Prudence of the Parsonage

Prudence of the Parsonage

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Hueston, Illustrated by Arthur William Brown
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Title: Prudence of the Parsonage
Author: Ethel Hueston

Release Date: May 18, 2006 [eBook #18413]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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PRUDENCE OF THE PARSONAGE
by
ETHEL HUESTON
With Illustrations by Arthur William Brown

[Frontispiece: "What did you put in this soup, Prudence?"]

New York Grosset & Dunlap Publishers Copyright 1915 The
Bobbs-Merrill Company

TO MY MOTHER
WHO DEVOTED HER LIFE TO REARING
A WHOLE PARSONAGE-FULL OF ROLLICKING
YOUNG METHODISTS

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCING HER II THE REST OF THE FAMILY III THE
LADIES' AID IV A SECRET SOCIETY V THE TWINS STICK UP
FOR THE BIBLE VI AN ADMIRER VII LESSONS IN ETIQUETTE

VIII THE FIRST DARK SHADOW OF WINTER IX PRACTISING
ECONOMY X A BURGLAR'S VISIT XI ROMANCE COMES XII
ROUSED FROM HER SLUMBER XIII SHE ORDERS HER LIFE
XIV SHE COMES TO GRIEF XV FATE TAKES CHARGE

ILLUSTRATIONS
"What did you put in this soup, Prudence?" . . . . Frontispiece
"If you'll shut the door one minute, we'll have everything exactly as you
left it."
"Yes, and have refreshments for just you two?"
"She predicted I'm to fall in love with you."

PRUDENCE OF THE PARSONAGE
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCING HER
None but the residents consider Mount Mark, Iowa, much of a town,
and those who are honest among them admit, although reluctantly, that
Mount Mark can boast of far more patriotism than good judgment! But
the very most patriotic of them all has no word of praise for the ugly
little red C., B. & Q. railway station. If pretty is as pretty does, as we
have been told so unpleasantly often, then the station is handsome
enough, but as an ornament to the commonwealth it is a dismal
failure,--low, smoky and dust-grimed. In winter its bleakness and
bareness add to the chill of the rigorous Iowa temperature, and in
summer the sap oozing through the boards is disagreeably suggestive of
perspiration. The waiting-room itself is "cleaned" every day, and yet
the same dust lies in the corners where it has lain for lo, these many
years. And as for the cobwebs, their chief distinction lies in their ripe

old age. If there were only seven spiders in the ark, after the subsiding
of the waters, at least a majority of them must have found their way to
Mount Mark station in South-eastern Iowa.
Mount Mark is anything but proud of the little station. It openly scoffs
at it, and sniffs contemptuously at the ticket agent who bears the entire
C., B. & Q. reputation upon his humble shoulders. At the same time, it
certainly does owe the railroad and the state a debt of gratitude for its
presence there. It is the favorite social rendezvous for the community!
Only four passenger trains daily pass through Mount Mark,--not
including the expresses, which rush haughtily by with no more than a
scornful whistle for the sleepy town, and in return for this indignity,
Mount Mark cherishes a most unchristian antipathy toward those
demon fliers.
But the "passengers"--ah, that is a different matter. The arrival of a
passenger train in Mount Mark is an event--something in the nature of a
C., B. & Q. "At Home," and is always attended by a large and
enthusiastic gathering of "our best people." All that is lacking are the
proverbial "light refreshments!"
So it happened that one sultry morning, late in the month of August,
there was the usual flutter of excitement and confusion on the platform
and in the waiting-room of the station. The habitués were there in force.
Conspicuous among them were four gaily dressed young men, smoking
cigarettes and gazing with lack-luster eyes upon the animated scene,
which evidently bored them. All the same, they invariably appeared at
the depot to witness this event, stirring to others no doubt, but
incapable of arousing the interest of these life-weary youths. They
comprised the Slaughter-house Quartette, and were the most familiar
and notorious characters in all the town.
The Daily News reporter, in a well-creased, light gray suit and tan shoes,
and with eye-glasses scientifically balanced on his aquiline nose, was
making pointed inquiries into the private plans of the