The times., 1901-03-17
MRS. M'GAHAN.
The Woman who Tells Russia All
About is.

Living quietly in New York, so quietly
that she is not even a member of a
woman's club, is lady who fills the i'm
portant post Of political correspondent in
the United States for q leading Russian
journal. The journal is the 'MOskOvskya
viedomosti." the lady Mrs. Barbara Mac
Gahan, widow of the war correspondent,
]. A. MacGahan.
At the close of the Franco-Prussian
war MacGahan, who had been with the
French army as reporter for the New
York Herald. went to the Crimea for
breathing spell. The Crimea is the Ri
viera of the Russians. There till jan
uary l the weather is warm ana dellSht-
full 1t was to the Crimea that the Rus
sian Gar went during mis- convaleseence
last autumn. There MacGahan mingled
in society and met many Russians OF the
upper class. There, too, he met his fate
in a Young lady of noble family VINO nad
come with her relatives from their nome
near Moscow for the autumn;
Il never cared much Tor DOCKS. sne
remarks of herself, says Cara Brans-
cornbe in the Columbus Press-Post- /
don't think much of book education, any
how Ii makes a girl priggish. Although
she denies being educated in the common
meaning of the word, Mrs. MacGahan
knows famliarly four languageS-ner ma
tive tongue. French, English, and Ger
man. Her husband wrote out his war
letters and sent them by courier from
the mountains TO her at Biarrltz Ihey
were in English The trench teiesrdph
operators refused TO cable the cOrrespon-
dence unless IL was translated into their
language. Consequently every one OF
MacGahan'S letters had to be turned
into French by his wife and then cabieo
To New York where they were rendered
back into English before publication Al
ter Mrs MacGahan translated her nus
bands war dispatches she was aeeulS 'l-.il-
toned to prepare a summary IN RuSslan
and telegraph IL to the st petersburg
Goios.' Thus she became war CORE
spondent by proxy. ,-,-,
struggle began in 1871 and to the front
went MacGahan, his brilliant young Rus-
sian wife with him, camping out. asSoclat-
ing with the war correspondents OF al Id-
lions learning. enjoying, suffering. but
never whining What an education IL was
for the girl! No wonder the woman does
not think too highly Of book learning;
.Rut | saw none Of the glory ana eN-
citernent of war" said she. Il was IN the
rear. where l saw all the suffering the
wounded the sick, the dying.
Among these helping all she could, MTs.
MacGaban worked. AT last came the
thuuderboIt that shattered even such do
mestfc life as she had enjoyed Her Ia
nous young husband was stricken WIN
black typhus before ConstanunopIe ana
Mrs. MacGahan was already a full
fedged newspaper writer. and a successLui
one The st. Petersburg GOIoS sent Tor
change editor. She filed this post TIL
1850 Then the paper sent her 10 the
United States TO report the Garileld cam
paien. and here she has been most Of the
time since. Her son, now a fine young
man, is an electrical engineer and an
American citizen.
The name "GoIos'' means words. and
the words of the Coles became presently
too hot for the Russian GOTernme mt,
which accordingly suppressed them and
it, Another journal then secured Mrs.
MacGahan's services. She reports for her
paper economic, social. and political
movements in the United States. These
matters interest her more than any 9th
ers LingUist. writer, traveller. and OBJ
server. she understands herself and 9TH
ers. Keen-eyed critical and logical, she
watches our public events, and her bril-
liant Russian intellect sometimes catches
the undertOW in American politics and
society before we feel il ourselves. She
makes and holds friends among the lead
ers of ali ranks from the Socialist To the
official of a trust. She reports for the
newspaper readers OF the worlds greatest
despotism the experiment of self-gOveru-
ment in the worlds greatest Republic.