Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-01-04
HOW | MET
MY WIFE
BY +. A. mitchell.

One morning on going downstairs at
my hotel for breakfast stepped up to
the office and asked for my mail. The
clerk handed me some letters, among
which was a tiny missiye addressed 10
me in feminine hand. On opening
1t found card bearing the name and
address Of Miss Aida cambridge.
Who Miss Bainbridge was l did not
know. | fancied that she was some
young lady whom l had met and asked
to let me know when she visited the
city where lived. One thing must
be careful about II did not recog.
nize her when we met must skirmish
to place her. not letting her know that
! did not remember her
When ] called on Miss Bainbridge
she was not at home. l left my card
and the next morning received note
from her regretting that she had miss
ed me and would be pleased to have
me call aRnin. She was not sure that
l would remember her since It was SO
long we had passed that pleasant sum-
mer together at Shelton Springs.
Doubtless we had both greatly chang
ed since then.
| had passed summer at Shelton
Springs when ! was seventeen years
OF age. was then beardless boy
and was now man Of twenty-five
with soft beard Of which l was quite
proud. | had met a number OF young
girls there, but had forgotten the
names OF most Of them.
The next time called young lady
came into the room with whose ap'
pearance was especially pleased. She
looked at me quizzically, as though not
quite certain as to my identity. | had
no remembrance Of her whatever, but
my facial expression. clasp
ed her proffered hand in both OF mine,
saying:
"What a pleasure to meet again one
with whom l passed so many happy
hours"
"But-but you have changed aw
fully
"Awfully?"
II mean very much. You have de
veloped into quite man. | should
never have recognized you If had
not known who YOU were"
"You, too. have developed. but you
have the same glrlish face and figure.
You certainly have not lost anything
Of your beauty"
There was slight pleasurable blush
ut this.
Have you been to Shelton Springs,
I asked, ''since that happy summer we
passed together there!
"Oh, yes, we have been there every
summer for ten years.
"Is the bench still under the tree
beside the crcek?'
l was looking her IN the face when
asked this question, she down at
my card, which she continued to toy
with. She raised her eyes. to mine
with quick glance, then lowered them
again. | had done a lot Of spooning
on that bench, and her action on my
mentioning it convinced me that | had
made love to her there.
81 dare say" l said, "you have for
gotten our sitting there and all about
It,"
II am surprised that you remem-
Der It."
"WhyT
"Oh, you men are very forgetful.
It's five years since that evening. You
left the next day and have never seen
me since. Doubtless you have sat on
benches since beside other girls and
said what you said to me-"
Had not been desperately stricken
with Miss cambridge / might have
replied evasively. AS It was, told
her that felt the same--only more SO
AS | felt at that momentous inter
view. When she asked me why she
had never heard from me in the mean
while | called her attention to the fact
that was then boy and she was a
chit of a girl. What business had we
to follow up that which led straight to
She saw no improprietT
In two youngsters loving. Enga ge-
ments sometimes were Of very long
duration.
While l had no remembrance what
ever Of Miss Bainbridge, / certainly
developed n case Of quick love. call
ed upon her several times week
that Is, when l was not taking her out
to amusements. She was making a
visit to friends, which she prolonged,
and when she departed we were en-
gagged. Then she confessed that she
had cherished her girlish love for me
ever since that evening we had sat on
the bench together at Shelton Springs
OF course it would not do for me to
confess that I Ind no remembrance of
sitting there with her any more than
with several other girls, so l kept my
own counsel.
In due time we were married. One
day, only few weeks after our return
from the honeymoon. when l returned
from business in the evening, I found
my wife had locked herself In her
room. With difficulty I persuaded her
to admit me and saw that something
dreadful had happened. When | ask.
eds what 1t was she burst into tears
and pointed to n card on her dresser
1t bore the name Of Alfred Jones.
Alfred Jones Is not my name. I saw
nj once that the fellow who had sat on