The Strand Magazine, Vol. 07, Issue 38, February, 1894: An Illustrated MonthlyVarious
General
The Strand Magazine, Vol. 07, Issue 38, February, 1894: An Illustrated Monthly
Various
English literature -- Periodicals; Short stories, English -- Periodicals
Sukey is not an impressive person--her features are against it. She
is not equal to assuming a presence. With all her wealth of nose,
she can't turn it up at anybody. Her sneer is a wretched failure.
Any attempt at an imposing attitude is worse; a large nose of a
sort is often a noble feature of itself; but a nose like this!...
Sukey's extravagance in nose is paid for by a scarcity of mouth.
Her small mouth may be a loveliness in itself, but it will never
allow Sukey a sneer or a smile--let alone a laugh; it condemns her
to perpetual prunes and prism. So that Sukey may neither impress you
by a haughty presence, nor sneer at you, nor laugh at you; one thing
only remains--and it a low expedient--she _can_ put out her tongue at
you--by the yard.
[Illustration: A LOW EXPEDIENT.]
[Illustration: A LAUGH.]
I have often speculated as to how much of this tongue Sukey really
has stowed away inside her, and what would happen if she let it all
out at once. It would probably get entangled with everything and with
itself, like a ball of string cast loose, and Mansbridge (who is
Sukey's keeper) would spend an afternoon unfastening all the knots.
One has to see Sukey many times before the lineal possibilities of
her tongue begin to dawn on one. See her once or twice only, and she
may only exhibit a mere foot or so of it--possibly only eight or ten
inches. Another time she will let out a foot or eighteen inches more,
and you are rather surprised; still, your belief is unshaken that
there _is_ another end to that tongue somewhere. But when, some time
later, she casually releases another yard or two, beyond the few feet
wherewith you are familiar, with an aspect of keeping miles more in
reserve, you abandon the doctrine of the finiteness of things earthly
as mere scientific superstition. Plainly, I don't believe there is any
other end to Sukey's tongue. It has the redeeming feature, however, of
possessing _one_ end, which anybody may see; and as there is an end to
Sukey's tongue we won't be too hard on her, remembering that there have
been Sukeys--well, differently provided for.
[Illustration: PERSEVERANCE.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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