Morris tribune., 1883-01-25
THE WIDOW HONITON.
From Ebricb,s Fashion Quarterly.

system of Cloverdale when Mrs. Honitor
widow Honiton a few rebellious youns
ladies tried to christen her, but the title
didn't stick, l promise you-returned tc
the delightful village, ''to make hel
home once more among us" as she deli,
cately phrased it.
If she had come back looking wretched
and haggard-exhausted, as to her body
with nights of watching by the bedside
of the late Mr.. Honiton, and wearied, as
to her mind, by long aniexty and grief
if she had come back that way, then,
indeed, the young ladies of u 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 depal 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 and
spoiled her beauty; she had not been
lett 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 yoI
could scarcely detect that emblem ct
bereavement. | d~on'teXactly Know what
an invisible peruke is, but Mrs. Honlton's
head-gear was certainly an invisible
widows cap. 1t was considered quite
scandalous that she should lave got over
her calamity so easily.
It is true. the deceased Honiton vas
known to havoc cen anything but q de-
sirable companion or an eStlmable man
ind we couldn'th help acknowledging that
his widow was we'll rid of him. But
still, a decent show of regret would have
been only proper; and to call a careful
lv composed head-dress like that a
widows cap was the very
caricature of mourning. When she
appeared in it for the first
time in church she looked loyelier than
ever. The merest suspicion of crimped
Whit muslin creeping out between her
DldCh UOIlIlSl anu LlC- SOiS4NiA AlA SoNN
an additional %piQuancy to her beauty
and then her weeds we're all st 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 a dainty
cockle-shell article, so neat and natty
that you might have imagined 1t to be a
wedding bonnet dyed Olack. 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 eve been; when she
lifted up her Grape hounces and exposed
a tiny, neatlv-fEting kid boot with {.
graceful curve in the instepand militia
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
a much more attractive person tran she
had ever been in all the dazzling splen'
dor of white silk. Her first Sunday at
church proved this c~onclusiyely. The
single young men never took their eyes
off her, and indeed a good many of the
married ones, including Theodore and
Adolphus, could not help their chances
~straving III 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, if
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 wore. Her
cap was assailed at nee. 1t was a heart
less III, c. cry to ut on a thing ike that,
and her husband only dead six weeks,
and she ought to be ashamed of herself!
But Mrs. H0niton did not appear at all
ashamed. She paid close attention to
the service, and said all the responses,
and sans all the psalms. and with her
calm, pale face and placid eyes turned
upward, looked like an angel-at least
that is what young Parkinson thought
Parkinson, who never closed either his
ewes or his mouth since the fair vision
burst upon him at the very commence
ment of the service. [ suspect there
were not many young men in the church
that Sunday, who. if they had been
questioned, could have given a very
satisfactory account Of the sermon,
or even been able to say what the
text was. The ]elOquence of the preach
was no match for the more attractive
metal of Mrs. hOnitOn's plquant beauty.
If there had been a sermo 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
so fascinating by contrast with the black
veil and the glimpse of white muslin.
,oo,lc o,,I Yoofr0nc urnrn iJ1StiHnd in
being indignant. 1t was very wrong. |
The clergymen himself felt The rivalry, |
as he felt it on many a subsequent Sum
day. But what could he do? He could
not 90 and scold the widow for looking |
as a divine to de.trmine the |
and proportion of a widows cap. |
Miss Nipper, if she could have had her
way, would have settled the matter by
it into shreds and stamping upon
it.; though as remarked by Miss Marga-
ret Thompson, there was not
much to stamp upon. The
old state of affairs was ~re-established as
thoroughly and completely as though
Mrs. Honiton had never been. Mrs.
Honiton was mot only more attractive
than ever, but she had learned many
artful and coquettish ways. She com
bined the privileges ola widow with the
destinations of a girl to that extent that
really seemed positive happinessto be
left a widow at that age with all those
attractions. AS a maiden she would
have had no license to practice the en-
arts which she now put in force
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-taced widows at coach
ng-houses, who set their caps-far back
at him, and regulated his liquor and
general y superintendent him. | don't
that the burden of his advice to
lis son was to beware of widows.
The female villagers witnessed with
their eligible young men once
more falling down at the feet of the fax
IN idol, following her wherever she
vent, sauntering behind her -
her figure, walking OH before
her to catch her smile, swarn,ing around
her at parties like flies around a sugar
,-1lr a-l c,0-o &Ioro o,f 1oo. 10 y14,N,n