Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-04-19
LUKE WORTH's IDEAL

He had the reputation of being a
pious young man, indeed must say
he was pious young man; he attended
Sunday-school with a regularity abso-
lutely refreshing in these degenerate
days; he was willing assistant to the
older ladies of the church in all their
suppers, bazaars, etc, tying up ever
greens, spending hours in downright
work at the ice-eream freezer-for
Westpaths was but a village, and
boasted no confectioner-when young
men of his age shirked these duties
for easier parts in eharades. or tab
leaux with picturesque attitudes.
He had never taken part in cha
rade, and only in a tableau as back
ground figure, when number of men
were wanted; and he felt the awful
nervousness that seized upon him to
this very day, despite the mixture of
Elizabethan and Louis Quinze cos
tunes in which he had been buried.
Yet he was of the cheerful sort, was
active and useful in his way, and as 1
have said, a great favorite with the
old ladies.
He did not get along SO well with
the younger ones, even in Westphalia.
You have, perhaps, gathered by this
time that he was trifle awkward and
shy; he could not talk pleasant
nothings, he was rather understood
in truth, he had light gray, ordinary
eyes. and straight dark hair, that had
a trick of falling down in front Of his
ears. Not even wealth, which makes
deformity even agreeable, had been
voucIlsafed him; he was clerk in a
grocery.
And yet with it all Luke Worth
kept in excellent spirits, and his little
plans and fancies, his ideals may be,
cherished them, aud counted them over
in satisfied way without trace of
repining because they were not Drawer
and more beautiful.
Very likely Amy Heath's round,
rosy face and modest ways filed up a
large share Of these; certainly he often
escorted her to church and to teachers
meetings had taken her twice to pic
MICS in the summer and both had
blushed when the minister's wife had
spoken jocosely to them as they came
the last out of the church one day by
reason of Amy's stopping to soothe a
child, who had concluded to cry just
then, and said something about young
people of Worth" 1t was. mild lit
tie pun enough, but neither of them
cared to look at each other for some
minutes after Amy bending and
talking faster than her won't to the
child, and Luke discovered a sudden
wrinkle in his coat collar that took
some adjusting. He took in his even
ing walks TO plucking violets too, and
somehow remembered that Amy's
eyes were that color they were her
one fine feature While she practiced
"Beulah Ian l." aud similar songs
until her little organ produced more
sound than you or / would have
thought possible to proceed from such
tiny box; imagined how Luke's voice
rang out in them-between usit was a
voice of mild compass-an and then
caught herself blrshing; did her hair
in the pretty way, and blushed again
Luke, IS m )st ordinary people, en-
tertained a high apr cation of clever
men and women; | have limited that
he even had ideals; the were persons
who could make happy Sabbath-school
addresses, who W re easy, and never at
loss. He had seen one or two such
Still these men, big, smiling and
clever, did not affect him as did women
of their kind. He had never known a
fine brilliant wyman his sphere
had been too far removed
from such Mrs. Davis, the
ministers wife, who led the mothers
meetings, was the wisest he knew; ht
modelled his conception Of "a perfect
woman nobly planned " upon her. only
a little, ever so little--as if it wer'
heresy to think it graver, with fine
speech, more dignity, taller and NOR
pale. He W ot have presumed