The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1920-01-28
THE DAILY
SHORT STORY
His Direct Mail Courtship.
Y BY FRANK u. WILLIAMS.
Copyright, 1920 by the Mcclure

faith in the sales powers of adver-
Using. He believed that through
advertising It is possible to do almost
anything to the winning for
himself of the girl he adored.
Sam, though holding the important
position OF advertising manager for the
famous Gigantic Department Store,
was. stu shy and tongue-tied when Il
came to question OF popping the all
important question to the lady OF his
heart, Mary Stewart. Mary was pref :
ty and sweet and wholly worth ador-
ing Many men, like Sam, felt that
she would make an ideal wife; but to
all OF them, including Sam, Mary was
impartially friendly and unsenti-
mental.
Several times Sam had endeayored
to come TO the point, but every time
his. courage had failed him. He had
never yet put his fortunes to the test.
/. Red and silent, he had let may OPP
portunities pass, until now, with other
man forging to the front In the race
for Mary's hand, he felt desperate.
it,was at this crucial moment in his
career that Sam determined to place
his dependence upon advertising.
can write ads" Sam told himself,
that bring women into, the Gigantic
Store by. the droves. ]. sure ought to
be able TO writesan ad. that will SELL
myself to Mary. I'm going to try it,
anyhow. II don't I'll Just lose out
entirely, and that's all there Is to
it.n
Having come to this conclusion,
Sam began writing rapidly on pad OF
paper on his desk. Every now and then
he gaZed upward at the ceiling while
concentrating his thoughts. But rot
the most part he wrote swiftly, with
out stopping. When he had finally
finished he reread his work with con-
siderable satisfaction:
This Is what he had written:
Marry. a man who adores>you!
You will be much happier mar
ried to man who adOres you than
II you marry man who doesn't
care so very deeply, There is GER
tain man who is wild Goout you and
who has been wild about you for
years Who is he: Watch for the
next letter.
There said Sam 10 himself.
when he had finished reading the
sheet, that will get her attention,
and the first step in selling goods
through advertising Is to secure the
attention of the prospective pur-
chaser. Next comes the aronsing OF
the interest of the prospective buyer.
and, thirdly and finally, the inducing
letters ought 20 do the trick for me.
III send this letter today, letter No:
tomorrow and the third letter on
the day after that"
Sam placed the sheet in an envelope
and addressed 1t to Mary. Then he
threw the envelope into the outgo.
ing mail tray on his. desk. ~.
The next day Sam wrote the sec
ond OF his series OF ads This sec
ond ad. read as follows:
The man who adore yon is shy.
1T is because he's shy that he's
never gotten up enough courage to
tell you how much he cares for you.
But he does care, deeply and sim
cerely. and once the ice Is broken
he'll tell you just how deeply and
sincerely, all tight Who Is this
MANI Perhaps your intuition has
already told you. But, anyhow, watch
for tomorrow's letter His identity
Will be revealed in touorrow's letter."
Sam did with this second ad. as
he had done with the first-he placed
It in an envelope and. after address,
ing II to Mary, threw it into the out
going mail tray.
Sans final ad. read like this:
THE MAN WHO AZORES YOU is
SAM WALLACE.
I've always been too shy to tell
you how much care for you. So
I'm telling you about It through
these little letter.. II. there is any
chance for me, Mary, smile at me
the next time you soc me. II there
isn't any chance, just nod to me but
don't smile. That's all. You know
everything now and will know every.
thing when see you the next time"
1t was only natural that Sans
heart should beat considerably fast
er than normal as he placed this
last ad. in an envelope, directed 1t to
Mary and placed 1t in the outgoing
mail tray.
"Gee!" he said to himself. I'm
certainly glad I've done 1t. It was
the only thing to do. I'd never in the
world have gotten up enough courage
TO ask her personally and l simply
couldn't keep on going without know
ing how stand. Now / wonder, will
she smile or will she merely nod at
me when she sees me?"
Now Sam was not only shy young
man hut also an impulstve young
man. Some weeks before he had pur.
chased an engagement ring-a ring
that was beauty in all particulars,
y Just the right sized stone and Just the
proper sort of setting. He had
thought, at the time of his purchase,
that he'd make mass attack, as it
were. upon Mary.
He'd show her the stone and then,
before his courage failed him, slip IL
on her engagement finger and trust
to luck that she would allow 1t to
stay there. But Sam had never
made this mass attack. The ring
stiTl reposed in his vest pocket. He
had never found the courage to
show it to Mary, let alone place 1t
upon her finger.
Now wonder" muttered Sam as,
after finishing his third ad., he took
the ring out and looked at 1t. 81 won
der will Mary ever wear this ring or
not?"
Sans excitement grew durinL
that night. By, the morning of the
Jay after he had placed his final ad.
= in the outgoing mail tray his nerves
were ragged and he simply couldn't