THE FRIENDLY WITNESS
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also more amiable and more stricken with burdensome reasonable–
ness and jabs of conscience which were, if not of the noblest de–
gree, powerful enough to create in him a liberality and tolerance
that enlarged his sweetness and generosity while, conceivably, re–
ducing his ambitions and vitality. Mild and handsome, he was com–
mitted to progressive opinions for which he showed constancy rather
than fervor. It was felt by those who urged him to become a candi–
date that Johnson in a public post represented a triumph, not so
much of political reality, for he had no administrative experience or
talent, but of personality. They reasoned that an intelligent, thought–
ful, slow-moving liberal might not do anything at all, but at least
he wouldn't do anything they opposed. And so there was an exhilarat–
ing idealism in Johnson's election which harkened back to Jefferson
and government by cultivated men.
A little snow fell that evening. The Mayor put a few logs on
the fire and settled down to his fortunate passion for reading. His
house was small, new and spotless and yet his wife worked at it like
a drudge, polishing what was already polished, hunting for dust in
the corners of closets, rearranging beautifully stacked linen, scouring
gleaming pans with the newest £Olutions, slapping pillows-she did all
of this to make a little noise in the evening, "like other people." At
the dinner table she had been told of the day's events and had
replied promptly,
"If
the gambling's closed down and Charlie's out
of town, it's all over, idiot!"
Perhaps, perhaps, but still the Mayor had a strange evening. As
he read, his thoughts were distracted by an image, very much as if
he were dreaming. There was romance of a sort in the image, al–
though it was not of a pretty girl, but of a black-eyed, lumpy face, and
small, agile figure of a woman past sixty. His heart raced as if with
pangs of love for this "dark lady," a Mrs. Morton. She flickered
across the pages of his book, inserted herself into the story with a
sorrow and vexation that menaced the evening's calm and shamed the
Mayor.
Mrs. Morton was a rich, advanced, fearless woman, educated
many years ago in a girl's college in the East. High-minded, strong–
minded and impossible, she was a homely old bird, like no other, with
a certain oddness of feature-sometimes it was her little nose that
