The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1879-08-22
ANNA DICKlNsoN,s STORIES.
Some Extracts from Her New Book.
From the New York Herald

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Dickinson to be q hard, sour. and meros.
person, need only read her /" Ragged
Register, to be entirely converted IRON
that idea. ga Ragged Register, !" as it
name implies, is simply the off.hand
jottings Of the authors experience as q
lecturer, collected and gathered together
in q modest little volume. Miss Dick.
inson is SO full Of. her life work that it Is
not surprising that even in running
along this ragged edge she stops
once in q while to emphasize her views
and theories. Not EXCEPTIONALLY, how.
ever. for the book is brimful of fun from
the first page to the last, 80 that one in
reading it feels that q lecturer meets
more queer people and has more anus
ing experience than any other person in
the world. Not always amusing at the
time, however, as in the case of the ram.
pant president IF q certain lecture asso-
citation who wanted her to lecture in his
town. She could not do it and meet her
other engagements, and she told him so
quite plainly. But he would not be put
of. He told her that by taking the 8
O'Clock q. m. train she could do it. After
hard nights work 8 O'Clock train is
not q pleasing prospect, and she declin-
ed the honor. "I'll be under your win
dow at half-past sharp" replied he,
Notwithstanding her expressed deter
mination. And he was as good as his
word. 1t was pouring rain, but he
came and banged away as though the
front door was fort and he q battering-
ram. While he was banging an indig-
nant family servant came into Miss
Dickinson's room with bucket of wa.
ter in her hand, and opened the window
above the mans head. "Why do'you
waste the water, Maria?" said Miss
Dickinson; che is wet to the skin al
ready" But Maria knew what she was
about, and, standing the bucket on the
sill, emptied the contents down over the
besieger. A howl, q muttered exclama-
ton, more vigorous than elegant, and
his feet were heard splashing down the
walk. ST thought that kitchen fire
never would burn" Maria said as she
passed out of the room, "and that there
tea kettle never would bile-but it did!"
Fortunately, Miss Dickinson has a
keen sense of humor, and even though
people bored her she would take the
trouble to draw them out. She tells OF
one man, q specimen of the Western
men whom Dickens describes, who took
q seat in the cars and tried to make her
talk by plying her with questions, to all
of which she gave monosyllabic replies.
Becoming discouraged, he dragged
some greasy bills and currency from his
pocket and said: swell, now, look
here; you'll never lecture in our town.
It's too derned small. But I'd like to
hear what you can do when your steam's
up. I thought I'D get free blowout,
but l reckon you weren't born yester-
day-got your eye-teeth cut? There's
q dollar, III that pay you for good
square talk and all the fixensp"
She had hardly vanquished this man
when another came strollirg in from
the smoking-car. 81 heard you last
night, ANNIE" he remarked, by way Of
an easy and friendly opening, Sat -.
don't live there. I happened in.
Yes," he repeated, 81 happened into
the lecture" as though he were fearful
she would be too inflated at his volun-
tarily seeking the show and must tell
her how it fell by chance. Then he
went on to tell her that, although he
thought her smart enough, he did not
like her sentiments. With her ready
wit she answered him SO well that he
was glad enough to escape back to the
protection of the smoking-car.
Then, again, she made some pleas
ant acquaintances on the cars. One was
Sister of Charity, who had served her
kind in the wars Of Italy, the Crimea,
France, and Germany. She was an en-
thusiast, yet practical; q devotee, yet
full of interest in the things of time; an
ardent Catholic, yet q sympathizer with
the movement for the social and intel
lectual advance of women. These two
women had o very profitable talk, and
Miss Dickinson says: 81 never met a
Sister of Charity without wanting to
stand in the gutter, if need be, for her
to 90 by dry shod."
Miss Dickinson tells of some of the
adventures she has had in keeping her
lecture engagements. One night she
was drawn across river on q sled by
two men-the ice was too thin for horses
and q sleigh-in driving storm. The
Journey took three hours. She arrived
at the s'institute, teeth chattering, stom'
ach chattering (no nourishment fol
thirteen hours), fingers stiff, feet like
wooden clogs, winter cold through and
through me-" Miss Dickinson has
heard that somebody once asked Mr.
Beecher whether man would have
gone through that to have kept lecture
engagement, and that he answered
"No; 70 man would have been such 8
fool" And was s'justified in the say
ing" says she; ''only he should remem
Der that the world, in reasonable fash
ion, demands of q woman that she d.
twice as much as man to prove tina
she can equal him."
Miss Dickinson is an undaunted trav
eler, and would climb the steepes
mountain for view. She met WON
an on the top of Mount Washington
once who seemed very much Disguised
with herself for having made the ascent
exclaiming, Well, what in the worlt
people do climb all the way up this nasty
mountain to get dinner for when the!
can feed great deal better down to ont
of the hotels beats met"
Western scenery is Miss Dickinsont
delight. Out there she met q maj