Fairchild--Women's Club Speeches and Notes (Lucius Fairchild Papers, 1819-1943; Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, Box 88, Folder 6) (Wisconsin Women's History)

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It is a pleasure to me to speak before this department. of the Women's Club. The first meeting of the literature department met at my house soon.

Mrs. J.C. Hopkins read a delightful paper. As you ar [are] to have a review od [of] Mrs. Gertrude Atherton's book, perhaps you would like to know something of her personality. A long time ago I met her in London. She dined with me on a Sunday evening. My meeting with her was in this way. A very intimate friend who was a barister in London, when I wrote him from Italy that I was to be in London in the spring for several weeks, he at once said he would arrange lodgings for me, and presently he rented lodgings below where he lived. He was a widorer [widower] wem vacant and at once I had him arrange to take them for me. They considted [consisted] of a sitting room and two bedrooms, not a boarding house. The woman who kept them was a very good cook, and so when we arrived in Londing [London] my daughter and I we went directly to this place that seemed a home, and dinner was served in our own sitting room. This friend asked if he might bring Mrs. Atherton to dine with us some evening., and I left my card upon Mrs. Atherton and invited her to come. She was a pleasant prson [person] not very fat and not very lien, of medium height, and the most beautiful hair that I almost ever saw. It was very uncommon, not ash color as you some times see hair, nor brown but pure blond hair, very abundant and very simply dressed. Her complection had the delivate [delicate] quality of those with very light hair. Although she did not in the leqst [least] look delicate. We had a pleasant evening. She smoked cigarettes and in those days it was so common to see women smoking as it is at the present time. I met her later two or three years afterwards I met her in Washington at a reception and she seemed not as con ented [contented] as she was in London and had many doubts whether she would go back to London to stay permanetly [permanently]. She has not yet written the Conquerer. I don't exactly approve of rooting out the evil of things In the life of so great a man as Alexander Hamilton. I cannot see what good it ever does and perhaps in this case has done no harm. . Alexander Hamilton has been one of the heroes of my whole life. I have known several of his decendants [descendants] and the men all had the eccentric characteristic that seemed to have belonged to his mother's family. We had in this state a grandson or would he be a great gt ndson [grandson] of Alexander. I think he was the son of Scheiler Hamilton. When he died and the family and children gathered in New York for his funeral, and after the funeral the will was read it was found that he had left out entirely off one of his daughters whom . He did not approve of this daughters's marriage which was a perfectly good marriage to an army officer. Judge Chas. A. Hamilton arose at onee [once] and said this is not fair. I cannot let Mary be cut out of our fathers will. It was a case of noblise oblige and so the will was arranged so that Mary shared with the others. This Judge Hamilton was on the bench for a number of years and he had a favorite dog who was seldon [seldom] separated from him.