Year: 1873

days. The reason that day is selected
is not alone because of the leisure it pre-
sents. The quiet of the day, its relief
from all influences that irritate or agi-
tate, frees the mind from Irrelevant and
antagonistic matter, and makes it pre-
eminently fit occasion for communing
with distant loved ones. In nine cases
out of ten the letter is written by the
head of the family, and of those sent
an equal proportion are addressed to
his wife's folks. We don't know why
it is that man so rarely writes to his
own folks, but as it is not the province
of this article to treat on that subject
we will pretend we don't care. The
hour being selected for inditing the let
ter the first thing is to find the paper.
There is always drawer in every we'll
regulated family for keeping such
things. 1t is either in the table or stand.


Here the writing paper and odd-screws
and fiddle-strings and broken locks and
fish-lines and grocery receipts are kept.
There may be other things, but if there
are he will see them. The sheet of pa
per is finally found, the fly stains neat
ly scraped off, and the search COM
mences for the ink and pen. The for
mer is invariably found on the mantel



next the clock, and is Immediately laid
on the table convenient to the perspir-
ing man, who sarcastically inquiries if
the letter is to be written to-day or next
Sunday. This inspires the wife with
new zeal in the search. She goes over
the drawer again because she knows he
wouldn't see anything if it was right
under his nose, but the pen is not there


Then she looks over the top of the bu-
reau, and lifts everything on the front
room table, and says it seems singular
it can't be found, when she saw it only
the day before, and thought about the
letter. Then she goes into the pantry,
and after exploring the lower shelf in
vain stands upon chair and carefully
goes over the top shelf, where the med
icine bottles and unused cans are sta
toned. After she has done this she
starts up stairs and pretty soon returns
with the pen, and takes it to the sink to
wash the grease from it, but does not
succeed in quite effaeing the delicate
scent of bergamot. This leads him to
observe that anybody who takes a PEN
holder to lift hair grease from a bottle |
Is too pure and innocent for this world.
Every thing now in readiness good hu-
nor is restored, the wife takes seat |
opposite, with her elbows on the table,
md her chin in her hands assumes an
expression of countenance that is mys- |
;eriously calculated to both encourage
md depress the writer; and he grasps |
he pen tightly between his fingers, and
;tares at the paper with an intensity
that is entirely unnecessary. The date
line starts off glibly, and then suddenly
ceases as it reaches the date itself. He
puts the holder in his mouth, and inn
spits iI out again, making up
4 face in no wise suggestive of berga-
not, and pettishly asks her if she knows
The day of the month. OF course she
loes. 1t is the 13th--or is the-but no
1t must be. She hesitates, stares at
him, wavers, and is lost. She doesn't
know whether il is the 18th or 18th, but
The almanac will tell, and she at once
starts to hunt it up. This occasions a
lelay of some fifteen minutes, during
which he makes ninety-five passes at
,ne fly. The date having been satisfac-
.orily settled upon and the things which
rolled over the floor as the stand draw
r unexpectedly fell out having been re-
stored to their place, the date line is
and "Dear Mother" started.
The pen is home pen, of bashful mould
and whenever it starts line it requires
half a dozen passes to make it give
iown. All home pens do this. And
Ill home sheets of paper have weak
'pots which the ink refuses to cross,
.hus creating some remarkable divisions
If words, and considerable confusion
imong sentences. Some of these spots
ire two inches in diameter, and any
body in the next room can tell the mo-
ment the writer comes to them just as
we'll as if he was looking over his
shoulder. When the letter is completed.
which generally occurs at the end of
he fifth hour from the commencement,
It is carefully read over and supplied
with absent words, and then gone over
igain and artistically touched up with
he pen at the bare places. Then it is
folded up for the envelope, and the dis
,overy is made that there is no envel-
,pe in the house, and the letter is tuck
ID behind the clock until the want is
d.-Ddnbury Meas.