The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-02-13
THE RETURN OF
|, THE NATIVE"
A Dainty Sketch of q Country Girl
Who Married q Divorced Man
and Was Cut by Her
Old Friends.
BY JEAN EDGERTON HOVEY.

| Die, In the long, dlngy cluDro0m ABOVE
| the grocery store, until the air was
full of her name.
The teacher of the school Elizabeth
Richie had attended in her youth said
that she had foreseen something like
this when Elizabeth took that trip to
Europe with her aunt, but still, she
must add, Elizabeth had gone further
than she had supposed she could, and
it gave her pain to see one of her girls
come back the wife of a divorced man.
Mrs. Burdette lifted her fine, white
crowned head:
You're like me, Miss Percival.
suppose Elizabeth had too much char
acter to go against all the principles
she was raised by. But this is what
comes of living in big city"
In the low ceiled, carpetless club
room, where the youth of the town
gathered, Mrs. Ritchie's name flashed
to and fro like billiard ball.
James Ingrames, a man of the world,
having just returned from his yearly
cotton tour through the Georgia towns,
observed:
s'That aunt of LIS did good trick
by her, trotting her over the world and
showing her on to the New York mar
ket" When he had chalked his cue
carefully, he added: II didn't suppose
our little, everyday Liz had it in her to
get to be swell, for all she used to be
such a sharp little piece. l see her
name in the New York papers"
A short, square youth who was seat
ed by the window leaned forward.
"Did you know, Jimmy, that her
husband is a divorced man~
Listen to Rufusw jeered the other.
.''Why, yes, Rufus; Clarence Ritchie's
a great gun; his life's common prop
erty. Don't you read, man| Pres
emily Jimmy, skirmishing the balls
over the billiard table, added:
"Pooh! That's nothing, woman
marrying a divorced man. What's the
matter with that, eh2 But this towns
dead SLOW"
The youth by the window shifted his
feet, where they were propped upon
the SILL
Its to be expected of you, Jimmy,
that you would pick up everybody's
notions as you go travelling about, but
expected better Of Elizabeth"
EYES," said Jimmy, pleased by this
allusion to himself, "She's a sensible
woman, very sensible woman. adj
mire people who get on in the world.
Her husbands a famous man. She
married him after he got good, legal
divorce, and now she's a great big
swell. And yet understand" added
Jimmy patronizingly, ''the good people
around here don't hardly want to
speak to her"
Rufus turned round and dropped his
feet in their heavy heeled shoes to the
floor.
"She's not the woman thought she
was. If she has the whole world at
her heels, she's severed herself with
me-"
Jimmy grinned across the table at
the square figure in it's suit of checks.
The next day, when Rufus CHANGED
to observe Elizabeth Richie coming
toward him on the opposite sidewalk,
he looked at the fence palings. Hear
ing her feet patting on the hard clay
and the swish of her skirts, he carried
his cane consciously. 1t was a stout
orange wood cane, with a small ALI
gator on the handle, which his uncle
had brought him from Florida. She
could see it from where she walked
and remembered it. She had love for
odd little things and had always ad-
mired the alligator. Suddenly the pat
ting and the swishing ceased. She
called his first name Familiarity, step
ping off the sidewalk and holding out
her hand. He went across slowly and
took it. She looked him up and down
and smiled at his face.
"Old friends are rare to meet" said
the airily dressed woman.
Rufus showed a tendency to move
on, but she held his hand until she
brought him to q standstill; then she
stood away from him, fitting her par
asol about. Its lace ruff1es rippled be-
hind her pink and white face; her dark
blue eyes shone through her fine veil;
the ribbons on her dress and the silk
flounces of her skirt were lifted and
rustled by the breeze; her French shoes
and silk stockings showed themselves
and were gone with the movement of
the founce The whole costume SEEM
ed to emit with every breath the faint
scent Of cedar or sandalwood.
"Well,' he said, looking her all over
with slow laugh, $50 this Is you?
You always were ambitious for such
things"
She stood fitting and smiling.
"Now you've got them, suppose
you're satisfied"
She withdrew her glance, which was
becoming little musing, from his face
to her skirts, and it lighted up.
EYES," she said fervently; planning
dresses, wearing them, making an i'm
preston in them" She broke off with
a laugh. She twirled her parasol.
when you look at me like that" she
added, what are you thinkingY'
81 am thinking that l used to know
you"
81 am beginning to think that never
knew you or any Of you until now
Her eyes flashed and then roved away
Look, Rufus. l can see the tops OF
Mrs. Halls sparkleberry trees. Don't
| you remember how we used to climb
them when we went to play with Sc
rena Hall? Sometimes" she said
"when am sitting at my window look
ing out at the horses and people car
see in my minds eye the Halls wood
yard and those sparkleberry trees, The
leaves were so shining, and the berries
were such big ones"
| ''You had a lot Of fancy notions then
l used to call you Lady Elizabeth
said Rufus, more genially.
why" she asked at once, did yot
let me stay here three weeks without
! coming to see meY
Rufus smiled as If the question pleas
ed him, and his square figure settled.
"Have many of your old friends beer
to see your"
"Why, Miss Percival came-and-ant
one or two Others" she said, glancinl
away.
"Miss Percival told my mother tina
she thought 1t was her duty. Tit
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