The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1883-01-25
THE WIDOW HONITON.
From Ehrich's Fashion ouarterlv

The WIDOW HONlTON.
From Ehrich's Fashion Quarterly.
It was terrible shock to the social
system Of Cloverdale when Mrs. Honiton
widow Honiton a few rebellious young
lac:es tried to christen her, but the title
didn't stick, I promise you-returned tc
the delightful village, ito make her
home once mora among u.s." as she deli
cately phrased it.
Ifshe had come back looking wretched
and haggard- as to her body,
with nights Of watching by the bedside
of the late Mr.. Honiton, and weariod, as
to her mind, by long aniexty and grief
ifshe had come back that way. then,
indeed, the young ladies of our village
would have been charmed to see her.
and would have called upon her con-
dolingly and spoken of her with soft
pity, as to poor Mr.. Honiton. A widow
faithful to the memory of her depa, ted
spouse is an object of universal sympa-
thy, and none would have been more
glad to tender it to her than the young
ladies of our village. But alas! Mrs.
Honiton was as beautiful, as radiant, as
fashionably dressed, and apparently as
young as ever. 1t was evident she had
not been plunged into any violet grief;
she had not cried her eyes out ard
spoiled her beauty; she had not been
left destitute to give others the luxury
of commiserating and helping her; and
worse than all she wore SO very natty
and retiring a widows cap that 70,
could scarcely detect that emblem Of
bereavement. don't exactly know what
an invisible peruke is, but Mrs. Honiton's
head-gear was certainly an invisible
widows cap. It was considered quite
scandalous that she should have got over
her calamity so easily.
1t is true. the deceased Honiton was
known to have6 cen anything but de-
sirable companion or an estimable man,
end VIC couldn't help acknowledging that
his widow was we'll rid Of him. But
still, decent show of regret would have
been only proper; and to call a careful
ly composed head-dress like that a
caricaturc Of mourning. When she
appeared in it for the first
time in church she looked lovelier than
ever. The mcrest suspicion Of crimped
whit. muslin creeping out between her
black bonnet and he- golden hair, gave
an additional piquancy to her beauty
and then her weeds were all so fashion
ably made and so elegantly worn that
her figure really seemed to be improved
by them. Her pink complexion stood
out in charming contrast against her
black Grape bonnet; and this last-men.
toned portion Of her dress was dainty
cockle-shell article, so neat and natty
that you might have imagined it to be a
wedding bonnet dyed black. Her black
bodice fitted to perfection, and the Grape
mantle which hung from her shoulders
was so contrived as to show that her
waist was as it had ever been; when she
lifted up her Grape founces and exposed
tiny, neatly fitting kid boot with &
heels, Miss Nipper was heard to say that
she had a mind to slap her face. In fact,
Mrs. Honiton in her widows weeds was
q much more attractive person than she
had ever been in all the dazzling splen
dor of white silk. Her first Sunday at
church proved this conclusvely. The
single young men never took their eyes
off her, and indeed good many of the
married ones, including Theodore and
Adolphus, could not help their glances
straying in the direction of the beautiful
relict.
Do you wonder that the women folks
were Indignant? They would have been
more than women, more than mortal, il
they had not. They had suffered already
at the hands Of this ensnaring siren;
they had got rid Of her, as they fondly
hoped, forever, and here she was again
troubling their waters as Of vore. Her
cap was assailed at once. It was a heart
less mvckery to put ON thing ike that,
and her husband only dead six weeks.
and she ought to be ashamed of herself!
But Mrs. Honiton did not appear at all
ashamed. She paid close attention to
the service, and said all the responses,
and sang all the psalms: and with her
calm, pale tace and placid eyes turned
upward, looked like IN angel-at least
that is what young Parkinson thought
Parkinson, wto never closed either his
eyes or his mouth since the fair vision
burst upon him ut the very commence
ment Of the service. l suspect there
t were not g many young me mir, in the church
aSss "ed COULD %a0 have 'e syen
satisfactory account of the sermon,
or even been able to say what the
text was. The eloquence of the preach.
er was no match for the more attractive
metal of Mrs. Honiton's piQuant beauty.
If there had been a sermon in that fair
young face, the single men might have
been better for coming to church that
mornings as it was, they dispersed to talk
of nothing else for the rest of the day
but the young widows golden hair, and
blue eyes, and the coral lips that looked
60 fascinating by contrast with the black
veil and the glimpse of white muslin.
The maids and n,atrons were justified in
being indignant. 1t was very wrong.
The clergymen himself felt The rivalry,
as lie felt it on many subsequent Sum
day. But what could he do? He could
not go and scold the widow for looking
pretty, and it was no art of his duty
as a divine to determine the
fashion and proportion of a widows cap
Miss Nipper. if she could have had her
way, would have settled the matter by
tearing it into shreds and stamping upon
it; though as remarked by Miss Marga-
ret Thompson, there was not
old state Of affairs was re-estabiished as
thorougtly and completely as though
Mrs. Honiton had never been. Mrs.
Honiton was mot only more attractive
than ever, but she had learned many
artfuI and coquettish ways. She COM
bined the privileges ola widow with the
destinations of girl to that extent that
It really seemed positive happiness to be-
left widow at chat age with all those
attractions. As maiden she would
have had no license to practice the en-
enaring arts which she now put in force
in virtue of the fact that she had been
married and lost her husband. l fancy
what. Mr.. Wheeler's experience must
have been among widows of this stamp
bouncing, fresh-taccd widows at COACH
tng.houses, who set their caps-far back
at him, and regulated his liquor and
general sllnerintended him dnn,t