Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-01-24
WHOLE NO. 1916.
Noted Women.

New York Correspondence Springfield Republican
Anna Dickinson is staying at Eliza
beth, not yet well enough TO do any,
thing in particular. Miss Virginia
Townsend, who has written stories
enough to make a whole generation
good, to say nothing of histories and
biographies and other things, is
spending the winter here, with evil
dent designs on the religious public,
in the shape of new book of some
kind. She is one of the quietest of
ladies, with thoughtful but also very
sympathetic face, which looks as
though sorrow and trial and care had
sculptured it on the inside. People
who know nothing of the lives of lit
erary women have little idea what
they have to fight against and strug
gle through. Miss Nellie Hutchin-
son, whose delicate and charming lit
tie poems, which drop now and then
like June roses into the magazines
from hesrt which Is all summer. is
one of the regular staff Of the Tribune
and does as much good work rs most
men on the press. Since the death of
her mother, three or four years ago,
she has the care and support of a
younger sister, and the steady grind
at the newspaper mill, with the addi.
tional responsibility, tells on frail,
delicate constitution which was made
for an easier lot and tenderer usage.
One hardly knows whether to call her
"a girl or woman, for she has ali the
sweetness of the one and much of the
thoughtfulness and gravity of the
other-a woman in mind and under.
standing, while still a girl in heart
and years. Shirly Dare is the nom
de plume of woman whose writings
are familiar to our people and per-
haps to most of our readers. She is
very clever writer, with uncommon
literary tact and talent, and contrib
uted good deal to the World and
Golden Age and Chicago Tribune,
and wrote the "Ugly Girl Papers, .
which had such run in Harper's Ba-
gar that they were afterward published
in volume and the larger and per,
haps better half of Locke's "Paper
City" was from her pen. She has
had hard battle to fight, with only a
steel pen for weapon, bat is win
ming the day. She is one of Mr..
Locke's helpers on the EUeninq Mail
and if left alone would have no diff
Guilty In writing the whole paper, poll
tics, poetry, correspondence, news
and advertisements. Mrs. Martha j.
Lamb, the historian of New York,
lives at the Coleman House in the CO
siest of hooks up under the caves, her
room not being large enough to swing
the traditional cat in, and being lined
on every side with books, pictures,
keepsakes and mementoes OF every
description. She is a very genial,
educated lady, with an element of
power in her composition which makes
her most agreeablecompanion; and
she is constantly sought by society as
well as literary people, and is intimate
with Mr.. Bryant and Chief Justice
Waite Her history, which is publish
ing in numbers, is an admirably thor
ough, impartial, interesting and valu-
able work, and when finished will be
highly priced by all intelligent New
Workers. 1t is monument of indus
try, patience, fidelity and devotion,
which is creditable not only to the au-
thor, but to women. Mrs. Lamb is a
Massachusetts, woman, and her sue
cess in this department suggests a
field Of literary activity which many
cultivated New England ladies might
work on with advantage, There are
any number Of town histories to he
written.