The Washington times., 1901-10-06
GniI Hamilton.


Gail Hamiltor's Life in Letters" edit
ed by II. Augusta Dodge. is two-volume
biography which will interest many peo-
pie past middle age and some of the
younger generation. The name of Gail
| Hamilton was familiar to all intelligent
people north of Mason and Dixon's line
during the sixties. She was one of the
pioneers in the field of Washington news
paper correspondence, and one of the first
| women to take up such work AS most of
those acquainted with her writings know.
| her real name was Mary Abby Dodge. and
J her relationship by marriage to James G.
| Blaine afforded her an unusual opportun-
| ity for understanding politics and know
| ing public men as they really were Beside
the Washington letter of today her work
appears unscientific and old-fashioned, but
it suited her audience.
The letters reproduced in this book
| however are purely personal. They are
| written TO members of her family, to
Whittier. to Henry James. and TO various
more or less distinguished men and
women of the day with whom she corre-
spOnded Many Of them are written from
Hamilton. her home. from which she took
the last half of her nom de plume. They
are thoroughly characteristic of the
homely details, whimsical references to
private affairs. jokes and witticisms.
4 They remind one somewhat of Louisa
Aicott's letters, and are certainly more
akin TO those than to the writing OF Kate
Field or Mary Clemmer two other bright
women who were her contemporaries.
To those who were of Gail Hamilton's S
own generation, the fascination of the
book viii lie mainly in the letters of the
! most personal character A SCRAP of a
letter from Washington reads as follows:
AT l o clock we went to the House
| A Southerner was clustering away.
and then they went to voting. Pres
| thlIy got into conversation with a
lady who sat next me. ! Scolded con-
| siderably about two members who
We're making Jackasses Of themselves
and presently discovered that she was
| wife of sofne member l told her
that If she wasn't the wife of either
| of those. / didn't care. She seemed a
| good deal amused at my remarks and
| presently said there was a little girl
over there who wanted to sit next me.
| So little girl crowded past the two
ladies who We're in company 1 said
| to her, Why, | don't know you; do
| you know me- She said she didn't
| know me, but she had read my stories.
| Or course / was a little taken aback
| asked her where, and she said. In
| the Little Pilgrim. How did she
J her Her name was Anna Dawes.
and she is eight years old. Her father
| is member"
This was written in 1853 Here is an
other of the same year:
! Mr.. Wood was sitting in DE.
| Gales office and heard Mr. Morse
| Prof. Morse the telegraph man, read
| ing my Atlantic story aloud to the
| female Gales, and saying that he
should like to see that young lady.
/ Well. two or three days after. as 1
: was coming home from my walk, /
| saw Mr.. Wood standing out by DIR.
| Gales door talking with a gentleman.
! j expected he would see me and poke
along after me, as he always does.
So ! didn't see him. l marched along
on the other side of the street when l
| heard him calling, Mary! Mary
| Dodge!' But l didn't hear him. The
! good soul was not to be wheedled in
| that way, though, SO he came stTidng
| across the street after me. and said
| he wanted to introduce me TO a friend.
| ] scolded and stormed. but the friend.
who was the veritable Prof Morse.
| was already half across the street, so
| / choked off my mad, looked as 'sm-
| ing as a summer morn, went up 10
| him and said. Mr.. Morse, l cant bear
| 10 be introduced to people, so l am
| going TO introduce myself. Then we
| had quite long talk and | liked him
| very much, and he complimented me,
| and ! complimented him, and It was
neck and neck VINO could lay II on lne
| thickest Augusta says she
never saw anybody toot his own horn
| as / do-that tell off puffs as coolly as
| if they were about somebdy else and
| not myself, but do 1t because ! know
If you were here and / were there, |
| should want you to do just the same"
At this time Miss Dodge was twenty
six or twenty-seven years old, occupying
a field entirely new for women, In which
she had to be her own Judge of what was
possible and proper and what was not
| The letters have a certain interest on
| this account, for 1t was a time when
standards of all sorts and many conven-
tions were being turned upside down,