Arizona republican., 1912-08-16
THE LETTER
 LONG MISLAID
Romantic Story of a College
 Boys Love Affair.

1ue ODJecI or my aHeCtlOn Was Miss Winifred Stirling, aged twenty nine l was too young. too sensible of my lnferiority, to make love to her. h. deed. there was little opportunity, for she had hosts of admirers among men who were of a suitable age for her.
 While 1 had not the courage to thrust myself forward among so many suit Ors, l could not fOrbear telling my love, or, rather, writing it, for even had plenty of opportunity l could not have spoken it. So without having express ed admiration or having so much as sent q handful of flowers 1 sat down and wrote love letter, ending with a proposition of marriage
 The mail in which a reply should have come did not bring it, nor the next, nor the next. A week passed be fore l gave it up. Two weeks after the writing of my epistle I went back to college for my second year.
 Ten years passed. The lady of my love had been replaced by the ladies of my loves. l was not married and had no expectation of being married. My attentions to the fair sex had been like the two ends of a barometer, one end of which goes down as the other goes up. As 1 grew in age the girls 1 fancied were of more tender years. At twenty-nine 1 fancied maidens of nine teen.
 In ,', whistle, l went to the door, where he had been dropping the letters through q slit into a box inside, to get my mail l dropped a package and on stOoping to pick it up saw the white corner of a letter between the bottom of the box and the door. I pulled it out, and an other followed. Frying the box away from the door, a dozen letters dropped to the floor. 1 picked them up and found them of various dates, running back for a number of years. On open ing them l found one that startled me. It was signed "Winifred Stirling" It read:
 Your letter was great, but. admit. pleasant. surprise. 1 confess that 1 have admired for long while one whom 1 have been used to consider the soul of honor and whose youthful enthusiasm contrasts with the worn emotions of older men. l would accept your proposal but for one reasOn-When you are my age, twenty nine, l will be thirty-nine. Will you then love me as you do now? l leave it to you to decide If you are sure you will, come and see me tomorrow evening. If not. let us drop the matter here.
 YEoc aVn,. fact cn mt l1uon mon in the very nick of time? l saw it all. 1 had not called, and she had supposed l had come to a negative decision. tried to picture how she would look at this advanced age. l could form no image except the one l remembered. I read again the words "one whom l have been used to consider the soul of honor" had made proposal. It was not the lady's fault that 1 had not received my reply. l was unmarried and fancy free. There was nothing for me to do but proceed as l would have proceeded ten years before or live in her contempt, as 1 had doubt less lived for the past ten years. My amour propre triumphed. 1 was the same individual. with the same sensi tiveness. I learned Miss Stirling's ad- dress-she was still Miss Stirling-and wrote her the explanation of my long silence. She replied by inviting me to come and see her.
 I found a woman attractive in what constitutes attra activeness in women of her age-that is. intelligence, tact, sympathy, indeed, all traits except beauty. There was still enough of woman's witchery about her to lend a sparkle to her eye at my position, which seemed to amuSe her immensely.
 We meet" she said, just in time to fulfill the terms of my letter Moth ing could be more to the point Look at me and tell me if at twenty nine you can love a woman of thirty nine"
 'I can," I said. with my tongue call ing up what resolution I could to screen the falsehood
 What valiant liarr' she exclaimed. laughing. You're splendid. Why did not fate put you ten years ahead of me instead of ten years behind?"
 Because fate wished to prove that there are certain men whose hearts. once fixed, never change" was my sturdy reply.
 Bravo" she cried, clapping her hands. You should have lived in the days of knight errantry. Be seated and tell me all about it. I would give worlds to have seen your face when you read my letter. Let me see; you are just entering upon that age when men first begin to delight in the buds Nineteen is the age for you now. Ev cry few years you will drop year till you get down to fifteen. There you will stop"
 There had been something about Miss Stirling that had filled me with rap- ture, and the essential features of that something were with her yet. I began to wonder if, after all it would be so hard to play the part of lover to this mature woman. 1 left her, but was not content till I saw her again. She became my best friend. Her judgment was better than mine, and I consulted her. Her Savoir faire was excellent, and it smOothed and soOthed me. She became my constant companion. I