Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-04-19


time. She was slightly animated and
was looking lovelier than ever. She
| had on a wine-colored dress, with
slashings, and tiny flounces of the pal
est pink. 1t was in harmony with
her winey-brown eyes and the faint
pink of her cheeks.
1t was disastrous dress for Amy
! Heath.
She was as usual at Sabbath-school
the next Sunday; there were some
quarterly exercises that afternoon, and
several solos and duets, given by proud
and important but very amateur per
! formers.
The foot of the man next to him
knocked over his hat, and in recover
ing it Luke missed the name an
nounced by the superintendent and
only caught the words, " has consent
ed to read"
Now no one ever read at Westpaths;
there was, as / have intimated, an
abundance of musicians, who fortu-
nately were never suspected by their
neighbors of aught save the rarest of
talents; but the delightful art Of elo-
cution had never invaded Westpaths.
So not Luke alone stared with round
eyes, and slightly opened mouth, at
the graceful woman who ascended the
little platform with a dainty volume
in her hand.
1t was LongfeIlow's "Chamber over
the Gate" she gave, and she read well,
any one might have acknowledge
that. But to Luke Worth it was one
of the few rare pleasures of his une-
ventful life. He even tried to real
himself when he went home, but he
did not succeed very well; he was
forced to acknowledge that, and so he
only tried "The Boy Stood on the
Burning Deck once. His voice never
had sounded so unsteady and dismal
before. Surely the presence of his
ideal was not bringing him content
Tuesday-oh kind fate-she came
into the store. She wanted some pow
dered sugar. There was little flush
of excitement on her face, and it made
her all the prettier She might have
thought Luke mild sort of lunatic,
for he did up three pounds instead of
two, and then only after good deal Of
stumbling over boxes, that seemed to
be unhappily in his way, just too when
he would have been most calm and
composed. Perhaps, indeed, he feared
there was a trife of amusement ex-
pressed in the brown eyes under the
lace-edged hat.
As she was ready to go the minister
happened to come in. She turned to
him with charming frankness:
1--WE are to have little feast to-
night and / must sec myself that
everything is of the very best. My
husband comes in this evening"
1t seemed to Luke ages before it was
time to close the store and he was free.
Then he wandered off irresolutely
toward the woods, and he tramped
several miles over the dry leaves and
underbrush. 1t grew cold, but he did
not notice it. He felt as if he had
been guilty of mighty sin, for to a
nature honest and unequivocal as Luke
Worth's, it was wrong to even make
an ideal of another mans wife. But
as he walked things gradually
strengthened themselves out in his
poor, innocent head. He pushed the
leaves away from one spot and found
some late violets, it seemed happy
chance that sent them to him at that
time.
So that night he went to see Amy
Heath.
Yet to-day when he seeks to encou-
rage quieter ways in his boys and finer
feelings in his daughters, we shall not
after all SO much blame him for an
"ideal.'' -Ehrich's Fashion Quarterly.