a let
ler' but failed miserably, and the
morning passed away and found him
still undecided.
Al length he determined that would
40 as the letter babe him, and call al
ue mouse during the afternoon. He
~ MS Office early, and went back to
MS rooms, wondering vaguely whether
. H'et III SllC lllCdllllIle nave us
o'ered heT mistake and written him
at9ther note. But he found nothing,
'Iq' on the whole, he was glad of it.
ne ie lelt pretty cheerful until he APP
bStto%ched the Davenport house Then
'S heart began to fail him. He was
sensitive, awkward sort of man al
ir pest OF times, and he knew his
h ailauons. He was quite aware that
I've e was not an adept at skating upon
try lhln ice, and he heartily dis
sna MS powers of dealing neatly
srS, successfully with so delicate a
r; GJJect; For the power to say Just the
v,on}, ehlhg at the right moment, he
roos4t, willingly have sacrificed a
months salary.
su,r MN feeling akin to desperation he
the aa3n up enough courage to open
1I sate and make his way to the door
lie did not venture 10 look nm on The
ela nuoWs as he approached. but was
ana Nnen he had reached the porch
nj sot out of sight of anyone who
bebina We on the lookout for him from
4 ner,,a., ne curtains. He rang the bell
hin, tusly mad desire came over
i wa e W nee away but the garden walk
4 bin,,oIss ered by the windows. He pulled
ma I together with an effort and nv
ma 1ine the door had opened and the
ro., appeared he was able to put or
cool appearance. N"' oi
"a deor drawing room was empty. The
do,', eiosed behind him and he sat
MINI" ana waited. The seconds seemed
Wonda-' lie lost all his nerve and
sag 'eiOiessiy what he would
q AZ length the door opened. and Anna
snp,teaIed. She looked charming as sh,
"a,led the room aud clo.na ~. 49,.