Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1907-10-09
PEACH.

[Original]
One evening in autumn. the first
cold weather of the season having
set in, l got out my winter overcoat.
Thrusting my hand into the pockets,
l struck a small bundle. l am par
ticular about my clothes. always put
ting them away carefully when the
season changes and taking everything
out Of the pockets. l was therefore
surprised at finding anything and
drawing forth the bundle, quickly and
curiously unwrapped it. l found
package Of letters. On the top was
photograph of 4 girl. with the lowell
est face and the sweetest smile l ever
beheld took her right into my
heart.
"Pretty enough to KISS" l remarked
to myself, and kissed the card.
Looking ut the tailor'S name sewn
on to the inside of the collar Of the
overcoat, it was unfamiliar to me.
Then examined the coat critically. |
had never owned it. l must have
changed coats ut the end of the previ-
Gus spring with some man IN some
public place. | slipped couple OF
elastic bands off the letters, hoping to
find clew to the owner of the coat.
The envelopes We're not there. Each
letter, written in woman's hand. he
gan Dear Ralph" and was signed
"Peach." They We're usually dated
merely with the day they We're writ
ten, viz-"Tuesday evening" 'Wednes-
day afternOon'' Some gave the
month, day and year, but none the city
from which they were written, though
a few, evidently written while the
writer was visiting, mentioned differ
ent places in the text. In hunting for
a clew l unwittingly got interested in
them. l couldn't help it. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY case Of lonely woman writ
ing to lover who did not understand
or appreciate her.
Since the exchange had been made
some eight months before there was
no great hope of finding the owner. l
wrote the tailor who had made the
coat asking if any word had been left
ply that there had not.
This was all I could do in the mat
ter, for l could not remember so far
back any place where 1 might prob
ably have taken the coat IN exchange
All that winter I used to read the let
tiers and look at the photograph till
came to fancy that was the lover tc
=
But no man can be satisfied with en-
dearments that are passed. Besides,
was constantly remembering that the
man who was manifeStly united tt
possess such a noble girl had finally
become aware of his unwOrthiness anC
her superiority and had made sutti
GENTLY respectable fellow of himself
to warrant union between them.
became DESTROYS of finding out wha
had been the result, but there was no
the slightest means of doing so. | new
er went anywhere without hoping tina
would see the face Of the photograph
which l always carried in my pocket
book.
One afternoon, while l was looking
over the pictures in a public gallery
In passing from one room to anothe
I came face to face with one I wa
sure was the original of the photo
graph. My heart stood STILL 1t wa
fortunate that she did not look at me
for she would surely have been EN-
barrassed at seeing strange mai
stare at her. She passed on, and
turned and followed her.
Later she was standing before pic
ture, with her eyes fixed on it intently
There was no one else in the room
Standing in the next room where
could get out of the range of her view