THE LADY OF THE DECORATION

My dearest Mate:

Behold a soldier on the eve of battle! I am writing this in a stuffy
little hotel room and I don't dare stop whistling for a minute. You
could cover my courage with a postage stamp. In the morning I sail for
the Flowery Kingdom, and if the roses are waiting to strew my path it
is more than they have done here for the past few years. When the
train pulled out from home and I saw that crowd of loving, tearful
faces fading away, I believe that for a few moments I realized the
actual bitterness of death! I was leaving everything that was dear to
me on earth, and going out into the dark unknown, alone.

Of course it's for the best, the disagreeable always is. You are
responsible, my beloved cousin, and the consequences be on your
head. You thought my salvation lay in leaving Kentucky and seeking my
fortune in strange lands. Your tender sensibilities shrank from having
me exposed to the world as a young widow who is not sorry. So you
"shipped me some-wheres East of Suez" and tied me up with a four
years' contract.