Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1905-06-15
HOW SHE BROKE
HER ENGAGEMENT
By BARRY PAIN.

the first words OF my letter you Will
gather what it is / have to say. can
no longer call you George. In fact, I
never ought to have called you George
at all. was young and rash and had
not taken everything into account.
However It is better that the mistake
should be rectihed now than when 1t
is too late. That is what papa said
last night.
Yes. George, / told papa last night
all about what was then our engage
ment. He says that it can never,
never be; or, at any rate, we had bet
ter take time to think about 1t. He
had no prejudice against you person
ally; in many ways he admires you
as, of course anybody would do who
had the privilege of knowing you.
should say that he really was deeply
attached to you, but it was certainly
his idea that we had better not be
engaged at present. He says that
your income is not sufficient. am
not strong woman and have never
been used to roughing it. Suppose
fell i'll. Think of the misery Of It;
you would never be able to endure the
misery of an invalid wife. ! know
seem to be in health and that / have
generally a good appetite and 50 on
but these things are very deceptive.
Under any strain, for instance, If |
had to do any kind of work, feel
sure that | should collapse utterly. SO
under the circumstances, however hard
it may be, | feel it my duty to write
and to break off our engagement.
What am going to say now has
nothing to do with the above, but as
| happened to be writing | thought
had better mention it. DO you remem-
Der saying that Miss ADELAIDE Jones
was the most perfect and complete cat
you ever met? You we're quite wrong
feel that / ought to mention this in
order that you may do her more justice
in the future. / saw her this morning
and have told her everything, and
anything more considerate and angelic
it would be impossible to conceive.
She said that she had heard of the
I engagement and knew from the first
that it could never come to anything
Then she told me the reason why.
OF course, George, you are not an
swerable to me in any way now, and
it is really no concern Of mine, but
think you might have told me what
passed between you and Miss Brown.
If / had known how far things had
gone between you l should never for
one moment have permitted what l
did. ,,.,t. .,-, .y.7r igri va s-s'~
At the same time you must not
think that am blaming you. OF
course she is not beautiful, very far
from it; and l am not going to pre-
tend that her manners are in any way
pleasing. Her laugh is far too loud,
and her teeth are perfectly awful
Still everybody admits that she is ex-
tremely good to her mother, and am
quite glad and rejoiced to think that
this was an attraction in your eyes.
1 really honor you for having noticed
Miss Smiths devotion to her mother
and for having fallen in love with her
in consequence. know many men
who could not have done it. Only
do think that in justice to me you
might have mentioned it, and in justice
to her you should not have allowed
! her to suppose that there was even d
tacit engagement between you. OF
course she did suppose It; Miss Adel-
aide Jones told me so distinctly, and
she told ma all about that week at
Henley too; in fact, she has shown
herself a true friend in this trying
time. feel sure now that you will be
sorry you ever called her cat, and
that you will never do it again. This
had nothing whatever to do with my
reasons for breaking off our engage
ment, and hope you will not be small
minded enough to think that it has.
am fairly humble and am quite will
ing to admit that -dith Brown has
very much the advantage of me in
age and experience, but l am afraid
cannot regard her as a rival; she Is
merely one of the people that one
takes no notice of.
should like you to say what you
wish me to do about your letters and
presents. My instinct, of course, is to
return them. / was crying over them
all last night and thinking that
should much prefer to return them. 1t
seems almost a pity now that you had
the ring altered so as to fit me, but
daresay a good leweler could put an
inch or so on it, and then 1t will ut
Edith Brown just as well. She has
nice plump little hands, hasn't she?
l ask you to tell me what to do be-
cause have only my instinct TO guide
me and do not know what is the
etiquette on these occasions.
SO you see, George dearest, that
must submit to papa's superior wisdom
and that we must definitely say good
BY Perhaps many years after this we
may meet again when you have mar
ried Edith, and l only hope that we
shall meet as friends. Faithfully
yours,
JANE ROBINSON.
rr.,,o f,,-t rooafxyod Invitation