The Indianapolis times., 1924-06-12
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LETTER FROM PAULA PERRIER
TO JOHN ALDEN PRES
COTT
MON AMI.


1t is a long time since you have
seen those French words at the ton
of a letter. is it not? Or is it that
having been used to seeing them
very often in the long ago you have
been lonesome for them, and so you
have gotten another little French
girl to write you long letters filled
with love.
But no, am sure she is no.
French. for the reason l am writing
to you, the reason I know she Is not
from my land, is that a friend of
mine who wrote me the other day
10 tell me he had seen you very
often dining with a beautiful, viva
cious woman with hair of vivid red.
French women, you know, rarely
have red hair. Indeed, my friend
said that she looked more like an
Irish woman, that she had the Celtic
vivacity Of one.
Thinks of Wife
Now You will be laughing at me.
I know, but mon ami Jacque, I am
writing to ask you not to do 1t.
Don't make that beautiful wife of
yours unhappy Why, don't you
know, haven't you found cut yet,
that she is the loveliest woman
either you or I have ever known?
Don't make her unhappy. And please
don't write me that you could not
make her unhappy because you are
so fond Of her, because once upon
time you told me that you were
fonder of me than of any woman in
the world. and because of you. soon
after I was the unhappiest woman in
all the world.
Jacque, do you know what that
wife Of yours said? She turned this
whole world over for me from sodden
gray into soft gold. Although she
asked Of me the greatest sacrifice 1
was capable of giving, I did make
that saCrifice-I gave her my boy,
my own boy, the boy for whom 7
not only went through hell, that
hell that comes to all women when
they give birth to a life, but for
whom I starved and for whom my
soul IrdVdlled.
Wife Saved 1t
When I came back East last
spring had made up my mind that
in some way Kshould have that child
back. knew I had no legal right
to him, but I fully expected that
rather than have {. scandal you
would give him to me. If it had not
been for your wife, Jacque, I would
not have done this, but she was so
sweet to me. while all the while ig-
noring the fact which she new per-
fectly well. that I was the baby's
mother, she gave me a chance to be
alone with him, to hold his face to
my breast, to let his little face snug.
gle down in my neck. She made all
those catfish women in the town
where you and I had been talked
over so unkindly, be nice to me.
For the first time I knew what it
meant to have a woman treat me
as she herself would like to be treat-
ed; for women, my dear Jacque,
have always either envied or hated
me, and in either case they have
made me suffer for their unpleas-
liable emotions. So gave. my boy
to her. because I knew 1t would
hurt her if 1 took him away.
Jacque. you asked Of me the
greatest sacrifice a woman can make
for a man, and IN turn I am asking
you to make little sacrifice not only
for the woman who loves you better
than her life at present. saw it
in your wife's eyes. Don't sadden
her life, Jacque.
It's the only favor that will ever
be asked byy PAULA.
Copyright, 1924, NEA Service, Inc.)
NEXT: !. Letter from Leslie Pres
cott to Ruth Ellington.