Susan Clegg and a Man in the House   By: Anne Warner (1869-1913)

Susan Clegg And a Man in the House

BY ANNE WARNER

Author of "Susan Clegg and her Friend Mrs. Lathrop," "A Woman's Will," "The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary," "Seeing France with Uncle John," etc.

Illustrated from Drawings by ALICE BARBER STEPHENS

Boston Little, Brown, and Company 1907

Copyright, 1906 , By Katharine N. Birdsall

Copyright, 1907 , By The Butterick Company, Ltd.

Copyright, 1907 , By Little, Brown, and Company

All rights reserved

Published October, 1907

GRIFFITH STILLINGS PRESS, BOSTON, MASS., U.S.A.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. Man's Proposal 1

II. Elijah Doxey and His Locked Box 20

III. The First Issue of the Newspaper 32

IV. Settling down after the Honeymoon 43

V. Susan Clegg's Full Day 64

VI. The Editor's Advice Column 85

VII. Mrs. Macy and the Convention 98

VIII. The Biennial 113

IX. The Far Eastern Tropics 128

X. The Evils of Delayed Decease 142

XI. The Democratic Party 156

XII. The Trials of Mrs. Macy 168

XIII. Monotony of Ministerial Monologues 200

XIV. Advisability of Newspaper Exposures 212

XV. The Trial of a Sick Man in the House 223

XVI. The Beginning of the End 235

XVII. An Old fashioned Fourth 251

XVIII. Celebrating Independence Day 261

XIX. Exit the Man out of Susan Clegg's House 273

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"'He is a trouble, Mrs. Lathrop.'" Frontispiece

PAGE

"'A lady come up, looked at my flag, an' asked me if I was a delegate or an alternative'" 119

"'Mrs. Macy was just about plum paralyzed at that '" 179

"'The bottom come out an' the duck flew down the car'" 188

Susan Clegg And a Man in the House

CHAPTER I

MAN'S PROPOSAL

Susan Clegg had dwelt alone ever since her father's death. She had not been unhappy in dwelling alone, although she had been a good daughter as long as she had a parent to live with. When the parent departed, and indeed some few days before his going, there had arisen a kind of a question as to the possibility of a life companion for the daughter who must inevitably be left orphaned and lonely before long. The question had arisen in a way highly characteristic of Miss Clegg and had been disposed of in the same manner.[A] The fact is that Miss Clegg had herself proposed to four men and been refused four times. Then her father had died, and, upon the discovery that he was better endowed with worldly wealth than folks had generally supposed, all four had hastened to bring a return suit at once. But Miss Clegg had also had her mind altered by the new discovery and refused them all. From that time to this period of which I am about to write there had never been any further question in her mind as to the non advisability of having a man in the house.

[A] See "Susan Clegg and her Friend Mrs. Lathrop."