Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-08-22
A VIRGINIA WOMAN.

! TELL ON THEW.
Eyes, it is true-I am q woman,,'
and an expression of mingled amuse-
ment, shame, bolaness and timidity
came to the face of the speaker, who,
clad in the habiliments of man, leau-
ed gracefully against the desk of the
LELAND Hotel 1t was during tho
quiet time of the evening, and tho
only persons within earshot of tho
speaker were Clerk Kennedy, who
was chewing with his customary
nonchalanco perfumed toothpick,
and reporter for the Evening Post
Tall, for a woman, the speaker was
and willowy. The face, though
strong rather than beautiful, had no
trace OF coarsepess in it. Tho com
plcxion was clear, some would have
called it transparent, the nose was
prominent, slightly Roman, the chin
small but firm. The mouth, save
when parted i'll smile that revealed
two beautiful rows of teeth, resem.
bled more Fl pieco of flesh slit open
with knife than cupid's curves,
while the eyes, rather small, jet black
and shaded by pair of heavy lashes
and eyebrows, made up u counte-
nance which, framed in mass of
curly black hair worn IL la Rosa Bon
heuf, indicated the possessor to be a
person of character, and which coun
tenance, acquiring suasculinity
from the padded shoulders that made
the figure that of an athlete, seemed
not out of place surmounting male
attire. The hands were well but not
etfeminately shaped, and carefully
manicured. In one of them, ornn.
mented with cameo ring, the owner
twirled cane with which she occa
sionally tapped her trousers, and in
the other she held an unlighted ci
gar, lust to keep up appearances,
she explained. Her voice was mu-
sical, rich and 'eep. and very pleas.
ant one to listen to-
~
81 was annoyed at first that Ken
ncdy should have revealed my iden
tity to you,' she added to her con
fession to the reporter, "but rs he
assured me that it was my story
rather than my name you desired to
publish, don't know that l object.
, / am writer, and my reason for ap
peaiing In garb that belongs to n
Sex other than my own is desire to
study man from a mans point of
view, to track him to his lair, his
haunts, to lislen 10 his talk among
his fellows, to learn how near himself
! he acts in the presence of ladies, and
tlen TO set him in a book that others
!, |, of my sex may know him as well as l
tho married women to then know
: better how to manage him end the
D unmarried to SEQ to what kind of
, nortals they intend to link them.
! selves for life
"And from what you have seen and
heard will you argue against matri
mony 2" AT this, Kennedy, though
\ n bachelor himself, pricked up his
. ears
Not J." she replied, glancing with
swiftness that pa,took of lightning
at the popular clerk. "Not L. / have
. been pursuing my Investigations
nearly year now; though not con
tinuully. and from what have learn
ed [ think were to follow in Tol
a stoi's steps and oppose marriage
should not only be setting myself up
\ MS mark for future generations to
a ridicnle and condemn, but commit q
, sin which au eternity of atonemeul
k could scarce wash out"
: Kennedy heaved sigh of relief al
T. this and began on another toothpick
After moments contemplation Miss
) -, or rs she has for several weeks
t been known in Chicago, Floyd Ra
!, doul, continued
:. "When I conceived the idea of do
:, ing what have done, and from
! which the great majority of women
would shrink, had ideas about man
in common with most of my Sex
|, And those ideas want to say were
: part right-but the greater part
were wrong. | think that men might