The John Grier Home for Orphans, East Coast, United States of America, 1912
Jerusha Abbott sat dumbstruck as the matron spoke.
"These letters will be addressed to Mr. John Smith and will be sent in care of the secretary. The gentleman's name is not John Smith, but he prefers to remain unknown. To you he will never be anything but John Smith. His reason in requiring the letters is that he thinks nothing so fosters facility in literary expression as letter-writing. Since you have no family with whom to correspond, he desires you to write in this way; also, he wishes to keep track of your progress. He will never answer your letters, nor in the slightest particular take any notice of them. He detests letter-writing and does not wish you to become a burden. If any point should ever arise where an answer would seem to be imperative - such as in the event of your being expelled, which I trust will not occur - you may correspond with Mr. Griggs, his secretary. These letters are absolutely obligatory on your part; they are the only payment that Mr. Smith requires, so you must be as punctilious in sending them as though it were a bill that you were paying. I hope that they will always be respectful in tone and will reflect credit on your training, You must remember that you are writing to a Trustee of the John Grier Home."
Jerusha's eyes longingly sought the door. Her head was a whirl of excitement, and she wished only to escape from Mrs. Lippett's platitudes and think. She rose and took a tentative step backwards. Mrs. Lippett detained her with a gesture; it was an oratorical opportunity not to be slighted.
"I trust that you are properly grateful for this very rare good fortune that has befallen you? Not many girls in your position ever have such an opportunity to rise in the world. You must always remember-"
"I-yes, ma'am, thank you. I think, if that's all, I must go and sew a patch on Freddie Perkins's trousers."
-Excerpt from Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster
Madison Avenue, New York City
"There's another letter here from Miss Abbott," said Mr. Griggs.
"Who?"
Griggs sighed and adjusted the spectacles on his bald head. "The girl you're putting through college."
"I did no such thing," said Pendleton. He turned the page of the newspaper balancing on his knee.
"Mr. Pendleton, sir, you agreed to sponsor Jerusha-"
"Jerusha?" The newspaper crinkled violently. "Hideous name! Who gave her that?"
"Well, I assume Mrs. Lippett gave it to her when she was left on the door step of the John Grier Home."
"Oh, yes."
Silence fell for a moment between the two men in the sitting room. Griggs glanced over his shoulder at Mr. Pendleton who sat reclined in a great leather chair, puffing lazily on his pipe.
"What shall I do with the letter?" Griggs asked. "Put it in a pile with the others?"
Silence again.
"You know, you should read them," said Griggs. "They're really quite amusing."
Pendleton appeared from nowhere and snatched the letter out of Grigg's hand. "Do not open my letters! They're private."
"You do realise, sir, that I am your private secretary? You pay me to read your letters." He turned back towards the writing desk. "Oh, that's right, you don't pay me."
"Not this again.." Mr Pendleton flopped back down in his chair, the letter still in his grasp, and resumed his pipe smoking. "I reward you, Griggs, *puff* with purposeful work *puff* and the occasional outing *puff* in my automobile."
"Very occasional."
The Letters of
Miss Jerusha Abbott
to Mr. Long-Shanks Smith
Dear Mr Long-Shanks-Smith,
Can I call you that? I would use your real name but you insist on being all secretive, so Mr Long-Shanks-Smith is what you're getting.
What kind of a name is John Smith anyway? You could have picked something with a bit more character!
Here are some ideas that I've come up with:
I. Montgomery Montague
II. Benjamin Smythe-Jones
III. Art (short for Arthur) Wentworth III
You're welcome.
I admit it's a bit weird writing to someone I don't know anything about. Actually, I do know 3 things:
1. You are rich
2. You are tall
3. You drive a blue automobile
You see, when Mrs. Lippett called me in to her office to tell me that you were sending me to college, I did see you leaving. Just the back of you, so now I have to fill in all the details from my imagination.
I've decided you have grey hair and great big eyebrows that stick out. That's as far as I've got for now.
Yours,
Jerusha Abbott
P.S. Here's a picture of me. You can see that I have curly dark hair. I'm 5'5" but I get another 3 inches when I leave my hair au naturale (I learned that in French class today). See how your money is being put to good use already?!