The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-01-02

ries of her family as to her condition
and had manifested the usual solicit
tude Of a pastor for one of his con
gregation. He even expressed a re-
greet that the rule he had made with
reference to refraining from private
visits to the women of his church had
prevented his giving the sick girl the
benefit of spiritual comfort
The statement seemed to have bad
effect when Mrs. Cummings repeated
1t to the patient, for the next day Dor
othy admitted to her mother that one
of the causes of her a1lment was a
self conviction of her own sinful con-
dition. When Mrs Cummings repeat
ed this to the clergyman he threw his
rule to the winds and informed the
good lady that he would visit the in
valid whenever she desired to see him
The next Monday afternoon. Monday
being the clergyman's visiting day.
he rang the bell at the Cummingses
and was ushered into an upstairs liV-
ing room where Dorothy. whose pal
lor had been caused partly by conhne-
ment and partly by face powder skill
fully applied, was half reclining on a
lounge. She was dressed In becom-
ing kmono-like gown and partly COW
cred by q silken spread with colors
to correspond with the gown. She
was very pretty girl and never looked
prettier than now, at the same time
enlisting the sympathy of an invalid.
How far the young clergyman stuck
to the subject of that he had come to
talk about is not known to any one
except him and Dorothy. When he
departed the girl seemed to have been
more benefited than by all the drugs
she was supposed to have taken. Mr..
Fordham. having broken his rule once.
found it much easier to break 1t Sec
ond time, after which it was far easier
to break than adhere to 1t.
1t was shortly before these visits
began that DIR. bingham Treat, meet
ing Mr.. Cummings, asked after his
daughter Mr.. Cummings said that he
had had four physicians and gave DR.
Treat a summary of their opinions as
to what was the matter with Dorothy.
DR.. Swain chichester thought the pa
tient was threatened with melancholia.
The next practitioner attributed her
illness to her liver. the next to the
nerves the next to a nonassimilation
Of food. There was one point on
which they all agreed-that the pa
tient gave no response whatever to
the medicines they prescribed. This
was not remarkable since she had
taken none of them. DR.. Treat listen
ed to these diagnoses. looked wise and
said nothing.
The visits Of the Rev Mr.. Fordham
to Miss Dorothy Cummings were con-
tinued with excellent results. Her
physicians were discharged what re-
manned of her drugs was destroyed, and
1t was not long before she was driving
out for an airing. Then she was seen
frequently In company with the clergy
man, and members of the congrega-
ton began to talk of an engagement
It was whispered among some Of the
unmarried ladies' who had themselves
had designs on the reverend gentle
man that Dorothy Cummings was max
ing a dead set for him.
They were all of them behind the
times. At one Of the earlier visits Mr.
Fordham had made on Miss Cummings
he had proposed to her and been ac-
cepted Since their engagement and
Dorothy's recovery they were simply
having a courtship for the world, and
more especially the congregation of
the State Street Presbyterian church.
When this outside intimacy had con-
tinued long enough to satisfy appear
ances the engagement was announced