The Portland daily press., 1869-04-23
The Female Lobbyiss.

Howard Glyndon, the pleasant correspond
ent of the New York Mail, writes as follows
of these modern sphinxes:
Let us go into the Senate reception room.
1t is the magnet toward which are drawn all
the pace-hunters and everybody else having
any business with the government still re-
naming in Washington. The consequence
is an enormous crowd which fills the recep-
tion-room and overfows into the adjoining
apartments and the lobbies. Such queer
looking crowd as it is Probably there never
was better chance for studying character,
as indicated by the physiognomy, than that
offered by seat in some quiet corner of this
same Senatorial reception-room. One thing
you notice at the outset, and that is, the
great preponderance of women in this crowd.
Not that l think that the women outnnmber
the men among the place-hunters and other
| people who have axes to grind here. Only
there are more women in the reception
| chamber, and that is probably because
it is the Eonly place to which they
are allowed access ior the purpose of "lobby-
ing"
The women in this crowd do not strike
you favorably, as rule. There is an in
dehnable something in the style, the walk
the manner and the look out of the eyes of
| many of them that make it a relief to turn
ones regards aside upon these pale-faced as
cetic-looking Sisters OF Charity in their white
colts and soit-falllng black robes. They have
come to obtain an appropriation for some
charitable institution, doubtless. And then
| there are good old ladies, with motherly faces
| and stout figures, clad in well preserved black
| silk dresses and antiquated bonnets, whom
you connect in your mind in some indefinite
| manner with pensions and claims. But
these half-dowdy, halftawdry looking mid
die e-aged women-what do they want?
The most of them have some pretensiOns
to good looks, only You don't like the ex-
preston of their faces and the profusion of
trimmings and ornaments, and their pluGy
! chgnons and untidy-looking patches OF
irizzled hair. Here and there you see one
who is absolutely handsome and dressed with
out regard to expense-seeminely-bu not
in the best style. Among them Is the noto-
rious pardon-broker, Mrs. Cobb. There Is
/ another woman with a dark, sallow, evll-
looking face, dressed in black, which
only makes her look more sallow and un-
wholesome. She Is always about the Capitol,
and has been seen here regularly for the last
| four years. You used 70 meet her In the
House, sitting about the reception rooms or
hanging about In the lobbies, and when you
went over 10 the Senate you found her re-
peating the same thing there. Toe end Of
her existence seems 10 be 10 lounge about
the Capitol and ensnare Senators and mem
bers into forced interviews with her. But
willy though she seems to be, she has the
look OF disappointed woman.
Here Is another-a stout, square figure,
dressed In gey waterproof cl0th-wiih a
red, round, good-humored face. but as hard
| through all It's good-humer as a neither mill
stone, with an ineorigible importantly that
will never take or own a rebuff, and never
allow itself TO be snubbed.
Poor womani she has need OF all her
brass, / should think. She Is the AGENT Of
the Revolution, asd her business Is tolattack
the unwary and startle OF coax. or lnfimi-
date them into subscribing for the Revolu-
| ton. Ofice-seekers, w0man's rights advo-
Gates, members and Senators, and everybody
else who may cross her path, she regards as
her natural prey. Seel she Is sliding into n
chair, now, by the side OF that tall, grey
haired Texan. The poor man, taken thus un-
| expectedly at a disadvantage, listens help
lessly as the voluble words ron from her glib
| tongue, and before he knows II he has sub
scribed to the Revolution, and a copy OF it is
stuffed into his coat pocket, and "the agent"
is off roaming up and dowa the room seek
| ing whom else she may devour.