Arthur Gleason to Leila Seward Gleason, May 4, 1906

Your letter of arrival at hand.

Jane Addams is a wonderful, slightly unlovable woman. The three of us had dinner together -- Paul Gilbert, she & I. She lives in a whirlpool. In the few minutes of eating, perhaps seven urgency calls came to her. Would she get a man pardoned from [page 2] a life sentence? Yes.

Will she meet two society women at 10.30 a.m.? No. "I meet Bambridge, president of the County Board at 10. I go to Milwaukee at 11."

Facially she resembles Mrs [Humphry]  Ward-- [page 3] the look of the intellectual woman, of a [Brahminical] cast -- a wee bit superior to the race.

She is not fagged out, & [although] in a living in a rush, she isn't rushed. Her power & her sanity save [page 4] her from being driven into a cheap [frenzy].

She lacks a sense of humor, but has a nasty sarcastic way withal. She took falls out of every personality that came up in talk -- Jerome, Reynolds, [page 5] Upton Sinclair.

Her magnetism which is great, is that of a perfect machine, running at full & easy speed. It has no lovely quality in it. Serene womanhood wouldn't be included in her assets. [page 6]

She is much like Lillian Wald. Like her she sits at the [center] of events, & moves men of affairs to remodel legislation & give money.

But she's no Jane Welsh Carlyle, who said "Why do people [page 6] love me so."

She has seen a great constructive concrete vision, & has realized every inch of it into bricks & mortar, & trade school bylaws.

But when you are done with her, you say "A wonderful [page 7] woman," as if it is the performance were of something abnormal.

It isn't a life glad & off-hand like Kipling writing.

It is a piece of virtuosity. She is enjoying it as because on each deal she is [page 8] taking all the tricks. "Oh how [marvelously] I play on people!"

Do you know, & here's the secret out, She doesn't care about people. She doesn't like you. She likes to move you & bend you. She likes to [illegible] [page 9] full of [illegible] but she doesn't care for you. This is no Florence Nightingale, nor bread-feeding legendary nun!

How troubled she would look & empty beside a life -- purpose like Moody's.

The lady is just [page 10] one more consummate trick performer.

She only likes ↑looks↓ one in the eye occasionally & she wears a stoop & forward tilt of the head from constantly speaking into the ear of politicians & getting legislation & into the ear of millionaires and [page 11] getting money.

She Knows all the world's famous men. They all come to Hull House.

Of course, there is no superficial pose, but cold, she is cold, & she has a fine scorn for the human race, & she is fascinated by [page 12] her own spell-casting power.

She is ↑not↓ working from the deeps, & creating a new order. She is ↑not↓ touching the places where lyric poetry [illegible] resides & the motherhood spirit & thinkgs like that. She isn't great. No.