THE LATEST GRAZE.

Temuka Leader, Volume 2, Issue 144, 10 May 1879, Page 2

THE LATEST GRAZE.

To undergo the prolonged torture of a " pedestrian feat " is now one of the most direct roads to fame ; and an Englishwoman—Mrs Anderson—has covered her-

self with glory in America by walling 2700 quarter-miles in as many quarterhours. She began her task in trie Mozirt Beer Garden, Brooklyn, New York, on the 16. h of December, and concluded it on January 13tli. Wie walked <m a track made of Mich length seven times round made exactly quarter of a mile. J On the last day of the performance the- * "wear and tear of her terrible walk was," it is stated, " easily perceived at times in the pallor of her face, her weary steps, and the glassy appearance of her eyes." It is not surprising that she felt somewhat fatigued, for "at one time she appeared dressed as the Goddess of Libertj', with a large silk American flag folded around her person ; in her right hand she carried a small English flag, and in the left the stars and stripes." The flag enveloping her body proved such an impediment to her progress and was so uncomfortable that she was compelled to stop on the track and have it re-arranged. The crush of spectators was so great as to be dangerous, 2000 persons being jammed in a hall built to accommodate only 500. This rendered the atmosphere stifling, and several women present fainted. Nevertheless, in spite of these unfavorable circumstances, Mrs Anderson gallantly paced on, amid deafening applause ; and on being summoned for the 2700th quarter—the last—she "bounded from her room, and fairly flew around the track with a square heel-and-toe movement." Two men ran ahead of her to keep a pathway open through the crowd, and two followed her to see that the open line was not closed v The roaring voices *in the hall drowned "the discordant blowing of the brass band, and when the last quarter-mile was finished, and the time announced as 2min 37fsec, the fastest made during her walk, the uproar was "simply terrific." Mrs Anderson then mounted the stage, and made a short speech. " While men," she said, " were best for seeking danger at the cannon's mouth, she believed women had the most endurance." She concluded by giving "a little advice to women about walking."