Year: 1870

| lueIe ID no mOte ucfOleu tTeAouTcT Ol
old letters than myself; they have for me
sacred divinity that hedges them round
like kings, an aroma Of the past, sainted
by fond recollections, something OF
mystery which attaches one very strong
ly to these offspring Of the brain and
heart. am none Of your half and half
friends of letters, who enjoy the epistles
addressed solely to themselves, but can
banquet on a friends letter, though
know neither writer nor subject. Nay,
am even ready to read an undespatchcd
epistle before it has become hallewed by
the mystery of sealed envelope and can.
cellcd stamp and the spells of time and
space.


Having made this frank confession, it
will not surprise you to learn that have
boxes and boxes Of letters, in which they
| lie in cosy companionship, duly tied up,
and dated, and Endorsed, as BELTS their
several individualties. From the rude
scrawls Of my school boy days, to the
billets that marked the dawn of my frst
love, and through its brief day to the
present moment, their they lie, the silent
memorials Of many vanished hour. l
Lssd5 snsyH Hsci II -ss nih1s.4a.s-sA.l q = eak
journey of life, and ! look back at them
to count my progress.


Imagine then the pleasure Of letter
lover like myself, when ] once found a
packet Of these precious documents. II
happened thus; was strolling down
Broadway towards my office, quite early
in the morning, before the regular tide
of tiafllc had fairly begun to flow, when
| saw before me on the pavement one of
those small leather shopping bags which
ladies nowadays so much affect. There
was not woman to be seen within O
block, but seizing the treasure, hurried
down the street to overtake distant
damsel just vanishing round the corner
But she had not lost it, nay, produced
dangling from her arm, its very fellow.
SO was forced to retain my prize. On
examination it proved to contain few
articles of the toilet, and packet Of let
ters, tied up and Endorsed in manner
after my own heart. They appeared to
| be from an intimate friend Of the recip-
lent, and writer and reader were both evil
IDENTIFY young ladies'. Intermixed with
the regular correspondence, however,
were few letters in other hand writings,
seeming, nevertheless, to have some con-
nection with the former. or course tried
every means to find the owner, but in
vain Therefore l considered myself
fairly entitled to the budget, and free to
use it as / chose. Having altered the
names, and omitted all matters toe strict
ly personal and confidential, l have no
further scruples in giving a portion OF
this correspondence to the world, and
thus, perhaps enabling the fair writer to
reclaim the rest. The owner Of the bag
had arranged the letters in due order, had
dated them all on the cnvelopcs--blcss
her little heart and had fastened two
Of them together with a slip of paper
upon which was written, Both sides OF
story" The first letter was from the
regular correspondent, written ia a most
dainty chirOgraphy, with oil sorts OF
feminine caprices Of pen-dashss and cx-
clamation marks, and parentheses, and
large letters, and little trcksy fiourishes
and halfunconscious dallyings over some
favorte word, and any quantity Of grace
full lady-like vagaries in the way Of pune
tuation, all OF which l shall ruthlessly
leave out, unless stern necessity should
demand their admission. And here you
have the two letters, the first one evi-
IDENTIFY containing " Her side"


My DEAR HELEx-Why did Madame
dc Sevigne once write q letter using up
all the adjoctivcs and oil the forms Of ex
preston in which one wants to tell COED
bit of news? l never begin letter in
which ! wish to announce some startling
event, and yet keep it mystery as long
as possible, without feeling sure that my
correspondent will murmur scornfully.
'Oh yes, Madame de Scvigneo


You will naturally conclude from the
above sentence, with that feminine logic
which Charles Reade SO justly admircs,
that have something to announce. You
are right, my dear, have. | have had
an adventure! am not proud; ] am
not unjustly elated but wish you dis
tinctly to understand that ] have had al
adventure, and in my own house, too,
which makes it oil the more remarkable.


And now l am going to tell you all
about it: was sitting quietly at home
the other evening, reading by myself
father and mother had gone out. and
brother Tom was busy in his own room.
I Hattered myself l was locking psrticu.
larry WE'LL had on ny bite" there the