Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-12-13
AbSen tminded
Miss Amy
BY Louise y. Strong
COPYRIGHT. 1905. BY 9. H. sutclife

an old maid,' Miss Amy Colyer said
serenely.
ooh, Miss AMY didn't mean-I
never think Of you as being that!s the
girl stammered.
"She isn't such very old maid"
Mrs. Wridgely smiled. "And she says
truly there are worse things-such as
having blind husband on your hands,
which would have been her fate If
she'd married Henry Scott, as she
came near doing once"
"She wouldn't think SO if she were
his wife! Shed love him all the more
for the affliction. know l should If
Willie Blushing hotly, Elsie ran
from the room.
Mrs. Wridgely laughed, but with a
keen glance at her sister, who murmur-
ed something about the heat, tanning
vigorously. Then presently she asked,
did you say that Henry Scott was
blind?'
'sThats what Kate wrote. The doc
tors think his eyes were ruined, and
no wonder, running into that fire so.
Inflammation set in. He may never
see again. It's good thing he has no
family. He's pretty well off, but he'll
need all he's got. He'll never work
again, and his business will soon go to
ruin, with hired help managing it."
Amy said nothing. Mrs. Wridgely
regarded her preoccupied face. with a
slight frown, then closed the subject
by remarking briskly:
ssWelI. fortunately, Henry Scott is
nothing to us. 1 ran over to see what
you're going to wear to the reception,
Amy
''The same as usual, suppose, if I
go"
IF you gol" Mrs. Wridgely almost
shrieked when you know the affair
is complimentary to youi OF course
you'll go! And you must wear your
cream silk. I'll send Ruth to dress
you. And, Amy, I want to take the
waist and have the sleeves shortened.
You have such pretty arms. I'll run
up and get it,
Judge Hale and wife win be there"
she resumed, returning to the porch
with the waist
BE wheref" Amy questioned vague
".
well, if you aren't enough to- Be
at the reception, of course, and Sena-
tor Ellsworth, too; be got back this
morning. Mrs. Reed was so afraid
they would not be here. I think I'll
dress early and come over myself,
Amy, or like as not you'll appear in
that everlasting black OF course you
are full of your new book, but you
owe something to your friends. Do
put it out of your mind for this even
ing. I'll be over early
I'm glad it's out about Henry
Scott" Mrs. Wridgely communed with
herself. "Ive been some afraid of the
effect on her, but I guess she's for
gotten that old affair, and l mentioned
the senator on purpose to turn her
thoughts. / wish I dare speak plain
" to her about Senator Ellsworth. If
she were only little more like other
folks! But then, suppose, he would
not find her so attractive
Mrs. Wridgely had constituted her
self first aid to Senator Ellsworth
few months before, when chance en-
abled her to extract a letter from
Amy's mail which was plainly from
Henry Scott She felt justified Amy
would be spared mental disturbance,
and, anyway, the letter was probably
only congratulatory note on the sue
cess Of her book, such as she received
constantly. Mrs. Wridgely's hopes con-
corning the senator were new then, and
the brilliancy of the possible position
for her sister Amy excused anything.
Amy had been provokingly unappre-
ciatiye of this advantageous opportu-
nifty, as she had been of many others,
which was perhaps to be expected of
people who wrote books.
Amy sat alone bordering over her
lovers peculiar silence. Was it due to
jealousy of her success? She had glo-
rified in his magnificent conduct when
the papers had told of his plunging
again and again into the burning
wreck, rescuing women and children,
and to her love, that folly and es-
arrangement could not kill, was added
hero worship. She had sat silent I'M
der the news of his calamity with a
control that treasured her sister, but
now her fan fell from her grasp, a
broken heap.
''Blindl Blindr' she moaned.
The dark eyes that had looked into
her heart with a power that no other
could ever attain darkened forever.
Her imagination wildly pictured
what it would mean to hina, SO active,
SO alive to the world and its needs,
suddenly imprisoned in darkness, hope
less darkness, dependent upon others.
limited to the companionship Of hired
attendants and his decrepit aunt, his
sole relative.
At least she might write him few
sympathetic lines, the fact that she
had but now learned of his terrible loss
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