Blue-grass blade., 1908-07-12
BLUE GRASS BLAI
Marilla NJ. Kicker

girl in the neighborhood. She rode all the
horses bareback, loaded hay, dropped corn,
beans, potato and pumpkin seed. Her
father always said "a girl was as good
a boy and little better. She was passion
ately fcnd of books and when only four
years old she cut the large letters out of
the newspapers and followed her father
around he farm asking him what they
were She could read at five. Her mother
wanted all the children to kneel and pray
at night, Marila sat bolt upright in her lit
tie chair, and looking her mo her in the
face with a determined look, said Il will
not pray Hannah" She called her mother
Hannah when she did not like her. AS
growing child when Marlla would refuse
10 pray or go to church, her mother would
say to her, 'Marilla you are exactly like
your father" and she would reply, yes
Hannah. but You gave me my father and
am entirely satisfied with him" Her books
were her JOY and delight and every evenins
she sat by the kitchen table and by the
light of a whale oil lamp or tallow dip
gathered the knowledge that has made hei
a lea.ler in the world OF thought today. She
became a teacher at sixteen. The last
school she taught she made her pupils read
from different books in the morning instead
of the Bible The G mmitle" came to see
her and told her she must read in the
Bible, so the next morning she said to her
DuDilS, we VIII HOW redu the SldTlllnS
and tirlthf1, account of Jonah whilst he was
soicurner in the submarine hotel" She
came mighty near losing her school several
times Mari'IP was married &c .I0hl Kicker,
2 direct descendant of the great Gen. Kicker
Shaw. Ebert Hubbard says of him THAT
he had discrimination and great good
sense is sure for did he not have brains
CROUCH To marry Marilla? Only an trch-
angel could be a mate for this woman, no
he, n which "a rpSnOn6
empbasis snrr When MGrilla became
widow she studied law and was admitted
70 the Bar Of the Supreme Court of the Dis
trict of Columbia, May -, 1882.
she opened the New Hampshire Bar to
women in July 1890. In 1905 the powers
that be in New Hampshire decided that
woman cannot practice law in that state
and Marilla in her overlooking good humor
wrote to the judge who thus decided "that
inasmucb as she had practiced law for
twentv-three years, fifteen Of them in New
HAMPSHIRE. it reminded her of the private
who struck superior officer and was told
il was against the law for a private to
strike a superior, and the private replied,
but by George, I've done, dun it, and Ma
rilla with an emphatic prefix said to the
Judge I'VE done dun it and what are you
going to do about itT
In Nav 1891 she was admitted to prae
tice before the Supreme Court of tho
United States, and she has won many
cases before that august court She usually
spends her winters in Washington City and
has defended more friendess prisoners
without compensation than all other law
yers practicing at that bar. When she
began practice at the Washington bar
man might be imprisoned for debt some
times for life but this woman of grea,
heart and brain advanced such arguments
against such barbarism that this law is as
dead as chatte slavery in the District of