The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-07-22
. OUR DAILY SHORT STORY

Where are you eoingr asked his mother.
 T am going to acknowledge that
 present." he said, "as quickly as pos
 sible l am going to telegraph to cousin Bessie"
 i "Thomasr' cried his mother, but Il was too late. He was already outside
 the gate and sloshing down the soft The telegram Bessie received caused her great surprise.
 Christmas gift received; exceeding l iy delighted: acknowledgement probab- ly lost; sincerely grateful. Thomas Grant"
 She studied 1t carefully. She wonder ed what she had sent him that could cause him to express sincere gratitude
 and that flaerited the importance of a telegram. Her system of gifting the cousins I did not lead her to believe that she could have sent him anything to cause him exceeding delight. Each year she stored away the many useless, trival things she received from other cousins, and the next year she bought and added to them other useless. trival things These she called the "ruck. and from the "ruck" she sent gifts to the long list of cousins and acauain- tances. What out Of the "ruek" she had sent to cousin Thomas Grant she could not imagine. Certainly he would not be exceedingly delighted to receive or the padded backed copy of 'Lallah Rookh" that cousin Mayme had sent her the year before.
 She carried the telegram to her mother and offered to her, half pleased and half ashamed that cousin Thomas Grant should have telegraphed. Mrs. Marlowe was not pleased at all. "A telegramr' she exclaimed is one might say "a snake" She looked at Bessie. almost with horror, as being. although unintentionally, a party to such an act of social barbarism. "A telegram, my dear. I cannot imagine any one but an uncivilized savage &C., knowiedgtng a gift by telegraph. Bes- sic. It is insulting, downright insult ing. It suggests that he did not think enough of it to take the time to write a letter."
 Does it7P asked Bessie, with relief.
 Then 1t was probably nothing in par ticular that sent him after all. To me 1t seemed that a telegram must mean that the gift seemed of great im- poftance to him. People do not tele- graph about nothing"
 "That is just it, said Mrs. MarIowe. severely that is what I said. It is that that is SO insulting about it. It Suggests that he is strying to make us think that he thinks the gift is of kfGdL iENpOftauCG ana NAlu6 WASn II is not. It Is ridicullng it--and us." "'Perhaps the present was valuable" suggested Bessie.
 Then" said Mrs Marlowe, most de- cidedly, you have done a thing I hope you will never do. again; a most un- ladyiike thing; you should never send presents of any value to your male cousins"
 T don't" Bessie said, mo one can accuse me of sending any of the cousins anything but trash. am al- most sure that I sent cousin Thomas nothing that the most refined lady would pay over a quarter for. If I did" she laughed. T was cheated at the bargain counter"
 ''Then," said Mrs. Mariowe, 'this telegram Is beyond question insulting And if you sent him a valuable gift 1t is insulting. And 1t is insulting any way. To telegraph when one can write is always insulting. I am sur prised that a son of cousin Mary could do such thing;
 Marthas next letter she blushed with indignation and tore the letter angrily in two. Then, after instantly resolv- Ing to sever all relations at once and forever with cousin Martha, she picked up the letter and read it again and biushed with shame. Thomas was in his room cleaning his gun. She hur- ried up the stairs and burst in upon him.
 Read that!" she exclaimed You solutely nnpardonable, and I do not blame cousin Martha for feeling hurt and insulted."
 Thomas read the letter, holding 1t in the greasy fingers of one hand while he held the stock of his gun in the other.
 "Phewl" he exclaimed. She does go for us some. She does suggest that we are crude and untamed, doesn't she? What shall do about it?"
 There is but one thing for you to do" said his mother, positively. You don"
 For the unpardonable?" he asked Nice prospect for cousin Thomas. I perfer to stay at home and be put to bed without my supper. mother. You