Year: 1868

woman want Of X, and q f? She
should have admirers enough on her
list already. If she is modest aud
attractive, what is she doing there
If she lacks the first quality, she is a
dangerous person to know. She may
shoot X, or rob him, or poison him.
You are opening your eyes very wide
my dears, at these atrocious sugges-
tions You hardly know that women
can do such things but if x gets
entangIed in an acquaintance with a
clever aud bad woman, it is safe to say
that these things, any one of them,
are likely to happen,


Now when correspondence is likely
to have in it so much stupidity, SO
much slang, and 50 much danger, for
as little as you know of the world,
you will agree with me, l think, that
such correspondence is not dcsira-
bic.


And now for our mental photo
graph. The mask X, Y or q is not
probably fascinating, in good social
position, or rich because if he we're
any of these, or all three, he could
find plenty Of lovely aud lively ladies,
and plenty Of adventure, without wa
ding through the slang and stupidity,
and running the risk; but if by some
wonderful chance he combines these
qualities, he is not wise man or one
with any serious aims in lie, or he
would have no time and inclination,
especially time, for this undesirable" +"
correspondence and what do you
want girls, of a frivolous fool? He is
probably disagrceable scamp who
cant make his wickedness attractive
to ladies who know him, or he is
some awkward, sheepish fellow, who is
afraid to speak to a woman, but thinks
he might borrow little courage of
the inkstand or, if he is honest, an
unspeakablo fool |! Depend upon it,
the man you would like to know, and
perhaps to marry, will have no need
of cIapping an A B G mask over his
features aud inviting ladies to write to
him.


There is another objection to a corr
respon lence with mask. spoke of
doubt hanging over the clever let"
ters. but there is in fact doubt about
all these letters. Just as | have been
reasoning about X Y and z, just so
men reason about you. If you we're
attractive, why should you trouble
yourself to write to mask? and if
you arc good, innocent girls, how is
it that you are willing to write to a
man whom you have never seen, and
who may be unfit even to think Of
you? There are many men who
would think that the arguments and
warnings / am addressing to you are
quite thrown away. They would rea-
sor that an innocent girl, who could
be benefited by such arguments would
never be guilty of such imprudenee;
That is not my belief, | am convinced
that many OF you write out Of the in
nocense Of your hearts. Why should
YOU be 50 much afraid to write to a
stranger when all your notions OF
men arc drawn from the decorous
members of your own household !
How should you understand how you
will be suspected, when you hardly
know that there are women who can
do the things of which you are sus-
pected? How should you know that
the person who will pay for the ''iun"
spoken of is your own poor, little
self? and that the "fun" will be at
your expense? You will, If you
Show your letter at all, get in cor-
ner with some girl, who will blush as
innocently over it as you do yourself
You will be fattered to think, that out
of twenty or thirty letters, he was at
tracted by your answer alone, which
| If he has not written the same thing
to half dozen other girls) is very
much like saying that seeing you in
the COM any with thirty of the ugliest
women in the Union, he was struck
by your appearance. You who have
so little variety, and never the ghost
Of an adventure, will learn his letters
by heart; when l say you | am
talking to girls like that dear little
thing who lately wrote the old sinner
now addressing you, an artless little
note, with innocensc in every line of
It'll


But your X mask will show your
letter to every man who will look at
Il. If YOU arc SO lamentably foolish
that you have sent him your photo
Graph, they will comment on it in a
Ray to m.tie your cheeks tinglo if you
could hear them, lie will write you
an ardent letter, and pride himself on
forgetting all about it, and you too,
until reminded by your answer. L
he should have abous him any such
things as notions Of honor, he viii


not be bound by them in your case


If you do not take care Of yourself


he llarguo that you really cant ex


pect him to take care Of you. If yo,
Insist on supplying him with fun, it i


too much to suppose that he will re
{ fuse it and provided your masl


should be one Of the exceptions mtn


tiolea, as possible, aud should he be
man Who eau give a woman respec
and honorable admiration, he wi
give ii to some modest girl, whose no
] tice will give him as much trouble a
t you did little.


But, says somebody, Mr. Martha
) didult you ask for answers and a COZ
; respondenee2 was it not you who wa


pluming yourself on the fifty plett
0 girls who You hoped would write t
c YOU