142

A WORD
WITH THE WOMEN

(By Elia W. Peattie.)

The garden flowers are almost gone,
but a few of the late ones are still in
bloom, and will be very welcome at the
flower mission. Mrs. Hoagland wishes
her friends to know that no contribution
of flowes will be too small. There
are a few suff suffering persons whom she
particularly wishes to present with
flowers this week.

The frist manscript prepared by Alfred
Tennyson, and his brother is still in
existence, and lies in a little box at
Louth, Two or three times a year it is
reverently lifted from is place of safety,
examined and replaced. The title of
this manuscript is "Poems by Two
Brothers," and it was published in
March, 1827. Perhaps it would never
have got into print but for the interests
which an old family servant took in the
writings of his younf masters. With
them writing was only a diversion, but
the desire for seeing the name of his
his well-belowed young friends in print
fired the breast of the old servant, and
he induced them to send the manuscript
to the published. Charles and
Alfred took the manuscript to J. & J.
Jackson of Louth, who after reading
the poems consented to purchase the
poems of $50. Typographically speaking,
the little volume is poor. It appears
without the names or initials of the
authors, nor is there any means of telling
which poems were written by Alfred
and which by Charles. A well preserved
copy of this book is not worth
$500 and had brought that price.

It is strange that the manscript
should have preserved. It was,
however, and is said to be very poor
manuscript indeed, from a printer's
point of view. It is written
in the chiography of the respective
authors and in scratchy characters.
It covers both sides of the paper.
Sometimes the apges are disfigured
by rude, school boy charcters. On some
pages whole verses have been struck
out by heavy back lines running in all
directions: The lines overrun a good
deal, and as many verses as possible are
crowded into each page. On one small
sheet of note paper the writer has managed
to crush no less than ninety-one
lines. This boyish manyscript-prepared
in a house where there was evidently a
greater abundance of idea than of note
paper-is now, of course, priceless.

Mrs. Eva A. Weed of Brooklyn is
known as a "daughtswoman." She has
received an appointment as assistant in
the draughting department of the bureau
of sweres in that city, having
taken the civil service examination a
few months ago with 180 men and eclipsing
them with her average of 94. Mrs.
Weed is but 25 years of age, and a
very attractice and vivacious woman.
She has had a lifelong experience in
draughting. Her father was a city engineer,
and she grew up with a draughtsman's
tool for her playing. When she
was of the proper age she took the
course at the Cooper insitute.

Massachusettes have anovel campaign
this year. It is over the question of
women sufferage, using the referendum
to decide the question The last legislature
passed an act giving to all persons
qualified to vote for school committees
an opportunity to express their opinion
at the election as to whether or not it
be expedient for women to be given the
municipal franchise. In casting this
ballot the vote of the women are to be
kept separate from the men, in order to
arrive at the desire of the women.