Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-08-24
MISS WILSON'S LEG.
New York Times.J
Publisher and Proprietor

New York Times.l
Twenty seven years ago Miss
Wilson, Of Pineyille, N, c., lost her
right leg. She was then young and
pretty, and had she mislaid her leg
every chiyalrous Carolinian in the
country would have joined in the
search for it. Unfortunately, her
loss was an irrevocable one. Hav-
ing unintentionally inserted her leg
under the wheel of a heavily loaded
wagon, she found that the once
shapely limb was so completely
ruined that she consented to have
it cut off and thrown away. Its
place was in time supplied with a
cork leg, and Miss Wilson sorrow-
fully resigned herself to limping
through a loyeless life to a solitary
grave.
There never has been any active
demand for women with wooden
legs. A man with wooden leg
suffers certain amount of incon-
venience, but he loses nothing in
character Or popularity, whereas a
wooden-legged woman is, whether
justly or unJustly, under social
ban. In facr, for a woman to lose
a leg is ordinarily to lose all hope
of marriage. A man who is about
to marry cannot be blamed for pre-
ferring whole wife to one par
TALLY made of cork-especially as
the former costs no more than the
latter. A superficial thinker might,
perhaps, fancy that husband
whose wife had but one original
leg would save fifty per cent. in the
price Of striped stockings and kid
shoes; but little reflection will
show that a cork leg requires as
much clothing as the usual style Of
leg, and hence it is not an eco
nomical contrivance OF course,
it is mean and selfish in man to
permit the presence or absence of a
mere trife of a leg to affect his
feelings toward an estimaGle wo-
man; bnt human nature is weak,
and he would be a bold man who
could calmly look forward to mar.
rymg q woman who might some
morning interrupt him while shay
ing by asking, "James, would you
mind handing me my leg? l think
| you'll find it behind that rocking
chair"
It is alleged by Miss Wilson's
neighbors that as she grew older
she grew hard and cynical. This
was perhaps to have been expected
She saw herself ignored by all mar,
rying men, while girls with halt
her beanty, and whose sole superb
ority consisted in a larger number
of legs, captured husbands without
any d fliculty. Gradually she be-
came embittercd against her bipcdaI
fellow-creatures, and the local Bap,
tist minister was probably right
when he characterized her as q bard
hearted, worldly woman. One day
however, Miss Wilson attended a
camp meeting, and was softened by
the eloquenee Of the preacher and
the shouts Of the w0rshipers, and
soon after Pineyille was surprised
and pleased by the announcement
that on next Sunday Sister Wilson
would be baptized.
Now, the public performance Of
the rite of baptism by Rev. Mr.
Waters, of the Pineville Seventh
Day Baptist Church, always drew ,
large audience. That powerful and
agile preacher was admitted 70 bf
without rival as G rapid and ef
fectiye baptizer. On ono occasion.
when y Presbyterian minister
preaching against baptism by i'm
mersion showed that st, John thC
Baptist had once baptized a mHlti
tude Of persons at the rate of tgt
men and Il half per minute, ant
that hence he could not have I'M
mersed them, Mr.. Waters pukliGf
baptized twenty five persons i
eight minutes, thus beating St
Johns best time by two FILL min
utes and completely oyerthrowini
J the PresbyteFian's argument. Witt
. all his un qualed rapidity of eXccu
: ton he was never careless or jncon
sidcratc. There was rival Daptls