The suburban citizen., 1902-12-27
A ClandeStine
Correspondence

Il course it was silly notion,
and she didn't expect that
anything would come of it,
but Mrs. Bleecker had set her
heart upon arranging some sort OF a
Clandestine correspondence. She knew
1t was a rather vulgar form Of diver
sion, but she meant to cover up her
identity so thoroughly that she might
drop the whole affair at any time with
out fear Of discovery. She conned out
of her imaginative mind many reasons
that seemed to condone, if they did not
justify, the little scheme. Curtis
Bleecker, her husband, was. she be-
lieved commencing to neglect her.
They had been married six years. had
no children. and were still struggling"
10 keep out of debt. She was suffering
from ennui. amusements were expcns-
i've. and Curtis showed each night
when he came home the evidence of
busy, nerye-racling, bothersome days.
Sometimes he didn't come home till
past midnight, and she was beginning
10 doubt his stereotyped apologies.
Maybe he was perfectly loyal, and
anyway. Mrs. Bleecker was sure of her
own fidelity under any conditions, and
she was fascinated with the idea of get
ting up some sort of a letter Irritation
with some unknown man whom she
never expected or cared to see.
She confded the plan 10 Miss Annie
Cuthbert, her best friend, who had
typewriter, and between them they
fixed up an advertisement, which ap-
peared in the next Sunday newspaper,
as follows:
WANTED.-By a young, handsome,
intelligent woman, the acquaintance
of n sympathetic, educated and NOR
al man; object. the exchange of in
structive and helpful letters. Ad-
dress Q 33, this office.
Miss Cuthbert went for the answers,
and the clerk handed her many. That
1ight Curtis didn't come home even
for dilner. and his wife, for the first
time in her life, was glad of it, She
went With her friend into the kitchen,
locked the doors, and together they
sat dow nto gloat over those answers
to 20 49," Most of them were idiotic,
of course; n few We're sane enough,
but mercenary or commonplace or ill
spelt. Some contained photographs of
lovelorn youths with curls and fool
ish smiles. Some We're the ridiculous
plants Of old men who had outlived or
neglected their opportunities TO be
loved. 1t was very funny, the whole
business, and Mrs. Bleecker and Annie
laughed over the reading and over the
photographs till the bell announced
Mr.. Bleeckcr. Then Annie bundled
the stuff into her satchel and said:
"Come over in the morning, Chloe, and
wen answer them"
But when it came to formulating a
letter to the most 'likely" Of the cor
respondents, and they saw what study,
what subterfuge and what time it re-
quired, they determined TO burn up
all the letters but one and make the
most OF that. The lucky object of
their attention signed, or rather print
ed, his name as Rodger Fortescue, and
his address was General Delivery"
He had enclosed no photograph his
typewriter letter showed every evi.
dence Of education, good breeding and
even reverence for the unknown 20
81" and forthwith he became a per-
sonage, something Of a hero in the
minds Of both these good women. who
never expected to see him, and would
have laughed at his frank confession.
his gently limited hopes. his dignifed
melancholy-if they could.
But they couldn't. Rodgcr Fortes.
cues letters more than satisfied their
first antlcipatiOns. His typewritten
words in successive letters u incgeas-
Ing length were almost vocal OF a gen
erous, wise and tender nature. Mrs.
Bleecker and her friend began to en-
dow him with every imaginable virtue
In the replies which the young wife
wrote she strOve to rise to his stand
ard Of rhetorical excellence, to his
splendid Imagery. to his vague but
winsome messages Of love. She no
longer permitted her friend, Annie
Cuthbert, to dictate even an occasional
sentence. and at last she even failed to
share with her friend one Of the let
ters which, as usual, she had received
at the general delivery window.
Then Mrs. Bleecker, almost uncon.
sciously, began to compare Curtis, her
husband, with the unknown Fortes'
cue. Why had the master Of her des-