Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1884-12-26
MISS SCAMPER,

None at the Rappaquah Sulphur
Springs knew who Miss Scamper was, and
few cared to know. She came with an
old gentleman, who registered the pair
as rs. Scamper and grand daughter,
New York city" They were doubtless
poor folk on holiday, They had no
servants with them. The old man wore
a suit of rather rusty black and his
trunk, an antique leathern conveniency,
bore the letters S. in brass headed
nails. The young woman's trunk-she
had but one-was large enough. and of
modern make, but it was apparently not
we'll tllIed, since she had shown but three
dresses all the three weeks she had re-
mained. One of these, of rich material,
she wore evenings the other two, of
some washable material, worn alternate
ly in daytime She had no jewelry be-
yond plain gold brooch. One of the
eligible young men there said that "the
Scamper had one Sunday-go-to -meetin'
and two work day SUITS" for which his
neighbor should have kicked him, but
didn't. The eligible young man was
looking for an eligible mate in the per-
son of Miss Bolsover, the great heiress,
whom the society paper had said was
coming to the Rappaquah; though, as
she hadn't come, the Browns young man
of the society paper labored under de-
lusion. The match making dowagers
did not fear this modest, pretty, and
well cultured young woman, for the
gilded youth, who were also lying in
wait for Miss Bolsovcr, much more gilded,
did not dangIe in her train. Indeed, she
had no train. Her business was to look
after her poor old grandfather, who was
not in good health, and with whom the
waters seemed to agree Didymus Dodd,
who had scraped an acquaintance with
old Scamper, as the fellows irrever-
emily called him, seemed to be her
admirel: Didymus was nobody. He
was well,made, tall, handsome, and
of good address but he was only an
upper clerk in Philadelphia insurance
company. To be sure, he would be
superintendent after January, vice Hig-
gins, retired and superannuated, and
would then draw a salary of $5, 600
year. But no one knew that, and the
possible good fortune to poor Miss
Scamper; and had they known, five
thousand year was no great matter. So
the field was left to poor Miss Scamper
and welcome.
Didymus only began paying attentions
to Miss Scamper out of courtesy, and
because no one else did; but the more
he saw of her the more
he liked her, and it ended in his being
badly hit. AS he and she were the only
impecunious people al the old and old
fashioned resort-the other visitors
counting their dollars we'll up in hun
dred thousands-the matter attracted at
tention, and by way of getting both out
of the way of manageable sons and
daughters, scheming mothers lent the
affair all the quiet encouragement posi-
ble And this passed into more active
nature from two little incidents that oc-
Cured about ten days before the end
of the two months vacation of
Didymus.
There was a Mrs. De Nyse
at the Springs, who was we'll.
known as an amateur vocalist of merit,
and whose voice, though little ready
In the upper notes, had been trained 80
we'll as to make her worth hearing.
One evening" when few were in the
parlors, her friends besought her to
favor them, and so on, and she expressed