The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1912-06-20
The Letter

1AS A~SO~1
Having scrutinized the sheet Of note
paper carefully the young man laid It
down tenderly. He dipped his pen In
the ink and tried 1t on q scrap Of pa
per before he spread his feet apart
and hunched over the desk to write.
He began:
""Mr. Alwell w. Adkins, New York
City, Dear Sir-I wish to bring to your
attention a matter which while con.
corning both of us yet pertains more
closely to affairs connected with my.
self and yet also Is perhaps more i'm
portant to you Judging from the
standpoint you naturally might have,
taking into consideration all the facts
that"
The young man suddenly crumpled
he sheet and cast it from him, then
picked 1t up again to smooth it out
and glare at 1t.
"Now." he said to himself, II won.
der what I really thought I was say.
ing. l suppose If I had gone on with
that l should have ended the sentence
with something about picking cur.
rants on the mountains and why I pre-
fer white fish broiled!" +;
Selecting another sheet Of paper he
wrote down the same address and
started in again: I.
,"No doubt you will be surprised at q
letter from me on this subject. though
on second thought the fact that you
are not acquainted with me should
have nothing to do with it. inasmuch
as you have doubtless considered the
possibility of circumstances bringing
about a situation which, while not ex-
actly similar to the one that at pres!
ent engages your attention, STILL
The young man paused, bit his pen,
came back and read over what he had!
written and then sat down dejectedly.i
ooh, that won't do" he groaned. 1T
simply won't do at all! l know pre-,
cisely what l am trying to say and it's
doggone queer l can't make it come
out right. Come to think of It. the
start is too businesslike!"
Beginning a third time he wrote:
"My Dear Mr.. Adkins-1 suppose It
would be well to tell you something
about myself, because it is in the ma.
ture of things that you should wish to
know more-in fact, all-about a per-
son who intrudes himself into the
midst of the most important part Of
the daily existence of a circle which
while far removed yet seems in q
measure united with the hopes and
aspirations that at present overpower
the more humdrum phases of every.
day life that hitherto have occupied
the"
Sinking his head into his hands the
writer let his fingers run wildly
through his hair. The more he
thought the more impossible 1t SEEM
ed to complete the sentence.
1T began we'll, too" he murmured
mournfully as he slowly tore the pa
per in two and added it to the heap in
the waste basket.
Then he went and got a drink of
water, looked out of the window and
opened a book before he once more
settled himself at the writing desk.
He began slowly, determinedly:
"Mr. Alwell w. Adkins, New York
City. My Dear Mr.. Adkins-Putting
the matter briefly, which is best, I wish
to say that while I realize no amount
of preparation would make any easier
the blow"
Good gracious, that isn't the word.
1.-THE loss that it would be to you If
what l am going to say should incline
you to look favorably upon the propo-
!sition that feel 1t Is time for me to
bring to your attention, still, on the
other hand"
The young. nan looked fixedly at q
figure in the wall paper. Leaning
beck, he examined the end Of the pen,
frowning at it. He hummed q little
tune. Slowly his eyes wandered back
to the paper before him and he shook
his fist at it.
"Confound you!" he muttered in
tones Of concentrated rage. "'On the
other ha1d'-what is on the other
hand, anyway? Not a blamed thing!
I've forgotten what I had in mind
when 1 started out-and l started out
briefly, too! The inside of my head
feels like a patent churn with a hash
ed up dictionary going round and
roand inside It! You could almost
set that to music II you we're lever!"
He store the paper into pieces vi.
ciously, got out another sheet, slammed
1t down. jabbed his pen into the ink
and with his damp hair p%lastering his
brow wrote:
"Mr. Alwell w. Adkins. Dear Sir
You don't know me. but I love your
daughter and want to marry her. My
income is $4,000 a year and below are
the names Of five persons you can
write to for information about me.
Your daughter knows I am writing
this. Hoping for a favorable reply, I
remain. yours truly,
"JOHN T. uEATuO