Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-09-13
a.
Love Letter
By F. A. Mitchell

come her into our family circle. am
glad to be with you at this time. 1t
Is very important to you and Adele. l
consider marriage the most important
event in ones life. 1t is, unlike birth
and death, controlled. l trust you and
Adele VIII take it seriously, and, above
all things, do not fall into that sickly
sentimentalism so common among lov-
ers. Love letters, so called, filed with
gush are especially to be avoided.
Write plain common sense to each
other, with your plans for subject mat
ter. Confine yourselves in the begin
ming to dear Adele and dear Tom
Think how stupid it will seem to you
later on to come across dearest, sweet
est Adele!' She will be then a thou
sand times dearer to you tar she is
today, but you will not show it in any
such ridiculous way"
"Didn't you write love letters to ma
when you were engaged, dad?"
81 don't remember just what wrote
your mother replied Mr.. Bracket,
trying to think back to period when
he was tWenty-one. 81 was considered
a matter of fact chap, and am quite
sure 1 never INDUCED in lovey-dovey
nonsense
What Tom and Adele's letters were
like does not pertain to this story.
Quite likely they were what most
young lovers write. Shortly before
their marriage Tom went up into the
garret to gather such effects as he
wished to take with him to his new
home and destroy what had lost its
original value. Rummaging in an old
trunk which contained various family
effects, he came across a bunch of old
papers. Untying a bundle of letters
bound together with a faded narrow
ribbon in lieu of tape, he examined
them, noting that they had been writ
ten nearly a quarter of a century be-
fore. He read q number of them, then
selecting one of them rebound the rest
and put them back where he had found
them.
= K,he evening before the wedding the
e bride and groom to be dined with the
Brackets. When the meal was finish
ed and coffee was brought on Tom
took a letter from his pocket and said
to hisNather:
you gave me lecture when l
became engaged ON love letter writing
which made q deep impression on me.
I found the other day while rummag-
ing among old papers one of those
ridiculous epistles written by some fel'
low who must have had the lover fever
very badly. 1t has convinced me that
you are right. If reading such docu
ment produces such contempt for the
writer, what would think Of myself
AT reading such letter written by my
self twenty years from now"
Tom handed the letter to his father,
who put on his glasses and perused 1t.
1t read as follows:
My Angel-Don't think that exaggerate
In calling you an angel. 1 do so because
you are purer better, nobler than any girl
i have ever known. l only wish / were
with ycu now and could tell you SO instead
OF writing 1t. I would take you in my
arms and give you a million kisses.
I looked for letter from you by the
early HILL, Dui IL ulu HOL COIIlef SO sup
pose I'll not get it till noon. have read
the one received yesterday twenty times.
I put 1t under my pillow when 1 went to
bed that it might lead me to dream of you.
1t did. 1 dreamed that we were sitting in
aA garden of roses, but no rose rivaled the
pink of your ear or the vermilion of your
lips.
Mr.. Bracket threw the letter on the
table in disgust.
go on" said Tom.
~'Go on!" replied the father. go on
through the twenty pages of such sick
ening stuff. The man who wrote il
should have been tarred and feathered
and ridden on a rail. 1 pity the CIR
Twho married him. No doubt he tried
10 support her writing poetry Moon
light, music, love and flowers would
suit aim"
The speaker stopped and looked al
those about the board. When he be-
gan to make his criticisms on the writ
CT of the letter the corners of their lips
hook on an upward quirk. As he pro.
eeeded smiles replaced the quirks
When he reached the moonlight, mu.
SIC, love and flowers all burst into q
roar of laughter-that is, all except
Mrs. Bracket, on whose face there
was an expression of embarrassment
mingled with amusement
whats the matter? asked Mr.
Bracket, nettled.
"Look at the date of the letter, dad
said Tom.
The date was examined and was
found to be November, 1892.
'Now look at the signature"
The signature was Your levina
Tom
by this time Mr. Brackett had be
gun to realize the situation, more espe
Ssally through the handwriting which
me recognized as his own.
"YOu diGn't exaggerate a bit, dad
sn calling mummy an angel" said Tom
and, rising. lie went to his mother, pu
his arms about her and kissed her.
Can it be possible that l was evel