The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-02-10
LETTERS.

you thought them so otdAs-tuA-
look ike little white collins. con
they2n and Polly pointed 10 nan q
dozen bundles OF once white enNetoos.ss
each tied with q different coiOFeQ ELo-
bon. which she had laid our on m
library table, ready for sacflAcidt - -
ing on the altar Of our engagement
They remind me. remarked, =
began pulling out OF my Own CFsl e.1ls s
rocket bundle after bundle of pink ana
blue enveIoues. each tied with com
mon cord. and deDos1llng them ossL1S
PoIy's collections, more OF skeletonS-
or stale cigarettes.
or dead roses, suggested PoilS-
cor cold pudding" said L
Polly commenced untying the VloieI
string around slender packet ana
Law laziIy back in the big armchair and
watched her through the smoke from
my cigarette and began reading
who was he, PoIIy2" I asked gently
blowing a wreath Of smoke and waten-
ing it curl around the chandelier:
.sH@he doesn't sign his name salo
Polly. evasively, and turning PINK
raised my eyebrows significantly
Because said Polly. hurry1ng on
cas- he always said. it IS inartistic %
sign your name TO personal letter II
the one for whom it IS intended cannot
guess the sender by the very nrst sen
tence then either he or she does not
care very much or else the letter IS
entirely without individuality. You do
not have TO label q good picture ms
Il cow do EOu2
Very clever of aim remarked
I don't know what you mean, MI
7 mean said I. that the man who
doesn't sign his name to the letters he
writes 10 a woman is either ashamed
Of what he is doing or insinceFe in what
he is saying he Is either cad or
coward When man really loves you
the only thing On earth he IS afraid OF
is that he win not get you"
Mr. Heavyfeather." said Polly, cold
II = 81 IN
letter writing. You"
oh. I know his style" I remarked.
cynically, the insInuatlng, noncommit-
tai style. the style that never signs his
name and begins each letter inperSon-
ally. as though he were talking to space
or pOsterity-
There was a fash of something white
through the air and the bundle Of let
ters fell from Pouy's hand into the
blazing IRE with a crash
Now" said Polly, bringing her ell
bows down On the table with a little
thump and leaning her chin on her
clasped hands, @it's your turn
But you didn't finish reading them.
I said. in surprise
what's the use?" said Polly. They
were all alike"
I sighed and opened a pink packet
nrst- l felt PollyS eyes On me. and
and flushed holly at the very first line
IN the intensely interesting epistIe
happened TO draw out
'WeuIH asked Polly, at length
"Oh, pshaWl" began Feeling my
cheeks growing hotter every minute)
1t isn't fair. Polly. to"
You mean" Interrupted Polly, that
the lady who wrote the letter said some
silly things2
They didn't seem silly at the time, .
I replied. warmly
They never do" said Polly. and
pudding never tastes fat when it's
fresh, and cigarettes never seem stale
art <
headache until the day after the
dance
And a woman never seems happy,''
| appended. until she can spell her
soul out on paper"
Well" hared Polly. "a girl ought to
be at perfect liberty TO lay her soul
quite bare in letter to her sweet
heart
.sweetheart-"
And on the kind of girl" added Pol
y. thOughtfuiy
And on the situation I concluded.
and then you have to reckon with
death. accidents and pryiug landladies. -
7 suppose said Polly. that the
safest thing for a girl to do is to write
with the idea that she is going to be
famous and that her letters are TO be
published after death by a mercenary
progeny Then she viii say a lot of
clever. interesting things, which viii
charm the man in question and yet
would make good general reading, If
the public should ever take q notion to
investigate"
THAT. Polly said I. would be an
excellent idea for a great many rea-
sons; firstly, because a man never ap-
preciates q mushy, gushy letter that
seems to be stopping over at the cor
ners with sentiment like a jelly roll
You know, yourself, how. when your
plate Is too full, the sight of il takes
away your appetite Now a single sir
OF something really good and spicy ere
ates a desire for more"
And A woman's first duty" said Pol
", solemnly. waving a packet Of let
tiers, is TO create a desire for uoret 81
Besides went on, ignoring the
cynicisEn, If the average girl who in
dulges IN sentimental notes would pro-
Jet herself into the future few years
and draw q mental picture of the wives
of her cores ondents in the attitude ci
reading these notes
eUght" cried Polly, with a charning
little saudder. shed never write any
thing but the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
NOTWITHSTANDING acknowledgement auts-to-
Ineet-y0u- h0pe-yoU-a vveII-w-fth love
always kind. would she2 Shed never
attempt TO make herself plain or under
stood or anything OF that sort
No" I replied, hingfng my cigarette
stump into the CRATE. and gazing
thoughtfully at the fire. Why is il :
woman always longs to make herself
understood anyway It's an awful mis-
take. Because to the average man ev-
cry girl is just like a geometricaI prob
lem. quite unfnteresting. after she has
been solved
Polly was arranging the little packets
of white letters carefully into different
sized piles.
= Why do you tie them with eoIorec
rfbbOns2" I asked. curiousIy
The ribbons" said Polly, represent
the men I can tel whose letters they
are without even glancing at the enveI
Ope- White, for instance. is for Arthur
Drake. the man with the whitest sou
ever knew. and black is for Jimmy
Darlington. who died; red Is for BobbI
McRae. he was an actor, you know
and blue" (Polly stopped). <sYol
see" she went on in a moment. a-everl
man who comes into a girls life leave.
a distinct impression For every mar
she has ever fancied she always has Z
soft spot somewhere down in her heart