Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1889-10-11
BUTLER. PA, FRIDAY. OCTOBER IL, 1889.

! With an assurance OF victory that proved
! her a vertable Napoleon of women Mrs.
Clincher alighted from her carriage and en-
tered the great mansion where Mrs. Seere-
tary Simpson reigned ana issued there
from commands to her subjects.
When Mis-. Clinchor was announced an
ill-concealed smile rippled over the faces Of
many of the ladies who heard the name,
| but with GOODNESS aud ease which sug
gested u life spent only in elegant drawing
rooms. this former patron OF the washtub
and kitchen passed up to the hostess and
reached out her hand. saying:
"Mrs. Simpson, | could not resist pleas
ure Of" and there the sentence was cut
cut off by the murmur of voices in the
the room.
Mrs. Secretary Simpson blushed rosy
red and seemed to be painfully embar-
rassed for a moment, and the amused wit
nesses Of the encounter expected the
proud wife of the great secretary would
freeze the presumptuous Clinoher out of
the house in short order but moment
later they were sstounded to see the sup
posed intruder receive a warm greeting
from the hostess, who then led Mrs.
Clincher to a sofa and paid her the most
distinguished attention. When Mrs.
Clinehar aararia.l -fs~- -~...-:--:--r --iy----
few minutes, as though she were pressed
for time, and could give but moment
even TO so distinguished a lady, Mrs.
Secretary Simpson, in tone that was lln-
necessarily loud, invited her to call the
following morning and breakfast with her,
when they could have pleasant visit
alone and arrange matters relating to the
opening season.
That was enough. The card basket of
the Clinchers was no longer empty. The
ladies were flooded with invitations, bIt
under the generalship Of Mrs. Chncher
they held themselves aloof from everyone
for a grand entrance at the first magnifi-
| cent and exclusive card reception of Mrs.
Secretary Simpson.
If there was any doubt in regald to the
position the Clinchers would take in Wash
| ington society, this eventful evening set 1t
| at rest The favor Of their hostess, the ac-
knowledged autocrat of the Ultra-iashion-
ables, at once placed them among the most
distinguished of her set. The buxom fig
| ures and fine compilations Of the Misses
| Clincher made them really the most at
| tractive of the young women present,
| though they were too robustly healthful in
appearance and too natural in their man
ners to escape criticism from lifelong ire
quenters of the fashionable drawing room.
| However the assurance given by the wealth
of the father and the aggression and self
| confidence inherited from the mother, went
far to cover up the crudity of mere country
| experience. As for Mrs Clincher she was
equal to every occasion, and met all comers,
| even some who would have indulged in sly
sarcasm at her expense, with easy kindness,
while the Hon. Jehu, well fed, crammed
full Of pride of property, said little. looked
wise, and so made no great blunder. Miss
! Clincher had the honor of first dance
with Lord Lockham, while Miss Valera
| Ciincher was mated with Count Liston, and
so they were literally whirled into the in
nermost circle. During the whole of this
| wild first night the girls were surrounded
by diplomats, army and navy young men,
and others who assume to be the cream of
| Washington male society; and other young
| ladies who had been accustomed to attract
| the best of the beaux were furious with
| jealousy.
The Hon. Jehu Clincher accepted all the
| apparant homage of the mob simply as his
| due He had no other idea than that
money made the man. Years before, when
he had employed private tutor for his
elder daughter, whose early education had
been nothing more than that OF little
| hoyden running about in rags and dirt, he
had made yet famous reply to the teach
| en- when the latter informed the indulgent
father that the girl had mo capacity"
"Well, confound it, man, can't you buy
her one9" was the reply that has passed
| into history.
The assurance given by the conscious
power of riches which had developed the
girl without capacity into strongly self
| reliant young woman, had also transform
ed the shrinking farmer into complacent
and almost dictatorial citizen, who owned
so much of the land and humanity Of his
| county as to enable him 10 do rs he
pleased Filled with this spirit the Hon.
Jehu made no question of the means by
which the sudden and brilliant entrance
into society was accomplished. With the
gay ladies it was different. They were
aware of the small esteem in which ordi
nary Congressman are usually held by the
people who make up the court circle"
and were astonshed at their reception
"How did you do it, mammal exclaim
| ed both the girls when they and Mrs.
Clncher entered their chambers in the
small hours.
| why, my dears, it is but n deserved
recognition of worth and beauty" said
| Mrs Tabitha Clinchcr.
"Well," said the girls doubtfully, "that
may be true, but--well no matter. II was
glorious anyway
| At each succeeding reception the hold OF
the Clinchers on "society" appeared to
strengthen. If they exhibited rawness at
times the young ladies were always 80
frank and natural and so uniailingly cheer
full that they seemed > bring health and
| good feeling in their train. They kept
themselves exclusively for the most exclu-
sive circle They wasted no energy on
| any who were not of the very upper crust
of the social pastry. Through the con
nivance of Mrs. Secretary Simpson they
even dined en- fdmiHe with the President,
an incident which was reported ut great
length in all the home papers, which re-
suited in a worship Of the Hon. Jchu al
most To the point Of deiiication among his
intelligent constituents.
| However nobody paid such assiduous
court 10 Miss Clincher and Miss Valeria as
Lord Lockham and Count Liston, both of
whom had inherited impoverished estates
ut home and were forced to accept posts in
the diplomatic service Of their government
TO earn an honest livelihood. Not only
we're they attracted by the millions of the
father, but in nearly as great degree by
the fresh beauty and genial natures OF the
daughters, whose simple minds, suspicious
of foreigners and especially of foreign dip
lomats, kept the suitors well at bay, deter
mined they should not be made mere
means Of amugements for these adopts in
| A taItA