Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1897-06-03
Priscilla's PrObosciS.

girls. The former was even beautiful,
the latter might be more properly
described as yivacious and pretty
Miss Paulina has nose slightly tip
tilted, mouth made to .laLgh with,
roguish brown eyes, a dimpled chin,
pink and white complexion, and the
most beautiful set of front teeth.
Miss Priscilla was a more sedate,
statuesque type Her eyes were
sweet, but serious. Her mouth, beauti-
fully shaped, but rather adapted for
the sentimental than the humorous
Her chin was not dimpled, nor was
her nose tip-tilted. They were the
mouth and chin of a Greek goddess
chiseled on the lines which Phidias
los ed to embody in marble. Nor was
the Parian stone itself clearer than
Miss Priscillas complexion. But it
had one drawback.
1t was a small drawback To some
it might seem hardly worth mention
ing. Yet it made Miss Priseilla's eA-
istence misery and her daily life
burden. That beautiful nose of hers
in spite of its Hellenic shape and
Phidiasque proportions, that nose
which usually was white and clear as
the friezes of the Parthenon-was
subject, in certain conjunctions, to
spells of discoloratoni. At odd times,
on various occasions-and those times
and occasions always the most dis
tressingly inconvenient-th marble
hue of her nose would warm into
ruddy tinge; graduating in depth of
color adown the bridge, and shaped
from palish pink above to a hot
and flaming purple at the tip.
Now many people when they hap
pen not to be looking their best, when
violent exercise has made their COM
pleXions sporty, or an ill-rentilated
dl wing-room has caused their eyes
to apear dull and boiled often remain
in ignorance of the temporary distig-
urenent and their happiness and self
appraisement are not thereby i'm
paired. But, unfortunately for Miss
Priscillas peace of mind, she could
never remain in ignorance. There were
always present internal sensations to
warn her of the external change. She
first felt mild sensation of warmth,
sort of tepid wave, begin to circulate
through her nasal veins. From tepid,
the wave grew warm; from warm, hot;
form hot, boiling: until the blood felt
to .eethe and bubble in her nose al
temperature we'll above PIP degrees
Fahrenheit. And the more she was
conscious of this distressing sensa-
ton the more distressing and violent
did the sensation become.
Miss Priscilla had sought medical
advice, but had sought in vain.
physician i'll Harley street, at
guineas, had afforded her no more re-
lief than had the family medical man
at shillings. The one had assigned
the affection to Indigestion; the other
to tight lacing. and each had prescrib-
ed treatment in accordance with his
view Miss Priscilla followed either
set of regulations most faithfully.
She abjured sugar, bonbons, pastry,
made dishes, port wine, tea and
hundred other fayorite foods: she con-
sumed vast quantities of camomile,
rhubarb, terebene, peppermint, sar-
saparila, and lactopeptine. Both with
no advantage. She bought stays three
sizes too large for her, and even these
she laced so loosely that the silken
cords at the back, even at her fullest
expansion, were never taut. She
wore a waistband into which moder-
ate-sized coal HEAVIER might have in
serted his fist. She even-for the ply
stefan had limited that this might have
something to do with it-she even
gave up carriers and adopted suspen-
ders But to no purpose. Her nose
burned as heretofore.
Then finding no alienation from
doctors, she took to doctoring her.
self with patent medicines. Innnmer-
able advertised remedies became
a part of her daily diet. Never did she
perform a toilet without applying
some highly advertised lotion to her
nose. But they all failed. Whittier
compounded Oh dTScnlC, HIN,
elycerine, honey or oatmeal, they all
failed Whether costing half guinea
or a modest sixpence. they all failed.
Miss Priscilla was reduced to a con-
dition verging on despair.
To aggregate her misery her own
ard only sister-the being who. by all
natural laws, should have felt for
her the most-evinced shocking
want of sympathy with Miss Priscilla.
She would treat Priscilla's nose as a
huge joke. 1t was to her a perennial
source of amusement-someth
handy to laugh about when no other
source of laughter presented itself. As
surely as they went out together to
function, so surely did priscilla say to
her sister beforehand: Now. PanIina.
if my nose begins to burn, for heavens
sake don't emphasize the fact by star
ing at me-" and, SO surely as Priscil-
la'snose did begin to burn. P2ulina
invariably contriyed to catch her eye.