The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper CorrespondentBriggs, Emily Edson
History
The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper Correspondent
Briggs, Emily Edson
United States -- Politics and government -- 1865-1933; Washington (D.C.) -- History
Almost hidden from sight in the deep recesses of a window might have
been seen Nellie Hutchinson, of the New York _Tribune_, her piquant
face and tangled hair as saucy and as refreshing as ever, and not
far removed from her was seen another pretty ornament of the press,
in the person of Mrs. McChane, of the Philadelphia _Inquirer_. But,
arranged in a row behind Mrs. Woodhull were a number of women whose
voices have been heard throughout the length and breadth of the land.
At the head of the class stood Mrs. Beecher Hooker--her soft, fleecy
curls tied down with orthodox precision; the curling feathers of
blue harmonizing with her peachy complexion. Her elegantly fitting
coat was embroidered with steel beads, but this had nothing to do
with the suffrage question. Susan B. Anthony snuggled beside her,
clad in a smart new dress of black silk, with velveteen overskirt
and fancy basque. Her spectacles clung to her nose, and she had that
longing, hope-deferred look which humanity always wears when it
has been centered for half a century upon a single idea. Then came
Paulina Davis, her face surmounted by her beautiful snowy curls;
then Mrs. Josephine S. Griffing, the noblest woman in the land. Rev.
Olympia Brown appeared modestly as the “Wall Street firm,” for both
the members were present, and distinguished from the other women in
the room by dress and other characteristics. The firm of Woodhull &
Claflin are clad precisely alike, and call each other “sister.” Their
costume consists in what Miss Kate Stanton pronounces a “business
suit, because they are strictly business women.” These costumes are
made of blue naval cloth, skimp in the skirt. The basque or jacket
has masculine coat-tails behind, but the steeple-crowned hats are the
towering triumph of the most picturesque outfit. The high sugar-loaf
hat has a brigandish dash to it, and the clipped hair underneath
seems to have nipped all the feminine element originally possessed
by this flourishing “firm.” Mrs. Woodhull arose and stood before
the tribunal. She is a medium-sized woman, with a sharp nose, and
thin lips which closed tightly over her white teeth. She apologized
for any hesitancy in her manner, because it was the first time in
her life that she had attempted public speaking. She then read her
printed memorial:
The memorial of Victoria Woodhull to the Honorable the Senate
and the House of Representatives, United States of America, in
Congress assembled, respectfully showeth:
That she was born in the State of Ohio, and is above the age
of twenty-one years; that she has resided in the State of New
York during the past three years; that she is still a resident
thereof, and that she is a citizen of the United States
as declared by the fourteenth article of amendment to the
Constitution of the United States.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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