The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-07-26
GARIESOFTHEDAILYLETYE
WHY MRS. MACBRIDE DOUBTED
ALGERNON'S AFFECTION.
Tangle OF Time and the Ways Of Trains
That Nearly Caused . Raid on the Post
ONCE Departmcbt-Best Seller Thee.
Sies verined-Uncle Josh Explains.

Tangle OF Time and the Ways OF Trains
That Nearly Caused q Raid on the Post
ONCE Departmcnt-Best Seller Theo.
Sies verined-Uncle Josh Explains.
When young Macbride was sent of a short
time after his marriage On a business trip
to the Pacific coast the principal comfort
that he was able to offer his very young
wife was a solemn promise to write to her
| every day-without fail. He kept his
1 promise literally. and 1t very nearly wrecked
Mrs. Macbride's confidence In him and In
human nature.
The first day out it was all right. He
started in the forenoon. and as the shades
Of evening fell he wrote on a pad on his
kne in the speeding, jolting car a lovely
letter" describing the scenery and his
| loneliness and saying all the reassuring
thing he could think OF. When the train
| stopped to change engines he mailed the
letter.
As he was about twelve hours out when
| this happened Mrs. Maobride got the letter
| the next day and 80 was comparatively
happy for twenty-fou hours. Then she
| began impatiently to expect the next one.
It didn't come. She began to fret. The
last mail came and there was no letter.
| She bought all the evening papers to see
II there had been train wreck. There
hadn't, but though this relieved her mind
to some degree she cried herself to sleep
because 1t seemed 1t took one days absence
to make Algernon forget her and his sacred
pledge not to miss a day In writing,
Life had no interest for her all the fol-
lowing morning and she nursed tragic
ideas Of what she would do In her bereave-
ment, Her mind wabbled between going
homo TO her mother and learning to he a
trained nurse. but her head ached too badly
10 do anything serious-and anyway she
hadn't quite given UP hops. Indeed when
the letter carriers bell rang at the door Of
her Flatbush home not long after 10 O'Clock
It was all she could do to keep from running
TO he door herself.
Il was O minute before she had the oour-
age to open the letter and read 1t. As she
did % o wave Of great Joy came over her.
There was no mistaking the sincerity Of Its
tone; he loved her still. 1t was only on the
third or fourth reading that she grasped
the significance Of the opening words: Zone
moro day has passed since said. good-by
to N.Y." 1t Ia unnecessary to put the
rhetoric Of young matrimony in print.
What struck her was the 'one day; there
were other evidences in the letter that 1t
was the second in the series; so Mrs.
Macbride at once felt a little pang at 'the
deception as she mentally called It.
sOf course" she said to herself, there
was some good reason for his missing a
day in writing to me, but he just might ave
told me what the reason was instead Of pre-
tending that he'd kept his promise to write
every day. But that's the way with men.
They always think we're foolish and easily
imposed on. and they rather try to humor
us with a falsehood than tell us the truth
and trust to our reason as they would with
each other
She a read this or something like it
In q best seller by q woman novelist within
a few days, and 1t hurt her that 1t should
come so true in her own case. So her
happiness had a touch OF bitterness In It.
and the next day she was deeper Il the
abyss OF doubt than ever when the long
morning and weary afternoon wore away
and the hoped for number three failed to
make its appearance. This night she
neither cried nor slept. The world was
too cruel.
Number three came all right the next
morning, but after the first flush OF emotion
aroused by it's ardent phrases the chill
took hold Of the heart and brain again.
| There was the same "subterfuge,' he same
me an, small attempt TO impose upon her
because she was a woman-a trusting
wife," Oh this was unworthy Of Algenon!
1t was far worse han not writing, even il
he had got mixed up in some Irritation
or, no, most likely he was playing poker.
She had heard men did play poker in smok.
ing cars. And to think Algernon would
let q mere card game put her out Of his
head for a whole day and would then try
to cover up his neglect with a pretence that
a child could see through! Things never
could be the same between them again.
with misery, and when the next day passed
without a letter-the seventh Of her grass
widowhood-her mood turned to rage, the
woman scorned pose. When letter number
four arrived on the morning OF the eighth
ton OF writing daily was kept up. or course
It was, for Algernon was religiously making
good his pledge, and spending much OF
bis idle time on the train each day making
up sweet things to say, in the evening letter.
But Mrs. Macbride didn't know this, 80 she
just packed the four letters into her hand
bag, put on the nearest approach to half
mourning that she could combine from
her trousseau. and started OF to lay the
sBut, my dear said that sensible and
experienced woman, have you looked at
the dates9 Do they run along day after
day.. our,. =, a..
The dates run along all right. day after day.
But Algy's smart enough for that, or at
least he couldn't think I'd be such a fool
you know what l mean
Then did you look at the postmarks.
Angelo asked the experienced mother.
Let us compare them
They did and the %postmarks we're a COM
plete vindica ton OF. Macbride. The four
dates were consecutive; the letters were
mailed a day apart at Pittsburg, Kansas
City, Las Vegas. n. NJ, and Ash
Fork, Ariz. Little Mrs. Macbride had her
very first fit Of Mysteries in her mothers
arms when the joyful certainty came over
her that not only had her Algernon kept
his promise but In addition had resorted
she came to herself the two women went
into a white heat Of rage at the neglect
and Encouragement Of the post ONCE.
They talked Of writing to the postmaster
and the Postmaster-G General and the Presi-