Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1912-12-07
THE INITIAL M
Romance In a Lady's Shopping
Bag.
BY BRYANT z. c. ROGERS.

l should dearly love TO know tnaL ne
was settled down in his own home"
But he Is not cynic?
"Oh, dear, no. 1t is just that-that
we'll can hardly explain. He wants
rousing up, as 1t were. Admitting,
courtship and marriage seem prosy
events to him. There will have to be
adventure with his falling In love-"
Royal Rexford, only son OF the
widow, had reach I'd the age OF twenty
four without ever having fallen In
love. 1t couldn't even be said that he
had fiirted He could waltz and play
bridge and render himself agreeable
stopped there. He didn't favor wo-
man suffrage, and he didn't say word
against 1t. 1t was .ust that he was
not interested beyond a mild and par
donable curiosity. His intimates OF.
ten wondered what would arouse his
emotions, but they had waited in vain.
On a certain afternoon Mr.. Rexford
left New York for Hartford He was
neither elated nor cast down. He
didn't care whether he went or stayed.
He didn't care whether he went be-
yond Fall River or got off there.
Every chair in the car was taken, but
he didn't care to size up his fellow
passengers. In an Indifferent sort
of way he acquired the knowledge that
there were three or four young ladies
among the travellers, but what Of 1t?
There were also ladies and fat men
and lean men.
Mr.. Rexford passed most of the time
L.. 41AI
journeys end he was in no rush to
leave the car, 1t thereby happened
that he was the last one out, and as
he passed down the aisle he saw a
shopoing-bag reposing in one Of the
chairs. They have been left behind
hundreds of times by hundreds of wo
men. According to rule and law and
several other things, Mr.. Rexford
should have passed on and left the
porter to find the bag and turn 1t in
to the lost property office. If not that
then he should have turned 1t in him
self.
But Mr.. Rexford didn't do any such
thing. The sight of that bag with its
silver M on the side aroused a faint
interest in his breast 1t seemed to
say to him: please take care of me-"
and he walked out of the depot with
the bag cuddled up under his arm. He
expected to meet the loser any minute
but she did not retLrn. The treasure
went with the finder to hotel for the
night and reached Now York with
him the next day.
Most persons would have opened
that bag within an hour, but Mr.. Rex
ford didn't. He waited until his re-
turn, and then he only took a peek
just enough to discover a roll of false
hair and a powder-puff There were
other things further down. but he kept
hands Off
Mr.. Rexford had not intended to
appropriate anything. What he meant
to do was to find the owner, but in
his own way. That way was by ad-
vertisement in the papers and when 1t
came out it read:
Found, on the Hartford train, on
the goth, ladies' shopping bag bear
ing the initial M Address Box AZ"
The brief advertisement was placed
in four papers, and the loser would be
almost certain to see 1t. She did see
it. She lived just outside of Hartford,
and would be greatly obliged. and so
forth.
Mr.. Rexford didn't follow the usual
mode Of procedure in such cases. He
was not a bit curious, but with that
bag nicely wrapped up in scented pa
per he made his way back to Hartford
and to the surburb where was located
the home Of the loser. 1t was SO kind
Of him, said the spinster of forty, and
it was so careless OF her. Her name
was Morgan and that accounted for
the initial Excuse her for a mament,
please. MISS Morgan left the room
to inspect the bag, and when she re-
turned she fairly threw 1t at Mr. Rex
fords head along with the exclama-
ton:
Sir, you are no gentleman"
"What-what is it?'
II repeat 1t, sir, and If my brother
were here you would have to pay for
this INSULT"
He ls here, sister," replied deep
voice from the front hall, and in
walked a man lc oking for trouble.
Really, l dort understand" said
Mr.. Rexford.
Then take time out on the corner
to think 1t over" answered the broth
err; and he threw the caller out doors
and the bag after him.
There was a mistcke somewhere,
and Mr.. Rexford begar to feed the
emotion of curiosity. There was no
mistake about his having landed in a
heap at the foot Of the steps, but why
should Miss Morgan's bag have fol.
lowed him? He had come all the way
from New York to restore it, and now
she would not have 1t. 1t was no use
to ring the bell and ask for explana.
tions. The broth ,r fingered in the
hall and had his coat Off Mr.. Rexford
did the right thing by returning to
New York and discovering another
letter in answer to his ad. This an
swer was from Miss Merritt. and 10!
she also lived near Hartford and was
entitled to use the initial M" He
would think her a very careless girl
and she would admit she was. but as
an Offset wasn'e 1t imply beautiful tc
discover that there we're few honest
people still left in the world? Re
GREETING the trouble she would put him
TO. and thanking him million times