The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-12-08

| young woman she IeiL SQe QdQ done
| right towards Robert.
I'm sure / can't say, sir" replied
Amaryllis; IT dare say / haven't. I've
got bad temper. guess. when it comes
/ to Bob"
Yes. sir; slapped him.
| Eyes. sir; 1 suppose 1t was wrong.
though don't say but what he needed
| it." 81
| ''Oh, no; I can't say I'm sorry, and
| wouldn't say so to him. anyway. might
say I'm sorry Bob acted so as to de-
serve to be slapped. but 1 venture he
wouldn't say as much"
| mo; let him go on with his divorce;
guess he's tired Of me. don't wonder;
I've been pretty plain in my talk with
him. Oh, no, I've no complaint to make
| against him. I'm no hand to talk about
a person behind his back. If he was
| here L suppose I'd tell him some facts
AS it is, If he let's the children alone
| sha'n't say a word. Nobody ever saw
/ me strike one of them or speak more
than ordinary quick to them, and nobody
ever saw speck of. to say, out-and-out
| filthy dirt on one of 'em. Bob's good
man, reckon, but he never took much
interest in the children. I've tended
to them. you might say, from the min
| ute they were born. / guess he won't
| ask for them. If he does, though, I've
| got lawyer Wilson ready to defend me-
think Mr.. Wilson is a real good man.
ME Riddle over here is a witness to some
things don't mean to talk about now"
4 "Oh, yes, / reckon I'm wrong not to
apologize to Bob, but / guess / won't.
Bob thinks he's in a narrow sphere here
| with me. I think he wants to make
| change, anyway-why, don't hurry off.
Mr.. Dickerson. Must you be going?
| How's Mrs. Dickerson to-day? Hard at
| work, as usual, / suppose, so many little
| ones to sew for and all her work to do
Be nice, now, If she could go out and
visit around some with you, wouldn't
it?"
After the divorce Amaryllss friends
| dropped away from her. Burwell was
| self-respecting little community, and
| her school friends who were married
and beginning to advance into the new
| womanhood of the nineteenth century
felt that they could scarcely associate
with a woman who had been publicly
| proclaimed a scold and who had actually
lowered herself to blows. Besides, ANA
| ryllis had been from the first a nom
| progressive woman. She had failed to
take up with the civiliZing influences
about her. She had seemed to care more
| for milking and churning than for i'm
| proving her mind, and for scratching
around in the garden than for social
duties. They said it was a pity Bob
| should have married so unambitions
| woman when he was so lovely and O
such a literary turn of mind himself.
Only one or two remained upon terms
sufficiently intimate to admit OF "going
| in to sit awhile" and few even crossed
the threshold on visits of formality.
Still, people were obliged to admit that
no more tidy or better-mannered chill
dren went to the village school, and
| when, on Sunday Amaryllis herself ap-
| peared, marshaling with gentle dignity
! her little flock into the meeting house
TO preaching, their hearts were fairly
Il cd 70 her -fr
set her once smiling countenance ap-
peared, and how skillfully little Milly,
who was the image of her mother found
| the place in the hymn book and prof
| fered 1T with glance Of tender solictudt
to the grass-widow, as her mother was
called in the village -
Laws, didn't want to CO." Amaryllis
said afterwards to Minnie Riddle; ct just
took to going to please Milly. She said
We wasn't like other folks, because papa
had run off and left us, and we didn't &c
| % church. Well, said /, child, I can't
bring papa back to us. but 1 can go to
church with YOU and so 1 took to going
though, to tell the truth, Min when
| get through weeks work such as mine,
and doing sewing for other people, too,
to pick W a dollar here and there for
| the chfldrens winter clothes, I'm a good
teal more fit to set down and rest than
to prance out to meeting on Sunday"
Old Mrs. Bruce, who had known Anna
"yllis all her life, went regularly to wish
her. She sent her presents of a SUBJ
stantial nature and took her children
for long days of pleasure romping over
her big house and shady grounds. She
aid Amaryllis was q good woman and
hat there was many another, and that
right in their midst, would have gone to
the dogs If they had been left like ANA
ryllis. Mrs. Stanley said she always
thought Amaryl was the kind that took
life too hard; she never seemed satisfied
| with good husband and pretty chill
dren, let alone n nice home and garden
and pasture enough for COW. But Mrs.
| DickersOn, the preachers wife, who was
charitable by nature and unselfish by
| practice, said she thought sometimes
that when body was so miSerably tired
| and had such a dreadful amount of hard
work to do, they weren't much to be
blamed if they did lose sight of their
| blessings sometimes.
1t was lawyer Wilson. however, who
| fought battles innumereble for Amaryl-
| lis. He said she was the smartest, pref
test woman in town; that she managed
her business like man and took hold Of
life like heroine. He used to stop at
| the gate sometimes and talk to Amaryl-
lis when she would be wedding the flower
beds in the spring following her hus-
| bands departure, and she would get UP
nd go 20 the fence, pushing back her
bonnet and laughing as she used to do
| UclOlc IOO SidHt ller. AL SuCn
times she would look at the man beside
her with a strange disturbance in her
| heart, which she did not know was
| woman's learning for the kindness and
| protection of a strong man; and she won-
dered, calling herself fool, why his
interest in her flowers and garden
| brought an aching into her throat, as
from tears long unshed.
The lawyer was one OF those strong,
self-contained men, built upon that rar-
est plan which combines all manly vir-
tues with womanly tenderness. One day
he came into the yard to look at some
young fruit trees she had planted, and as
they passed the cool doorway of the
back porch he paused at the pump to
take a drink. and Amaryllis sat down
upon the step and began, with her usual
thrift, to arrange the stray tendrils of
the sprouting vine at the doorway. The
lawyer remained standing for moment,
looking intently at her. She glanced up,
startled by his sudden proximity; some
thing in his eye confused her, and she
would have risen to her feet, but he
caught her hands and detained her.
"Amaryllis," he said, and his big voice
started a strange thrill along her blood
81 love you"
She broke away from him, crimson
surging all over her face, and stood be-
fore him quivering with emotion.
What you talking about?" she
broke out violently, coming around here
| pretending to take an interest in my
business and watching a chance to in
suit mer' She stopped suddenly, and,