The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-01-03
MISS SCAMPER.
A Pleasant Little Love Story with
g. Happy Ending.

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 IS. Scamper and granddaughter,
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. 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 well filled, since she had shown but
three dresses all the three weeks she
had remained. One of these, of rich
material, she wore of evenings; the
other two, of some washable material,
were worn alternately in daytime. She
had no jewelry beyond a plain gold
brooch. One of the eligible young men
there said that 1.-THE Scamper has one
Sunday-go- to-meetin' and two work-dav
suits, y for which his neighbor should
have kicked him, but didn't. The
eligible young man was looking for an
eligible mate in the person of Miss
Bolsoyer, 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 deluson.
The matchmaking dowagerS did not
fear this modest, pretty, and well-cul-
tured young woman, for the gilded
youth, who were also lying in wait for
Miss Bolsover, much more gilded, did
not bangle 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 irreV-
erently called him, seemed to be her
admirer; but Didymus was nobody. He
was well-made tall, handsome, and of
good address; but he was only an upper
clerk in a Philadelphia insurance com
pany. To be sure, he would be superin-
tendent after January, gjce Higgins, re-
tired and superannuated, and would
then draw a salary of five thousand a
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 Miss Scamper
and welcome.
Didymus only began paying atten-
tons 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 at the old-fashioned resort-the
other visitors counting their dollars well
up in the hundred thousands-the mat
ter attracted attention, and by way of
getting both out of the way of marriage
able sons and daughters, scheming
mothers lent the affair all the quiet en-
enlargement possible. And this passed
into more active nature from two little
incidents that occurred about ten DAYS
before the end of the two months vaca-
ton of Didymus.
There was Mrs. De Nyse at the
Springs, who was well-known as an
amateur vocalist of merit, and whose
voice, though a little reedy in the upper
notes, had been trained so well as to
make her worth hearing. One even
ing, when few were in the parlors,
her friends besought her to favor them.
and so on, and she expressed her readi-
ness, but there happened to be 10 ac-
companist. Miss Scamper, who was
chatting near by with Didymus, looked
up, and quietly said, perhaps [ can
serve you that way, Mrs. De N yse"
Can you play at sight, Miss Scam
perP' inquired Mrs. De Nyse.
Miss Scamper nodded assent, and
seated herself at the piano-forte, and
accompanied the voice with such good
judgment that the singer was delighted.
Il wish | could carry YOU about with
me, my dear" she said But do you
not singP You surely must"
"a little"
Urged by all around, Miss Scamper,
to her own accompaniment, sang an
aria from IL Troyatore. Her voice
proved to be a rich soprano, of full
register, clear as silver bell. and admir-
ably cultivated. There was moment 5
pause when she had DONE as though
not to lose note, and then a storm of
applause.
Here was a sensation. Everybody
talked of her method, and the gilded
youth were in raptures. The mammas
conferred, and concluded that Miss
Scamper was member of some church
choir, or attached to some English
opera troupe, who knew But they
were civil. There was party going
over to Almont, Colonel Parsifall'
place, next day. Would she gop She
assented. Didymus said to her in a low
voice:
''It is a riding party, Miss Scamper
/ know the best horse in the livery