The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-07-04
A ROMANCE.
n Recluse who has NOT Seems Woman
I'm Thirty Years.

.IH"#H
The tragic story Of John Armstrong
Carolina. For more than fifty years
he has led the life of a recluse In the
dense pine forests not far from New
berne, N. @. His ruin was wrought by
woman's perfidy and he has kept away
from her sight ever since. The only
son Of q well-to-do planter near Will
mington, N. c., Armstrong wooed and
was accepted by Carrie Scott, the
daughter OF aneighbor. On the morn
ing set for their wedding, fifty-five
years ago. rs Armstrong and a party
of friends werer riding toward the home
OF his betrothed, they wer met by q
negro servent who informed them that
Miss Carrie had been married some
hours before to q Northern gentleman
named Samuel Opdyke, and had al
ready left for the North. For o mo-
ment Armstrong seemed as Ii dazed by
a heavy blow. Then, without q word
to his companions, he put spurs to his
horse and soon disappeared In the dis
lance. He was never seen again in
that neighborhood, and the belief was
soon accepted that he had committed
suicide. Time passed. his father and
mother died and their property fell to
distant relatives. Armstrong; disap-
pearance was almost forgotten, when
party of Newberne hunters by accident
came across In a gloomy and remote
part of the forest, the cabin which for
thirty years had been Armstrong;
home. To the hunters Armstrong told
his past history. He said that on the
fatal morning when he learned that his
promised wife had proved false to her
vows he resolved to at once and forever
turn his back on humanity, and this
resolution he had thus far religiously
kept.
He was greatly annoyed that his hid
ing place had at last been found, and
though he has never since seen at to-
change 1t, he has always avoided as far
as possible the society of his fellows.
However, he is often sought out by the
curious, and q Northern gentleman,
who visited him q few months ago,
found the hermit still hale and vigorous
deposite his rs years. His hair and
long flowing beard are white as snow,
but he walks erect and with an elastic
step. He told his visitor he had not
seen or spoken to q woman in thirty
years, and had never seen q railroad
great outside world are almost un-
known to him, but he Is O constant
reader of religious and scientific works
n an ardent student of natural his
tory. He has a splendid chronological
collection, and 10 tell correctly the
name and habit Of ever-- insect native
to his neighbein mood. But the curse
of Cain is on this venerable r~ecluseS
ara the story of his crime shows how
time and chance sometimes work
strange results. One day during the
! war q Federal officer, to escape capture
by u scouting party of Confederate
cavalry, took refuge in the forest, and
in the w~anderings reached the vicinity
of the hermit's home and encounted
Armstrong himself. In response to the
latter's questions the fugitive said he
was an officer in the Federal army and
that his name was Samuel Opdyke.
At the mention of this names the her.
NIT started back and cooked his gun.
"Are you the man who married Car
RE Scott ?"
eyes; but why do you ask me tn at
question 7? Who are you ?"
81 am John Armstrong, whom she
promised to marry and vowed that she
loved better than any one else N the
world. But she deceived me- her
heart was hollow she was false to me.
You stole her from me, and now I have
my revenge"
He raised his gun and pulled the
trigger--it is the hermit himself who
tells the story-and a second later
Opdyke lay dead at his feet. Thus the
evil that women as we'll as men do lives
after them.