Updated: Apr 2 1998 9:31AM

LONG BEACH: While President Clinton celebrated in Africa with cigar and guitar, his accuser remained besieged by reporters in a gated apartment with her husband and two children. Paula Corbin Jones is said to be "shocked" by Wednesday's ruling, and that's undoubtedly an understatement. Even the slim hope that her case will be reinstated when it goes to appeal is dampened by the daunting length of time -- upwards of a year -- before that appeal will be heard.

But whatever Jones' fate in the long term, her defeat is likely to confer at least one dubious distinction: Conservative martyrdom. "The one who paid dearly for this is a great heroic woman... who, for four years, has endured the filth and the slime and attacks of the White House," said spokeswoman Susan Carpenter-McMillan -- a sentiment echoed on talk radio across the country. While it won't make up for the $700,000 out-of-court settlement Jones could have had last year, donations are likely to flood in. No word yet on how much of a boost this will be for the Paula Jones Legal Fund (Chairwoman: Susan Carpenter-McMillan).

-- Chris Taylor