The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1918-06-22

%SWi&o/s
A LONG LETTER FROM
ELEANOR FAIRLOW

L an WrltlnS all tnlS 10 you,
dear, at this late day, for l don't
want you to blame Eleanor Fair
low in the least for what hap
pended afterward.
81 remember her letter in an.
swer to mine as tho it had been
written yesterday. She did not
reproach me in the least, she only
said: If you think, my dear Dick,
you have found a woman that can
make you happier than I, If your
love for me is blotted out by your
great and consuming passion for
her, you must know me well
enough to know that I would be
the last woman in all the world
to try to hold you. l would not
respect myself IL could not cover
up my broken heart and say 60 to
her and be happy.
This is the way that I am
paying and in some way you, too,
will pay. Don't think this is a
threat, it is not. 1t Is only
statement of the absolute law Of
compensation. l do not believe
at all in that poetical creed of
1.-THE sins We do two by two shall
be paid for one by one"
And Dick, dear Dick, | love
you enough to hope you will not
have to pay-I love you enough to
hope you will always be as happy
as You are now
II can tell you, Margie, was
not very happy as read that let
ter but / must confess that I for
got everything but you very soon.
II wonder, Margie," Dick wrote,
"if 1t takes every married man
and his wife as long as it did you
and ! to become friends"
Dear Dick, I wonder if II took
you all the years We lived together
to know this. When we were only
few years married 1t struck me
that we were not very good
friends and l spoke to you about
it and you thot I was going mad.
The more l live, dear Dick. tho
more I see that very few of the
people that are married are good
| friends.
A friend will not hurt your feel
ings; a friend will try and make
you always feel comfortable; a
friend will not try to force your
confidence; a friend will not give
advice unless asked and will even
be chary of giving much council
then; a friend will always speak
words Of comfort even IL he knows
that your trouble Is brot by your
own misdeeds; friend Is always
tolerant; a friend is always dis
Greet; a friend respects your opin-
ions even IL he does not agree
with them; a person may be your
devoted lover and not be any of
these things.
When a man and woman are
married, dear Dick, almost always
each Is looking for his own happi-
ness. Take our own case. I
wanted to be happy in my way
and you wanted to be happy in
yours. We were lovers but we
were not friends. 1t was only in
the last few years Of your life,
dear Dick, that we became that
and 1t was only then we became
content.
You see, dear, I never was con-
tent to let you be yourself and
expect I often met you with
disappearing air Of superiority
that drove you mad.
II think, wife o. mine. you were
always right" wrote Dick, "and
that perhaps was the reason that
you exasperated me so often.
1.-THE day l went on that trip in
which I got into trouble thru that
Mrs. Utter, was one or these
have forgotten now what we dis
agreed about but remember
slamming out of the house and
plying myself because l had to
put UP with an interfering wife.
However. the angry mood
wore off and left me in a kind of
reckless turn of mind, but I know
you will believe me when I tell
you that nothing but good nature
prompted me to buy that wom-
ans ticket when she seemingly
had lost her money.
| Nothing was more certain
than that l should buy her din
ner when We got on the train as
only I was supposed to know the
condition of her pocketbook.
II did not know that Eleanor
Fairlow was on the train as she
was In the drawing room Of an
! other car, but she told me later
that she had seen me pass with
Mrs. utter on the way to our car.
ITO hp continued