The Washington herald., 1912-03-03
AMOROUS EPISTLE ASKS HAND
OF RICH WASHINGTON BELLE
Mysterious Russian @No-
bleman" Wants to Wed
Prettiest Girl in City
with CASH.
By r. w. BENTON.


A rare opportunity for an attachment
with a mysterious foreigner who prom
iscs to be man OF wealth and social
position Is offered to the bellies OF Wash
ington society in a strange letter which
has been received by the District Com
Tlissioners. The missiye comes from Ros-
ton, South Russia, and was evidently
written by a young man Of education and
refinement who Is longing for an Ameri-
can love. The letter was addressed to
Monsieur le Marie de Ia vile de WASH
ington." with the request that the epis-
fIe be presented to ia Plus belle ieune-
file millionaire de Ia Vile" To come
back to the vernecular. in the words
Of the famous DR.. Harvey W. Wiley,
chief OF the Bureau of Chemistry, the
request IS that ''the mayor OF Washing
ton present the letter to the most beau
uful young lady millionaire In the city.
Letter n Puzzle.
There was great surprise among the
employees Of the District Building when
the strange letter was delivered in the
regular mail. The unusual envelope was
gazed upon IN wonderment by the en-
ployes. and was then taken to Cuno II.
Rudolph, president of the Board of Com
n1issioners. Commissioner Rudolph look
cd long at the missive, and then gave
up the task. The envelope had been
neatly addressed in blue letters on a
typewriter, evidently so that there might
be no danger of miscarriage. The paper
was OF the most expensive kind, with
fafnt stripes running through the tex
ture. It bore n slight Oriental odor, and
was undoubtedly richly scented when
first il started on its journey across
the high seas.
As a last resource, the envelope was
a., all
tary to the Board of Commissioners, Ru-
thor, pubhcist, linguist, and scholar. DR..
Tindan .gazed through his spectacles At
the envelope, smiled, and then read with
the fluency of a Frenchman:
Monsieur lie Marie de In Vile de Wash
ington. a Washington. Amerique: Je vous
pric. Monsieur lie Marie, de vouloir bfen
remettre cette Iettre a Ia plus belle jeune-
file millionaire de votre Vile. Nous etes
le Juri. Je vous remercie imminent"
Then after a pause, the llnguist and
scholar translated:
The Mayor of the City of Washing
ton, Washington, America: 1 pray you,
Mr.. Mayor, to be good enough to send
this letter to the most beautiful young
lady millionaire of your city. You are
the judge. l thank you infinitely
Commissioner Rudolph, '1e Maire de
Washington was then apprised Of the
gigantic task which had been imposed
Upon him.
"Ah," he sighed, this is indeed a diff
icult task. Why didn't the Russian
Frenchman, or the French Russian, as
the case may be, ask me something
sasy2 My acquaintance with young lady
nillicnaires is very limited. / might
Jossibly select a young lady millionaire,
out I am afraid she would not meet
he specifications. The specifications call
'or a most beautiful young lady, and
the millionaire which 1 would be COM
pelled to select would probably not be
much for looks.
"On the other hand, know some dandy
cooking girls who would fill the bill in
every particular except that of being |
supplied with ready cash. 1t seems that |
beauty and wealth are antagonistic. The |
beauties whom know haven't an eternal |
cent. The Problem is too much for me. |
I shall be compelled to advertise. That |
is the last resource.
Missive PurIoined.
The letter was fled away and an ad-
vertisement was inserted in one of the /
newspapers in a half-jesting manner. But
the curiosity of the employees rapidly |
Increased, and they Ionged to see the
contents of the envelope. The young
ladies in DIR. TindalFs office held the /
envelope up to the light in hope Of catch
ing glimpse OF the signature of a count |
or q prince. But the employees dared |
not open the epistle. so the envelope was
returned to the files.
When she fair assistants OF Dr. Tin
dali returned some time afterward to
examine the letter again. it was gone.
No one knew what had become of it.
The truth was that It had been pur-
loined Some curious and venturesome
person had stolen the much-prized enve-
lope, and after perusing the contents had
left the missiye on desk in the press
room of the building.
oh, mes cheres jeune-filles, you cannot
help love that Russian Frenchman
after reading his eloquent letter. The
epistle opens up a broad field of specu-
lation.- About the entire letter there is
an atmosphere OF mystery. The name
OF the correspondent is given, but there
are only a few scattered hints of his
personality. What broad field for the
thoughts Of The jeune-filles of Washing
ion TO run overt The writer explains
that he requested the mayor to hand the
letter to 'la plus belle jeune-homme mill
iionaire," so as TO make the task OF selec- 1
ton less difficult. Now this is a great
point for speculation, and, young ladies, ,
DO not forget TO go slow. The explane-
ton may be sincere, and yet again, our
Russian Frenchman may be in search OF |
wealth and not love. Ii
The mysterious foreigner longs to re- {
ceivc a few sweet words from some
beautiful young lady who lives in the \
National Capital. He goes into ecstasy I
over George Washington, "Pere de Ia
Patrie,:' and says that he will always
respect his genius and ability. But young
ladies, don't take this at par. This eclat
Of enthusiasm may be serviIe fiattery, so :
go slow.
Young ladies, think what a desolate
heart you might make happy II you
would but answer the missive Of this
mysterious man. He says that one word
from the most beautiful young lady mil I
lionaire Of Washington will be the most Z
blessed remembrance OF his life. The
Young foreigner admits that he is some n
Ehat bold, but requests that a photo r
sraph Of the fair young lady million h
Rire be sent to him. And last, mes b
cheres jeUne-filles de Washington this Z
mysterious foreigner signs himself 'af- c
tectionately, your" Think of that-to