Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-10-17
DAILY EVENING STAR.
LETTER FROM PEREGKINA.

Gentlemen Of the Star Already some
of The Sisterhood have taken umbrage at
my letters. They do not like the candor
with which l confess myself an old maid.
They deny the very existence of such a
being, declaring it utterly fabulous. They
look daggers at every woman who wears
stockings in the least approaching to blue,
as they walk Pennsylvania avenue. They
insist the tendency of my letters is to de-
moralize, AID heard one of them advising
two boarding school girls and passed
midshipman, not to read them. They
have gone So far as to state malicious
report ut was first uttered at sewing
society, that Peregrina is an old bache-
lor! n this | forgive. l do not take
the grounds that old maids arc perfect. |
only wish to place them in their true
position and to inquire into the causes
of the prejudice against them. Old
Ma,ds, the teo'l4 says, are fml Of notions.
And have married women 10 notions?
a few. There is q married woman living
opposite to us. who has notion Of run
ming her husband into debt, and it will
end iii running him crazy. There is a
married woman living round the corner,
that has a notion of tattling about her
neighbors' affairs to such a degree, that,
on the side of the square on which she
lives none of the ladies' speak when they
meet. There is married woman in the
ward, who has notion of drinking
little too much champagne whenever she
has chance. There is a NAMED woman
on -- street who has the high Slihcs
every time her husband asks her to sew
n button on his s..irt. = There is a married
woman though, gentlemen, | hate to
speak of it, who boxed her husbands
ears, few weeks ago, because he asked
her not to spend oil her evenings ON the
back porch looking at the comet with
whiskered youth could name Are these
notions oh, no!
The world says, old maids are so suspi-
cious. Are married women ever suspi-
cious Sometimes. Mrs. Barnes lives
near a beautiful young seamstress, who
is sewing her life away to support sick
mother and baby brother: but Mrs.
Barnes neither gives her employment nor
any of the nice soup that is often left
from her luxurious table. Why! Mrs
Barnes always suspects a pretty seams
tress. All is not right when sewing
girl has pcarly teeth and doves eyes,
Mrs. Barnes suspects she has design
upon her dunderhCad Of a son, who does
nothing from morning until night but
arrange the tie of his cravat.
Mrs. Bouncer suspects there is some
thing wrong at her opposite neighbors,
for the family have ceased going every
night to the theatre, and have taken a
pew in DR.. Buffers church. There is
something very wrong there, according to
Mrs. Bouncer's notions. The bell that
she hears there, night and morning, (the
wherefore of is ringing so eNctcs her
curloSity,) is to summon the hitherto
neglected children and servants to kneel
and offer a sacrifice at the family altar.
Mrs. Brown has not spoken to her sick
husband for three days, for she suspects
something beside his cough took him to
DR.. LIS last week. DR.. l.. has beauti-
full daughter, and Mrs. Brown suspects
this gentle innocent girl has an eye to her
new house with its velvet furniture and
magnificent mirrors. But the world says,
only old maids are suspicious.
| shall in my next letter give the real
cause of the feelings entertained by the
world against old maids. | am not afraid
of the world. am not afraid of the men
or women who live in it. [ will write
what | chose The world can not put
me down, any more than it can extingush
the light of the Eren,ng Star! | have a
right to say what please, SO that am
not personal, in my native city, through
the columns of It's most popular paper
| was a baby in Washington, young
woman in Washington, and am now an
old maid in Washington. fear no man,
not even bachelor. \ bachelor has
recently presented me his respects through
your columns. HIS rcSpcctsl Let him
send me pair of kid gloves, and I'll be-
lieve him.
Neither shall [ compromise myself in
what | shall say through the Erening
Star about old maids. | shall sustain
the dignity of their position by proudly
asserting that of
PEREGRINA.
w Icur>-croN n ~