Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-06-24

sensation upon the street the day before.
The writer hereof, then conducting a pa
per in Delhi, 40 miles west, gallantly
came to the rescue of the then unseen and
unknown bloomerite. insisting that con-
sistency demanded of the Dubuque edi-
tors TO cease sneering at her for wearing
dress unfashionably short at the bottom
unless the likewise lashed some of their
. own ladies for wearing dresses fashionably
too short at the top, &c. A few days after
ward our sanctum was invaded by a
young lady in bloomers, who introduced
herself as Mary L. Wrlker, said that she
had come to Iowa to see the West, and by
and by perhaps to work into the practice
OF her profession, which was that of medi-
cine-if water can be called medicine
for she was of the hydropathic school
Miss Walker was not handsome in feature,
nor yet was she homely, was rather under
the medium size, viyacious and sprightly,
sometimes almost graceful, always in
buoyant spirits. Her bloomer dress was
rich, neat, and becoming for she was one
OF the few women upon whom blcomer
dress can be made to hang right.
Miss Walker was an incessant and end
less tallser. But it soon became manifest
that the staple of her conversation con-
sisted of one ever prolific topic-herself.
Her adventures had been numerous and
varied-for one of her age. What her
age was il was difficult to determine from
her experience, or infer from her CONVEX
sation. From appearance, one would
Judge her TO be between % and 2S years
of age. But in conversations-held at
different times, and after forgetting what
she had said before-we were informed
that at ID she commenced to teach school,
and taught common Gchool for five years !:
that she taught for five years in semi
nary that she was "A milliner for five
years that she worked at the printers
trade for five years; that she was for five
years associate editor of literary maya
zine: that she had studied medicine,
regular school, for three years, and then
practlced 1t for two years; that she was
an invalid, unable to walk more than a
few rods at {. time. for Iive years; that she
was cured by the hydropathic treatment.
which led her 10 investigate and adopt
the water cure which she had practiced
for five years, etc, etc. Aggregating the
time occupied in her various occupa-
tions, she must have been almost 100 years
old, unless she-but we will not ques-
tion her yeracity, for she was a !. oman of
unswerving principle = -ho aid 80 her
self, repeatedly. - let IA rather believe
that during her residence in Florida. as
the amanuensis for the Senator of that
State, she had discovered and partaken of
the fountain Of eternal youth. 1t was
something Of a shock TO u, by the way,
after having been. at first acquaintance
al IL. 1a.f a a. 4.
associate editor of . leading magazine for
five years, 70 discover, in receiving COM
munications for publication, how trium-
phantly and unconsciously she overrode
all rules Of grammar, punctuation, cspi
taliZation, etc. On meeting her afierward,
we led the conversation 10 botanical and
medical toscs, and here, too, she differed
equally widely from the commonly re-
ceiyed authorities. We recollcct, for in
stance her location Of the thyroid carti-
lage in the thigh.
About this time our editorial attention
happened 10 rest upon couple of adyer-
tisements which appeared ia couple of
mr. exchanges from an adjoining
county. and one from
~. IT,, l-..-- ---.-ined a notice that
Mr. Alfred +. Iiller petitioned for di-
yorce from his wife, Mary L. Miller: the
other notice that Miss Mary J.. Miller
petitioned for a divorce from her husband
Mr. Alfred l.. Miller. with right to resume
her maiden name of Mary j.. Walker.
We kept our own counsel, and soon learn
ed more about the matter than we could
have discovered by any amount of
questioning. The enterprising Mary had
come all the way from New York 10 get
divorce from her husband. Her husband
forestalled her by getting a divorce from
her some three weeks the first If that
couple are not divorced. with the DEGREES
from the courts of two States TO that ef-
feet, we don't know how such a thing
could be accomplished. About this time
the war begun, and Mary started for the
front. There was chance TO thrust her
self forward into notoriety-and such
chances she never let slip. During the
war she was frequently heard from on
both sides of the lines. When it closed
she went 10 England, end delivered medi-
cal lectures in London. Ii there were
any physicians III her audience, we will
warrant they We're astonished al her doc
toring Mrs. DIR. Mary +. Walker of
Grants Cabinet gust now Is queer mix
ture, and not by any means entirely evil
She j. enthusiastic, quick-witted, quick
tempered, out-spoken, nnmalicious ex-
ceedingly vain, sensational, energetic,
willful, self-asserting, irrepressible, To-
quacious, and everything else necessary
to constitute a sort of George Francis
Train in petticoats, it We were sure she
wore pettiaoats.