The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-09-05

Indeed, her whole attire was gay aud odd to
the degree that might be called stunning"
She wadded rapidly across che sidewalk,
carrying, / remember, large bag, and sprang
into her brougham with marvellous ligbtness
and quickness, all things considered As she
YVES giving some directions to her coachman
| caught view of her face. It was evidently
that of woman of middle age but it was
full and florid, with a merry, confident, aud
even roguish expression. which might be
called, both bold and cunning. 1t was GER
taiDly very vivacious, and ludicrously wide
awake and knowing. Suddenly, it
flashed upon me, as this small per-
son drove away, that 1 had seen
the counterfeit presentment of
little Miss Mowcher, the kair-dresser, sham
pooer, and whsker-trimmer of Steerforth, in
david Copperfeld. This l remarked to
my friend, who just then entered the room.
She smiled, and replied quietly, Yes, Miss
- is the original of Miss Mowcher and
Mr.. Dickens never drew more perfect por-
trait" She then went on to tell me that the
little woman, who, she said, was "a most ex-
cellent creature, was q professional chiropo-
dist, and, ! think, also q hair-dresser, and
that she was doing a good business in Lon
don, owing much of her success to her &C.
centric vivacious ways, and, perhaps to an
almost ludirous deformity, which apparently
had about il nothing painful or diseased.
her manner and voice were hearty to jol-
lity She had attended on Mrs. Dickens
professionally, and during some of her
ministrations Mr.. Dickens had encountered
her, it seemed and had made a mental sketch
of her in his marvellous way, as John Leech
used to take heads on his thumb nail ia an
omnibus or on the street. The poor little
lady was very much hurt when Miss Mowcher
appeared among the drGnodtis perSoRG of
1~Go II a l.--
nized the picture, and many spoke to her of
it, congratulating her or condoling with her
on her questionable immortality. She
thought, as some others thought of the time,
that the odd, volatile little hair-dresser was
to play q nischievous, malevolent part in the
novel-was to be q sort of bad fairy and
with her grievance on her heart-which, after
all her shrewd, driving, absurd ways, her
''tricks and her manners, was good heart
she came to my friend, who was one of her
kindest patrons, and talked the matter over,
with tears of real distress. My friend advised
her at once to write to MIR. Dickens, and
frankly state her feelings and apprehensions,
and show cause why Judgment should not be
pronounced against her; and she actually did
write a protest, characteristically volatile
in style, and yet, in passages, almost patheti-
cally earnest. She assured him that there
was room for true womanly heart in her
uuIlpy, pulsy, unSnhpSly pouyy tuLeo leet
by nothing" that her eccentricities were, in
gre at part, her stock in trade; that her rat
Ting slangy talk, and droll, saucy air, were
her best defenses against humilating pity
and condescension, though, perhaps, they
exposed her to more humiliating suspicions.
She told him something of her story--how
she too had been obliged to cut her way
through the "Forest of Difficulty and to
open path for other feet, tinlid with youth
or faltering from age.
It was the very letter to touch Oh erles
Dickens, and it did touch him. day or two
later the little woman came to my friend,
with her droll face all aglow with happiness
and pride, and holding in her 'morsel of
hand dainty looking, blue-tinted note. On
the left-hand corner of the envelope was the
autograph, so familiar to us now-Ch0TleS
Dickens, the G so like a G, the two names
continent, and the seven-storied flourish and
all. The note itself was brief, but most cour-
teous; the novelist thanked his correspondent
for her frank remonstrance, expressed regret
that she had been panied, but bade her dis
miss all anxiety and depend upon him to
bring her out all right in the end. After the
usual kind words with which he closed even
the briefest notes, there was another full auto
graph, flourish and all.