The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-09-11

fashion. Susan spoke out what she had in
her mind without fear or favor. At six
teen she had said openly that she would
never marry, because no one would think
| of marrying her whom she could accept.
| She talked Of her plainness, her large
hands and feet, and even made joke of
| them. She never disguised her poverty or
made the least pretence of hiding the
| family misfortunes, but on the contrary
she made no appeal for sympathy She
| was an unusually large, strong, vigorous
| girl at an carly age, and it behooved her
to maintain constant cheerfulness Of de-
meanor and to sustain her mother, who
certainly was the weaker vessel. Genuine
folk are recognized sooner or later even in
spiteful little communities. People would
bear a great deal of truth-telling from
Susan just because she was Susan. Her
word was as good as a bond; and she had
| the kind Of manly honor that never breaks
co tract or disregards a promise. Milly
Grant, the village milliner with whom she
maintained the closest intimacy, had a
great admiration for her because she felt
that no one but herself had ever sounded
the height and depth and fulness of Susan's
genuine excellence She regretted that
Susan was not man, 50 that she might
marry her.
But Susan, with all her mannish virtues,
was very womanly. She was strong to
sustain and she was tender to comfort and
help. Her heart was capacious and bal
outou u6T 6ACSDOHU ubhL. 4 ne DOSlUlOn
mother and daughter had been changed.
Susan was the whesl-horse, as she said, and
she felt a protecting fondness for her
mothers foibles that made up to that poor
woman for great deal she had suffered.
They drew together into a united life.
Susan knew she could never have q ro-
nance and her mothers young career was
of the greatest interest to her. They lived
it all over again in their leisure hours, re-
touching the faded colors, that Susan might
realize what it is to be young, to win admir-
alton and to have lovers, she who had
known no youth and could never enter
personally that magic realm. Mrs. Bowen
possessed certain remnants of her old van
lty, although so much had been beaten out
of her by a hard fate. She was little weak
about dress, as so many by-gone beauties
are, and she liked to adorn herself with
the vague Feeling that somebody might
still come to admire her, although in fact
nobody ever did come, at least not for q
long time. Nearly all the small sums that
could be spent on clothes were laid out for
her benefit, Susan contenting herself with
style of costume in which she always
looked the same winter and summer
spring and fall. But she dressed her
mothers still unfaded hair and put on the
becoming ribbons and bits of lace much as
fond mamma adorns her little girl. She
admired her mother more than any one,
and wished to keep her young and pretty a
long time.
The widow still possessed few small
trlnkets which had not yet been parted
with to pay the rent or to furnish neces-
saries. By far the most interesting of
these, as a memento of her girlhood, was
gold locket containing two strands of hair,
one auburn and the other brown, entwined
together, with a curious cipher beneath
them engraved on the gold. The auburn
lock had belonged to Jane Human when
she was girl OF eighteen. The brown lock
had never grown on Bowen's head. 1t
dated back to an earlier romance in Jane
Humans life, the episode which now most
deeply engrossed both Susan and her
mother, the period they most frequently
talked over in confidential moments In
Mrs. Bowen's workable drawer there was
packet OF yellow letters, connected with
the locket and braided strands of hair, and
little story of broken VOWS and disap-
pointed hopes. Jane Human had been
engaged before she met Bowen. There
had been a misunderstanding, a quarrel
perhaps, and the ring was given back, and
that was all But it was a great deal to
Susan, indeed, the central point of interest
in her mothers unfortunate life. Holding
the letters loose in her lap, and with that
locket open before her, she would try to
realize the whole situation.
"And to think, Jane" (she called her
mother Jane in her playful or sentimental
moods ''to think that Ben Fielding is now
a United States Senator, a great man in
his own State, likely to be Governor soon,
and possibly President Just try to i'm
agine how it would be with you if you had
married him. Who would ever suspect
that the possible Mrs. Senator Fielding has
been finishing off slop-shop coats and
trousers all these years at starvation
prices! o, Jane, that was sad day for
you when you quarreled with the future
Senator. But where would l have been
had you married Ben Fieldingl could
never have been born Senator's daughter.
l presume | should not have come into ex-
istence at all. And l am so large and
strong, such a positive character. There is
so much of met is impossible to think
calmly of the narrow escape l made Of not
getting born.n
Mrs. Bowen had no great amount of
humor. She generally let Susie's nonsense
go by her like the wind, but it was very
serious matter to her that she had just
missed being Mrs. Senator Fielding. 1t in
vested with an amount of romantic inter
est i'll her own eyes which enabled her to
despise the benighted people who knew not
tho Humans 1t helped her to keep her
young and good-looking, with a certain
elegance of manner that Susan admired
because she had never been able to attain
to manners She was irrevocably barred
out from that mysterious and fascinating
region. Mrs. Bowen would sigh in answer
to Susan's remark as she turned seam or
SeWbu on DuUUOn:
He was very high-tempered and over
bearing, Susan, and always would get his
own way. He made mountains out of
molehills and took his religion very hard
las if it had been some SORT of contagious
diseased"
Susan, although she secretly hated the
domineering person her mother drew, al
ways took his part. ''He had character,
anyway" shipping her thread There
was something to him. IL l had been
there, Jane, | suspect should have been
on his side. But guess the Senator has
changed good deal. presume now he is
as worldly as a Human. They say Wash
ington is pretty hard place"
HE never would go wrong, Susan. You
ought not to suspect such thing. His
principles were just like iron. If he had
been little more yielding, or had been a
little less pleasure-loving, things might
have come out different. Pass me that
spool of black twist, Susan"
One Saturday night Susan had gone to
call upon Milly on Main street, and on her
return she burst into the room and found
her mother half asleep, doing in her chair
in the soft brown twilight pf a midsummer
evening. Mrs. Bowen rubbed her eyes,
with the dim consciousness that Susan was
excited. "What is the matter!" said she,
drowsfly, sitting up straight in her chair.
matter why, mother, he is here, visiting
Judge Magnus. He came last night"
Susan uttered the words as if she had been
a Delphic priestess giving forth the oracle
He, Susan; whom do you meanp
tHe of course Senator Ben Fieldinpu