Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1907-11-09
Madam and
Mrs. Susan.

.~O~o--~O~o
Mrs. Susan, the wife of Parson
Towne, had so long been dowdy that
abe as we'll as her husband had all but
forgotten the time when she had been
pretty.
He, good man, was too absorbed in
his History of the Heresies, when his
parish work was over, to notice that
Mrs Susan, overdone with the cares
Of the household the family and the
parish, had almost ceased to be comely
If you could have brought the fact to
his notice he would have said that a
parsons helpmeet had no need to be
pleasing to the eyes Of the flesh. SO
far away had he Travelled from the
lover who had praised Susan Treyisa $
cool, creamy cheeks and her eyes
brown as autumn leaves
To be sure, Mrs. Susan made but a
poor appearance when she dined at the
Manor House, Madame Chomondeley
having come down from town with a
whole crowd of ladies and gallants In
her train.
Mrs. Susan's brown silk had been
turned after hard wearing on It's other
side. She had done her best to fur
bish 1t up, poor soul, with knots of rib
bon and a yellowed muslin fichu, but
its make had not been the fashion
these ten years back. Mrs. Susan had
been up all night with sick child and
looked twice her age. Her unpowder-
cd hair was lifeless and dropping. that
was wont to curl in little tendrils when
the world went well with her. The Ill.
natured fine ladies winked and nodded
at Mrs. Susan, who all but dozed in
her chair in the darkest corner of the
drawing room. They were sorry when
she dozed, for 1t had been sport to sec
how shocked she was at their smart
sayings. Already the conversation at
the dinner table had brought flicker
Ing fire to her cheek, by the light of
which Mr.. Selwyn declared afterward
that the parsons wife In Madame's
sacque had been a handsomer woman
than Madame.
1t was a cruel freak of Madame
Cholmondeley to set herself to dazzle
the parson. Perhaps she had heard
what Mr.. Selwyn had said, and was
determined to be reyenged on innocent
Mrs. Susan for being dlspraised by a
famous gallant.
1t was a wonderful piece Of acting
when she talked to Parson Towne of
his History of Heresles.
She was blackeyed, small featur-
ed lady, with cheeks which would have
been pale only for the rouge, and Won
derful, thin delicate, black brows, ris-
Ing in perfect arch In her powder
with a patch by her eey and another
by her lip, In her sacque of pink satin
with diamonds for her breast knot and
her shoe buckles, she was irresistible
1t was wonderful how she smoothed
the sparkling audacity out of her face
when she set herself to bewitch Par
son Towne. To be sure, she had beer
a stage lady before Richard Cholmon
6eley fell In love with and married her
Never had she accomplished so witty
piece of acting as when she bewltch
ed Parson Towne to prose to her Of hi.
immortal work, thing which she re
produced most gaily when the boo,
parson and Mrs. Susan had rolled
away In the musty, fusty chaise from
the Postboys, which had scented Mrs
Susan with an odor as of mouldv hay
The good man went to bed in A daze
The next morning at breakfast he look
ed at his wife with new expressio,
in his eye
Mrs. Susan had been up some hours
She had washed and dressed half-a
dozen children, and, poor soul, her hal
was touzled and her wrapper not over
fresh. Her husband looked at her a
though some scales had fallen from hi
eyes, and rebuked her. \ slatternl
woman. And the wife of Il parsor
VINO ought to stand as a shining exam
pie In the eyes Of the parish. HI
voice was cold and his ewes stern. Mr.
susan, In the act Of feeding a chill
win bread and milk, flushed, and tear
hiied her eyes. Her husband. Z
though he could eat no more breal
iasI' took his cane and went out
AFTER that the parson was ALWAYS h
Ing hidden to the Manor Honsa T.
met all manner Of famous Darsol
= 'Aere' aud was yisibly pulled out an