Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1917-12-04
An Exchange CT
Love Letters
By RICHARD MARKELY


buneu lnat Il WOulu mate with
F, heavenly creature altogether too good
f, for any man, except myself.
One morning l wrote, from my club,
note 10 Mary, asking her for some
information she possessed. 1 waited
some time for a reply and not receiv-
Ing one called upon her with view to
learn the reason for her silence.
"Your note was written from your
club" she said. II never write man
to his club"
"Why not7" asked.
Because a girl friend Of mine wrote
a man, addressing her letter to his
club, and he showed 1t all over the
club"
OF all the reasons for such q rude
ness that / ever heard this was the
most remarkable. Why she argued that
l would show her letter "all over my
| club" because some one else had acted
thus brutally l could not imagine.
Why is 1t that these stupidities OF
women attract rather than upset us
men? l don't know, but up to this
time while / had liked to chat with
Miss Chalfnch on substantial sub
| jects, without thought of anything
J tender between us, now for the first
time l was drawn to her in lovelikc
way. My visits not only grew more
frequent but emotional. Not long after
this l was called away and strange to
say, 1 fell to writing love letters to
her. returned and a regular court
ship was inaugurated that ended in
an engagement. We were engaged a
year and since 1 was frequently alb
sent, there were more love letters.
| l declared that l had always in
tended-should marry-that 1 would
only marry one who possessed every
virtue. Miss Chalfinch replied that
| she had always averred that she would
only marry the most honorable of men.
( l mention these two among the many
laudati0ns that passed between us be-
cause we soon falsifed them.
Miss Chaiiinch suddenly became
ansercl with me. 1t would be i'm
possible to state the reason of one
WHO would not answer note had
written from a club because some
wretch had shown. or was said to have
shown, all over his club, letter re-
ceived from girl. In fact, 1 never
exactly understood her reason.
Well, where lovers face out the first
thing to be done is to return those
heartfelt laudatlOns of each other COM
monty called love letters. Mary Chal-
finch wrote me a curt note: "Plelse
send me every scrap L ever wrote you.
/ l have not the slightest doubt you will
read what | have been silly enough to
write you to all your friends"
This from the girl who had called
| me the most honorable of menl 1t
made me mad-nOt displeased, not an
CRY, but mad. 1 wrote her: please
send me my letters. In the hands Of
such an irrational person they are
not safe" This to the girl who / had
| said possessed every virtue She re-
piled that on no account would she
give up what she possessed till she
had received what possessed.
And so we were at a deadlock.
l next prepared that the exchange
be made through some honorable wom-
an such as had supposed her to be,
to which she protested that an hon
Orable woman would naturally be
trustful-as he had been-and would
trick her, getting back my letters and
keeping those for which they were to
be exchanged.
1 paid no further attention to the
matter, making no reply to Mary's sug-
gestions. l read what she wrote me
but did not deign to reply. Finally
she proposed that l bring her letters
to her home; she would meet me at
the front door with mine; the exchange |
might take place there. l could go 4,
away, and she hoped she might new ,
er see me again.
/ replied that unless 1 might have
an opportunity to examine what she
returned to me l would have no con-
fidence that they were my letters at |
any rate, all my letters. So l de- |
cllned her proposition.
After brief silence Mary wrote me !
that I II would bring the letters / |
should have an opportunity to exam |
ine those she would return to me. l
accepted this arrangement and agreed |
to call the next Saturday afternoon.
At the time appointed / drove up to
her house In the car and lifted out
corded package OF encomiums Of my
self and pledges to love me always
that would weigh something like a
dozen pounds. and carried them up to
the front door. "A maid received me
and ushered me into little reception
room. where l had done hours Of
courllng with her mistress. +,
There before a blazing wood fire
stood Mary. robed In what had always
been favorlte costume with me, and
looking what had considered her
during our correspondence very an
gel. Her wenrIng that costume alone