The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-13

WRITTEN Fer THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
PART L.

WRITTEN FCR Il SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
PART 1.
Mrs. Qulgge was a cross. tetchy, per
verse cid Londoner. whose acqUaintances-
she had no fri~ends-alluded TO her. when
they took the trouble OF mentioning her at
all. as "The Vampire" She also possessed
a somewhat startling originality of charac-
ter-an originality which took the shape OF
making herself as unpleasant as possible on
every conceivable occasion. Indeed. her in
genuity was so great IN this respect that it
has passed into a proverb, and her impa-
tient exclamation Of go Oman exclama-
ton signifyinS incredulity and derision-had
gradually become shortened to Carmel
n limitation in length which made tho
phrase even more objectionable than before.
Most OF the dwellers N "Moberley's Mud
dies" (they had been originally known as
'Moberley's Models'O hated Mrs. Quigge
with a deadly hatred born Of impotent fury,
for she scorned the conventionalities and
made herself equally unpleasant all round.
Indeed, when she ~outpoured tho Walls of her
wrath, It was. as one old woman with more
originality than biblical knowledge re-
marked. Enough to make Joshua himself
stand STILL" although It had the reverse
effect on the inhabitants Of The Muddles."
They generally sought safety in flight down
eS htoltol COALl ulllI the storm dDaIeu.
Which was wise; for Mrs. Quigge's adiec-
tval fuency was appalling in It's GREATNESS
indifference. She had. too. an Objectionable
habit Of following UP her victims as they
were about their daily vocations and of
compelling them to listen to her grievances.
II they failed to evince a proper amount of
neighborly sympathy. she promptly regard
ed them as enemies and treated them with
more bitterness than the original offenders.
And she had an exa%sperating way of threat
enlnG ti:n!d young matrons with casting a
spell on them" # they did not lend her
'tIppcncc for a go OF gin"
rs Tor her garments, they were indescrib-
able. At some prehistoric period they had
been. presumably. OF different colors. Now
the hcnedicent influence Of time had blend
ed them into one suhdued. olive green-a
tint which was unobtruslve. ard did not at
tract attention when Mrs. Quigge wished
10 take her walks abroad. She wore one
shoe and a slipper. and her bonnet. which
was minus n string. generally hung down
her face the wrong end in front, the re-
Raining rusty fastening creating In Mrs.
GU.E-e's mind the delusion that 4 nv was
ticking her nose. When possessed Of the
necessary funds she generally smoked an
ola, short-stenned clay pipe. Even in the
coolest weather her costume never varied.
AS she found II comfortable enough and
suited to her requirements, no one Jared
point out TO her how much better locking
she would be If properly dressed and t'dicd
Up a little. In her youth 1t is conceivable
that Mrs. QugCe had not been he'd booking,
but a too constant adherence to sDirjtuous
compounds and an utter Indifference to the
effect of the London climate had = ven ner
an aspect of vicious ugliness. Which was
a PITY, for Mrs. Quigge was a woman. and
mad been known to smile under the no!li-
t!lag influence of n JudiciOus compliment
from the big policeman at the cornc-.
NnbOlV knew bn-y Nfre np;-r, o,g,goz..l
In the beginning of things there had been
Mrs. Quigge and The Muddles." Now IL
was thought to be The Muddles" and Mrs.
Quigge. THE Mu6dics'' had been repaired
agaln and AGAIN. Not so Mrs. Quigee. al
though it was generally admitted that She
had a tile loose" Besides, she was partly
bald. She also required whi:ewashing, men,
tally and physically. although there was no
one in the buildings bold enough to under
take the task.
OF late, things had not gone well with
Mrs. Quisge. She hated innovations. Waiter
Dean was an innovation; so was Miss Shen-
stone; therefore, Mrs. Quigge hated them
both. What business had these ''toffs' to
come down to her ''Muddles' and lord It
over people as lad a right TO be there?
They aren't after no good" said Mrs.
Quigge, oracUlarly. Don't tell me. Garner
And so people did not tell her. What was
the use of telling a woman like Mrs. Quigse
anything-a woman who merely said
'Garne" and refused TO listen to reason
unless her deliberations were assisted by
means Of gin and water, the more
gin and the less water the better?
Miss Shenstone was librarian of a chart
table institution in the East End of London.
She had taken high honors at Girton, and
was rich. But she was an enthusiast, and.
IN her enthusiasm-an enthusiasm which
mad been fired b. the perusal of Sir Walter
Besant' East End stor! of "All Sorts and
Conditions of Men'-she dragged old Miss
Carmichael, her aunt, to live with her at
The Muddles." Four rooms were trans
formed into an elegant fiat. with beautiful
nrd accessories, so that the old
lady might be thoroughly comfortable. Then
Miss ShepstoEe Sc. about reforming every
thing and everybody. with an enthusiasm