Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-09-19
Anna DickensOn's New Book.

Miss Dickinson tells Of some of the
adventures she has had in keeping her
lecture engagements. One night she
was drawn across q river on sled by
two men-the ice was too thin for
horses and sleigh-in driving storm.
The journey took three hours. She ar
rived at the institute, teeth chat
tering, 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; no man
would have been such fool" And
WAS justified in the saying" says she;
:" only he should have remembered
that the world, in reasonable fashion,
demands of woman that she do twice
AS much as a man to prove that she can
equal him."
Miss Dickinson is an undaunted trav-
eler, and would climb the steepest
mountain for view. She met wom-
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 world
people do climb all this way up this
nasty mountain to get dinner for when
they can feed great deal better down
to one of the hotels beats me T.
Western scenery is Miss Dickinson's
delight. Out there she met q man
whom she describes as a "horrid little
scrub, who was bound on lengthy
tour of the Pacific slope, his wife lee
turing, he managing and an adopted
daughter singing, the whole made to
go by gift enterprise. To make
herself agreeable Miss Dickinson said
something about the marvellous Mon
tana region. "A beastly country !" he
cried. "a beastly country ! we did not
take $500 in it," In travelling through
, this country, if in stages. she rode on
the seat with the driver; if by railroad,
on the locomotive with the engineer.
Her dress for crossing the mountains
on horseback consisted of soft felt hat,
loose coat, skirt to the knees, Turkish
trousers, WOODEN stockings and stout
shoes. Thus arrayed. she bestrode her
horse like man, Notwithstanding the
sneers of lady who joined their party.
and in an audible whisper told her
companions to "look ut that vulgar
creature" The "vulgar creature" from
her comfortable and secure seat looked
ut the long skirts and twisted bodies of
the other ladies, and, thinking of the
twelve hours ride over the mountains,
said o herself, "Look at those idiots!
Sitting alone on the platform Miss
Dlcki son has often had hard work to
keep from laughing at the manner of
her introduction by pompous chairmen
of a lecture committee. Que presiding
officer III New England Instead of intro.
ducing her offered up pray er of TWEEN
ty.sevep minutes duration in which he
interceded with the throne of grace in
Miss DickinsOn's behalf. A Western
chairman with an eye toward Congress
spoke of her reputation as lecturer.
In fact. !" said he, " wherever the Eng
lish language is spoken, wherever the
American stars and stripes wave, her
name is like household words. Listen
to her, then, and l know-yes, fellow
citizens, know you will listen to her,
since she always addresses herself to
the poor, the MANNED, the halt and the
blind. You will listen to her since
she always addresses herself to the ig-
norant, the downtroddep and the OPP
pressed OF every color, cline aud
tongue"
Audiences are thus cleverly described
by Miss Dickinson:
"Some audiences arc stone. You
strike against them and rebound-an-
gered by their hardness. Some are
sponge-absorb, and absorb, and alb
sorb, and give nothing back, till you
feel as tpugh you had enjoyed six
hours of the Turkish bath and then been
} put under an exhausted receiver--and
some are like champagne, or vigorous
tea, or clear cognac, or aggressive cof-
fee. or whatever it may be that the most
quickly and enchantingly stimulates
your brain and nerves."
In Chicago she met that jewel OF
girl, Kate Field" and they compared
notes. Miss Field is described as "witty,
pungent, concise of speech, abrupt of
manner, hating shams with O royal
hatred. With beautiful brown eyes
that penetrate deep while they reveal
depths, and firm mouth" There at
this same time she met Bret Harte on
his way East. and she found him I" sat
isfying.' He said "rare things in a
clear rich voice." and laughed a " mel
low sort of laugh" that was "yet not
gay" In San Francisco she spoke very
boldly against the treatment OF the Chi
nese by the hoodlums. The audience
Kissed her threateningly. But she told
them she had experienced too much hiss
ing, egg throwing and bullet firing
during her political lecturing in the
East to be scared by trife OF goose
breath in the West" and asked them il
they would kindly do all their kissing
at once and let her SO on with the lee.
ture. This touched their sense of hu.
NOR and she had no more trouble.-N.
Y. Herald.
Nobody likes to admit that lynch law