ONE morning in the summer of 1906 I took up the newspaper and saw that my brother-in-law, Michael Anagnos, had died in Rumania, after a brief illness.
The news was sad indeed for us; we were attached to him not only for his own sake, but for that of our sister Julia and of our father as well. With his death the close connection which had existed between the Howe family and the Institution for the Blind during nearly three-quarters of a century came to an end. It was the beginning of a new era! The removal of the Institution to Watertown, which shortly followed, emphasized the loss.
South Boston had now become so closely built as to make this change desirable. But my heart felt a dreadful pang6 at the abandonment of the beloved old Institution, dear to us from a thousand associations—the house where I was born!
The early story of Michael Anagnos was a romantic one. There was the unkind stepmother of tradition and the devoted7 great-grandmother who brought him up. When, in hunting for birds’ eggs, his thumb was bitten by the serpent already in the nest, this valiant8 soul bound the wounded member tightly with her gold chain, then sucked the poison from it. If he indulged in some boyish mischief9, she would shake her head and say, “Aha! I told the ‘Papa’ he did not duck your head under thoroughly10 when he baptized you!” (In the Greek Orthodox Church baptism is by immersion11.)
Like David of old, little Michael tended his father’s flocks, but the passion of the boy, true to the instincts of his race, was for education. He studied by the light of a pine torch, and copied out the school-books he could not afford to buy. By dint13 of extreme frugality14 he was able to complete his studies at the University of Athens.
For a time he was engaged in newspaper work and interested in politics. Then he met my father and became his assistant in ministering to the suffering Cretan exiles in Athens.
The story goes on like a true romance. Young Anagnos, accompanying Doctor Howe to America, struggled valiantly15 with the difficulties attending transplantation to a foreign soil, but finally overcame them all.
“You say you have only five vowels16 in English. You really have twenty-six,” he would plaintively17 remark.
How his faithfulness and tireless industry won one step after another, how he married sister Julia and succeeded my father as director of the Institution, has been already told.
It was indeed a triumph for a foreigner to win the appointment to such a responsible position in the conservative town of Boston.
He abundantly justified18 the trust reposed19 in him, devoting his whole soul and his considerable talents to the task. His signal success, like that of his predecessor20, has become a part of the proud record of the state of Massachusetts.
The two men were very unlike. Doctor Howe was essentially21 a leader, original in thought, quick and daring in action, yet possessing great patience.
The work of the pioneer was eminently22 congenial to him. He laid the foundations of the education for the blind in this country on such broad lines, he so thoroughly thought out and left on record the principles governing it, that his reports are considered educational classics. Hence his successor took up a work already well established. The task of Anagnos was to administer and to enlarge. For this he was admirably fitted. He greatly augmented23 the work of the printing in embossed letters, by raising a Howe Memorial Fund, largely increasing, also, the financial assets of the Institution.
His most striking achievement was the foundation and maintenance of a kindergarten for the blind, the first of its kind in the world. Both he and sister Julia were extremely fond of children. She had been greatly interested in the enterprise, but died while it was still in its infancy24. Her last words were, “Take care of the little blind children.”
Anagnos made very full reports of the work under his charge. After the death of my sister it fell to my lot to go through these in order to make sure that the English idioms, so difficult for a foreigner to catch, were all correct. Thus for some twenty years it was my annual task to criticize “Michael’s” reports.
The great, square, brown paper envelopes in which these were contained, directed in my brother-in-law’s beautiful copper-plate hand, were sometimes greeted with groans25 on their arrival. For they were due at a season of the year when I was very busy.
Yet the work was very helpful to me, because it called for careful consideration of the reasons for or against certain forms of speech. With the prepositions we had special difficulty. Anagnos, too, as a true Oriental, possessed26 a very flowery style which it was necessary to prune27 and restrain in order to adapt it to our cold New England climate. At first he would pile metaphor28 upon metaphor and add simile29 to simile until his sober Puritan sister-in-law stood aghast. We had special difficulties with the obituaries30 of deceased benefactors31 of the Institution, whose virtues32 his gratitude33 painted in the most glowing colors. To have excellent but matter-of-fact Boston citizens compared to spreading oak-trees of benevolence34 seemed to me a trifle incongruous. I also demurred35 to “the Ark of the Institution keeping step in the march of progress.”
Looking back on the matter now, I am inclined to think my brother-in-law knew human nature better than I did. My work in cutting down the adjectives of encomium36 was perhaps supererogatory.
Anagnos found it on the whole very satisfactory. My use of English was the best in the family, he averred—but then he was a foreigner!
To his countrymen he was always ready to lend a helping37 hand. On the wall of his sitting-room38 hung an immense piece of canvas showing a ruined Greek temple, done in cross-stitch—“All there is to show, my dear, for two thousand dollars!”
He had lent this sum to a compatriot desiring to engage in the confectionery business. It is not probable that he often lost money in this way, for the Greeks are a thrifty39 race.
He was deeply interested in the war between Turkey and Greece. I could appreciate the eloquence40 of his address to his fellow-countrymen, even though no word was intelligible41 to me. When he seized their national flag and waved it they burst into applause.
It was wonderful to hear the ancient language spoken as a living tongue.
One could fancy how it must have sounded from the lips of Demosthenes. When Anagnos at his desk added up a column of figures he would occasionally murmur43 their Greek names. Thus the shades of the old classic world seemed to brood above the prosaic44 office-table of our day!
A great meeting in Music Hall, held in honor of his memory, testified to the affection and respect in which he was held. Here, also, the Old and New Worlds mingled45, a priest of the Greek Church, robed in mourning, taking part in the ceremonies; at a memorial function held by his fellow-countrymen funeral sweetmeats were given to those present.
Having devoted his life to the service of his adopted country, Anagnos bequeathed his fortune to the cause of education in his native land. He founded two schools for girls in Epiros, naming them for his mother.
Our trip to Europe had given my husband a much-needed rest from care, and his health had improved correspondingly.
But from the time he was sixteen, when his brother entered the union army, his lifelong habit had been to take more than his share of responsibility and, sparing those around him, to work to the limit of his strength, often beyond it. We did induce him to relax his efforts somewhat, but his unselfish nature and gallant46 spirit alike urged him to go on with the work of his arduous47 profession, that of the law.
He returned from the office, one Saturday, apparently48 in his usual health. But some over-exertion in working in the garden brought on an attack which ended fatally in a few hours. Thus he died literally49 in harness.
I said to myself, “I have let a most precious jewel slip through my fingers.” How much I had been sheltered and shielded by my husband’s devotion, what his affection had meant to me during thirty-six years of married life, I now realized for the first time.
The suttee of the Indian widow, formerly50 incomprehensible, I began to understand. Fortunately, there was much work for me to do. Our daughter had returned from her art studies in Paris a year before, in order to give her father, whose health we knew to be precarious51, the pleasure of her companionship.
She already had a studio in Plainfield, but New York afforded a much better opening. The charge of the moving she assumed, since it would have been simply impossible for me to empty the house of the accumulations of fourteen years in the two weeks at our disposal.
She is a young woman of great resolution, and somehow we accomplished52 the job. We took an apartment in Washington Square and a studio in the old Stokes Building. The latter Caroline arranged charmingly, after the fashion of artists. Here we received our friends. I enjoyed this glimpse into the art world and managed to pick up a few gleanings of knowledge.
It was essential, however, that daughter’s painting should help with the bread and butter, so “one-man shows” became a part of my education. She had an exhibition at the rooms of the Civic53 League in New York, and two in successive summers, at houses lent us for the purpose, in Newport. Here we had more friends than in the great city, and we had the powerful assistance of sister Maud, ever generous in helping others. Many pictures were sold, to our joy, though I sometimes hated to part with them. A little maternal54 partiality no doubt entered into this affection for my daughter’s paintings. But they certainly had charm, especially when a number were gathered together.
My mother was still living and the summer studio was under her hospitable55 roof at “Oak Glen.” Here it was a great pleasure to see the work grow under Caroline’s hands and to recognize the familiar and beloved island landscape, somewhat disguised by the requirements of art.
Here, too, she painted the portrait of her grandmother, studying closely the ever-changing face and sparing her subject as much as possible the tedium56 of sittings. A studio is the most delightful57 place in the world to those in sympathy with the artist. Here we have beauty, life, growth, creation, and, where a painter is concerned, the warmth and joy of color!
Those were happy days, yet there were moments when I remembered that canvases and paints are dead things, compared with living human companionship. Therefore, when my daughter became engaged to be married to the Rev58. Hugh Birckhead I knew that she had chosen wisely. Doubtless to all mothers the marriage of an only daughter, even under the very brightest auspices59, is an occasion of mingled joy and sorrow. We rejoice at the new happiness; we regret the ending of the old home life and intimate companionship. In the midst of the strange confusion of feeling, on the great day, I did not fail to observe the gallant bearing of the groom60 as he came down the chancel steps to meet the bride, who looked her very best. Yet I was very near to tears. All that saved me from them was the comic look of a chorister marching in the wedding procession, a stout61, short man with a round face and an open mouth that looked like the letter O. Since that time I have never quite liked Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March.”
Without my daughter’s companionship life proved lonely. After a year of it the youngest son came to his mother’s rescue, proposing that we should keep house together, at High Bridge, New Jersey, where his work was.
“But, my dear, are you sure you want me? Would not you rather continue bachelor housekeeping with your young friends?”
He was very sure he did want Mother, evidently sharing my opinion that family life, even of two, is better than the existence of six or eight young men without any womankind. We took up our residence in the late Crucible62 Club—so named for the connection of its inmates63 with the steel industry. With a sigh of relief Jack64 laid aside the cares of the establishment, which had naturally fallen upon him. (He has his father’s talent for taking responsibilities off the shoulders of others.) He protested that he was willing to eat anything for dinner, provided he did not have to order it!
High Bridge is a picturesque65 New Jersey borough66, some fifty-odd miles from New York. It is situated67 among the hills of the northwestern part of the state, four hundred feet above sea-level. To those knowing only the flatlands of eastern Jersey, this region with its rolling country and lovely views comes as a surprise.
The town, considered from an economic standpoint, consists principally of the Taylor-Wharton Iron and Steel Company. This patriarchal institution was established in the eighteenth century by the Taylor family and still continues under their jurisdiction68. It has grown from a small iron-foundry into a plant with branches in other towns employing three thousand men in all. Its one hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary has recently been celebrated69.
Every one living in the village is either connected in some way with the steel-plant or keeps a shop to supply the wants of the workers. The latter are of a class not commonly employed in such industries at the present day. There are some Hungarians and other foreigners, but the great backbone71 of the establishment consists of American men and women. Many of these have their own homes in the surrounding country, coming to work in the Ford12 cars which have nearly driven out the primeval High Bridge buggy. It is a proud boast of the company that there have been practically no strikes in its history.
In little gate-houses and other odd places one sees the figures of quaint old men, still employed for little services instead of being flung into the discard. The Taylor Company has proved that kindness of heart helps rather than hinders success in business. Old retainers, here as elsewhere, sometimes take advantage of their position, but on the whole the system works well.
The great distance from the metropolis72 and the small measure of railroad communication tend to isolate73 the village. If you miss a train you may be obliged to wait four hours for the next. All these conditions tend to produce quaint characters and a unique use of English.
In High Bridge we are very careful never to say seen under any circumstances, substituting the elegant phrase, “I have saw.” Persons of a weakly constitution are held to lack “stamania,” while “financially” is considered more elegant than “finally.” If we wish to postpone74 a trip, we “refer” it till to-morrow.
The combinations in shopkeeping are also out of the common. To have a barber sell oysters75 and ice-cream, and a clothier act as optician, surprises the city resident. High Bridge has an atmosphere all its own. One becomes readily attached to the quaint little town.
My son’s business calling him to New York, we spent some winters there, settling this time in Stuyvesant Square near old St. George’s Church.
I was soon drawn76 into the maelstrom77 of the old, beloved work. The Twelfth Assembly District, familiarly known as “Charlie Murphy’s,” was clamoring for a leader of the Woman Suffrage party. Mrs. Frederick Gillette, who had conducted its affairs with great ability and signal devotion, absolutely refused to take office again, as her health would not permit it. Her predecessor, the first leader, a lovely woman idolized by her fellow-suffragists, had died in harness! I was on the wrong side of sixty and had been advised by the doctor to take life quietly.
Putting aside all misgivings78 as to possible fatal results, I accepted the office. A new r?le was now before me, for modern suffrage activities have opened a field of effort very different from that of our earlier experience in New Jersey.
Instead of expecting the people to come to us, we now went to them—opening “suffrage shops,” as the temporary headquarters are called; speaking at street corners; visiting our neighbors in their own homes; last but not least, watching at the polls, both inside and out. The canvassing was the most interesting of all, when we had once gathered the courage to do it ourselves. It was by no means so difficult as we had feared.
We had full directions from the finely organized parent association, the Woman Suffrage party, and the neighboring twenty-fifth district launched us on our task. Then we used our own mother wits. Team-work and a supplementary79 supper were found to be essential to the task. This was not only on account of the good-fellowship and the good cheer involved, but also because we ourselves had omitted our own evening meal in order to catch the voters while partaking of theirs!
The good nature and patience of the men, thus interrupted, was pleasant to see. We announced ourselves as representatives of the Woman Suffrage party. A quiet and assured manner, with the absence of all airs and graces, gained us ready admittance. The men fully80 understanding that we came to talk with them as one fellow-citizen with another, received us in a frank and friendly spirit. It is wonderful to see how well we all get on together in these United States, when we meet on this common ground!
Our visits were usually brief. We did not stop to argue long, leaving behind us literature and postal81 cards where the voters were absent. The replies sent on these were, with one or two exceptions, brief and formal. One man of an illogical turn of mind wrote that we were a lot of old maids and should stay at home to mend our husbands’ stockings!
The climbing the stairs of many tenement-houses (voters seemed always to live on the top floor), with halls half-lighted in the early summer evenings, was rather fatiguing82. There was, too, quite a little dirt and occasional evil smells. But the work was extremely interesting. We set out to educate the voters, and in the process educated ourselves, learning a great deal about human nature in general and our neighbors of the district in particular. The dwellings83, poor as they were, were much better than I had anticipated—probably “voters” do not live in the worst class of tenement-houses, leaving these to aliens. We went, however, to localities where, politicians told us afterward84, they were afraid to go themselves.
We were almost always received with courtesy and listened to with respect. We had some amusing experiences. One friend, a middle-aged85 man slightly the worse for drink, tried to explain to us the residence of his sons, the family arrangements being rather complicated. Every now and then he would turn to his good wife and ask her to explain. She stood there, quiet and dignified86, yet evidently mortified87 at her husband’s condition!
Some ladies living in our own apartment-house were amused by our visit. We could hear them afterward describing over the telephone, amid peals88 of laughter, the call of the suffragettes!
The working-people, both men and women, understood the matter. Those whose wives and daughters are as much in the struggle for life as themselves do not take the “pedestal” view of the sex. The fathers, especially, were quick to see the benefit the possession of a vote would bring their girls.
One of my pleasantest visits was to a young Hebrew physician and her family. They were of the intellectual type of their race, while Doctor —— herself was of noble spirit.
When we remember how the glad tidings of the Christian89 religion were first spread by sermons in the open air, when we call to mind Peter the Hermit90 and John Wesley, we see that the soap-box is only a modern representative of a very ancient institution.
“Soap-box” is only a generic91 name nowadays. During our 1915 campaign in New York City, we used automobiles93, or, failing these, borrowed a chair from a neighboring shop.
Perched on this, with our banner of the Twelfth Assembly District waving near by, and with one or two members on hand to distribute literature, collect signatures, and pass the hat, we addressed the public. Permission was obtained beforehand from the police, and an officer was sent to look out for us in case of possible trouble.
Valiant little Corporal Klatschkin did receive a douche of cold water from a neighboring window, but the rest of us had no trouble. The fact of her Hebrew blood, and some incautious criticisms, were responsible for the amenities94 extended to her.
The literally pressing interest of the children on the East Side was flattering, but inconvenient95. They would pack themselves so closely around the speaker, many of them little tots who could hardly understand anything of the address, that we were often obliged to ask for more room. But we, the suffragists, were the show of the hour, and those babies were determined96 to lose no moment of it. Indeed, they were sometimes extended in such a wide circle around us as to place the grown-ups at an inconvenient distance for our voices to reach. From Tompkins Square the boys escorted us and our banner in such a solid phalanx, one evening, as to make it difficult to get on the trolley97. We were sometimes applauded, the majority of the crowd being “with us.” The obligations of hospitality were not so personal as during our domiciliary visits, but we were well received. In the foreign neighborhoods where we spoke42 our audiences were especially quiet, though it is doubtful whether they understood much of the speeches.
In the course of our campaign work people related their woes98 to us or asked us to help them get a job. We were recognized as friends of the people. One man had much to say about the iniquity99 of the women who watched the street workers and reported absences, thereby100 causing a person to lose his job, “when very likely he was somewhere else.” I thought it probable that he was.
We spoke indoors as well as out, notably101 at the Memorial Building of St. George’s Episcopal Church, where we held a debate with the “antis.” Even the Tammany chieftains consented to listen to us in the room of the Anawanda Club. Here we were so fortunate as to secure the help of Mrs. Margaret Chanler Aldrich, a favorite great-niece of my mother’s. They had worked together in the Association for the Advancement102 of Women. Mrs. Aldrich, the treasurer103 of the New York City Woman Suffrage party, is an ardent104 suffragist. She is also strong in the Democratic faith, as becomes the daughter of Mr. Winthrop Chanler. She produced an excellent effect by reminding her hearers that her father had represented this very district in Congress! I prudently105 refrained from mentioning my own political faith.
To hunt the elusive106 politician to his lair107, ascertain108 his views, and, if possible, enlist109 him to our side, was a part of our duties. It was so difficult to do this that we sometimes interviewed him over the telephone. Wherever possible, we arrived as a delegation110 at his office. The appointment once made, we found it well to have plenty of time at our disposal, for the politician may desire to do the talking himself. Then you listen patiently while he tells you his views, or what he wants you to think are his views. I, a black Republican born and bred, have harkened, with outward resignation, to a panegyric111 on the benevolence of Tammany Hall. One man talked to us for half an hour or more, explaining his chivalrous112 feelings toward women. Incidentally he told us of one of our sex who received a salary of three thousand dollars. Whenever he saw her he thought of some man who might have had the job. The chivalry113 of this point of view was not clear to us.
Our reception was always courteous114, sometimes encouraging and sometimes not. We were glad to know the real opinions of the men, even if these were unfavorable. The ignorance in high places about woman suffrage is surprising. People will talk to you about the dangers of the ignorant vote, and in the same breath will make statements showing great ignorance not only of what the ballot115 in the hands of women has accomplished, but of human nature itself. I suspect this ignorance among politicians is wilful116.
Our activities increased as November drew nearer, coming to a climax117 on Election Day. The Legislature had granted us permission to have a watcher at each polling-place then and on the preceding registration118 days. The same leave was given to the “antis,” at their request, but they failed to attend. If they had not demanded the place, we should perhaps have been allowed to fill it. To be the only woman at a polling-booth was a little trying. But we knew that we were fulfilling our duty as citizens, and we felt great confidence in American men. Since the law had given us a right to be at the polls, we were sure we should be protected.
It was part of my duty as leader to make the round of the election precincts. The streets grew very dark and lonely before we reached the outermost119 edge of the “gas-house” district on our tour of inspection120. Evidently this locality, with rare altruism121, gives all its light to others and keeps none for itself!
Driving through the deserted122 streets, we remembered grim stories of this part of the city and rejoiced in the protection of the taxicab. The bright colors of our national flag cheerfully illuminated123 the window of the polling-place, reminding us of our citizenship124 in the greatest country of the world!
With a bearing intended to show great confidence I passed through the little knot of men gathered at the door and entered the barber’s shop. Was not one of my lambs clothed with due authority from the Empire State there as watcher? It was “up to the leader” to see that all was going well with her. At the end of the long table farthest from the door sat Mrs. V——. (To prevent hysterics on the part of the “antis” it should be said that she was a grandmother and that the duties of her home were attended to by her grown daughter.)
“Everything going all right?”
“Yes, indeed. I’ve been treated with every courtesy. Let me introduce you to the chairman of the board, Mr. ——.”
I looked about for the filthy125 pool of politics, but could not discover any. Several men were busily writing in enormous books, in regular Alice in Wonderland style. A policeman clothed with all the majesty126 of the law sat at the other end of the long table. Several candidates for registration stood in line, awaiting their turn, while the man at the head of it struggled through the third degree. The floating population of New York sometimes finds difficulty in recalling where it lived and voted from a year ago!
Everything in and about the place was as quiet and orderly as possible. Gentlemen seemed to find it more convenient to smoke outside! Yet our women have made no objection to tobacco.
At another election district I found that the watcher in charge was on such good terms with her election board that they had regaled her with the strains of the victrola and a cup of tea!
On the great day itself we were “on the job” before the opening of the polls at six o’clock. I started on my round of the twenty-one districts in the cold dusk of the winter morning, finding all the watchers in their places. We visited them a second and a third time in the course of the day. At only one polling-place had the men in charge made any trouble for us. There they did not want the watcher to go behind the bar, but as this was her undoubted right they eventually yielded. The day was clear, but raw and windy. The political atmosphere was also less balmy on this day of the struggle. The Tammany leaders were less cordial than earlier in the campaign, and on some faces a suspicion of a frown lurked127. We were treated with all courtesy, however, and some of the gentlemen were so gallant as to help me in and out of the automobile92.
This was the first Election Day when women were given the authority to visit the polls and watch the count in the metropolis. We had not yet won the vote, but we were the advance-guard of victory! It was a most interesting experience and I greatly enjoyed it. Our Twelfth Assembly District had been thoroughly canvassed128. Every registered voter had been called upon and duplicate lists of those in our favor had been compiled. One copy was given each watcher, that she might check off the names as the men came into the polls. The other copy was reserved for those who were later in the day, to “get out the vote.” It would seem that there are always indolent or tardy129 freemen who have to be reminded of their privilege of casting a ballot, before the day draws to a close.
This duty is assigned by politicians to youths, and here as elsewhere we took advantage of their experience. Election Day being a holiday, we found it difficult to procure130 boys. Some made promises—then failed to appear. My son Henry came to the rescue with two squads131 of bright, active lads, his pupils from the High School of Commerce. Armed with the lists and led by two adult women workers, the boys started off in excellent spirits. The neighborhoods visited were much impressed. Beholding132 the boys and the decorated automobiles, they exclaimed, “Tammany has nothing on the Woman Suffrage party.” Tammany Hall and the home of “Charlie” Murphy are both in the Twelfth Assembly District.
Our watchers stuck faithfully to their posts until the count was completed—their long day’s work having extended from six in the morning till nine, ten, and eleven o’clock at night.
As they came one after another into our temporary headquarters and announced the result, district by district, it was evident that we had lost. But the American women had been invited to enter the sacred precincts of the polling-place and given authority to watch the returns. November 6, 1915, was a historic day in the Empire State, marking the beginning of a new era.
Among the many faithful workers in the Twelfth Assembly District, one who overcame difficulties insuperable to most women deserves special mention. This was Mrs. Clara Deutsch. As the wife of a young physician beginning practice and the mother of a little girl of four she had many domestic cares. She did her own housework, helped her husband administer anesthetics, and yet found time to do excellent service in the suffrage cause.
“Yes, I can help on Thursday, since you need me badly. Mrs. ——, the wife of the Methodist minister, will take care of Mary for me. She has five children of her own and is expecting a sixth, so one more makes little difference. She is a good suffragist, too, so by keeping Mary she also will be helping the cause that day.”
If more contributions were called for than she could well afford, Mrs. Deutsch would say, cheerfully: “That is all right. We’ll go without dessert for a time.” Mrs. Deutsch had been a trained nurse and thus had learned how to do and to plan. No matter at what hour I called to see her she always appeared at the door looking as neat as a pin. She was a handsome young woman, tall and powerfully built; strong, yet tender to the sick and weak. No one was more eminently fitted than she to carry our banner in a suffrage parade.
We had college graduates and women of wealth among our members. Ours is a truly democratic cause in which riches and social position are held to be of secondary importance.
Four days after the election the youngest son who had been my housemate for five years took unto himself a bride, thus giving me a third daughter-in-law who was to become, like the others, very dear to me.
It was evidently wise to allow the young couple to start housekeeping for themselves, hence, while they were still on their honeymoon133, I set out on a long-deferred trip to California. As I closed the door of our house behind me, again it seemed that a new page in life had been turned!
The visit to the Pacific coast was indeed a delightful experience. I enjoyed every moment of the journey in both directions, and of my stay under the hospitable roof of our dear cousins, Joseph and Louisa Mailliard. Time fails me in which to tell of the beauties of the International Exposition (the “P.-P. I. E.”), the marvels134 of the Grand Ca?on of the Colorado, or the wonderful glimpse of the Pacific shore. The glory of that matchless surf, as the long line of distant waves tossed their splendid crests135 beneath the opaline light of an afternoon sun covered with soft gray clouds, was a thing never to be forgotten.
In 1916 I was invited to come to Newport to assist my sister, Mrs. Maud Howe Elliott, president of the Newport County Woman Suffrage League, during the summer. She had greatly increased its membership and broadened its activities, but was, at the moment, heavily burdened with other matters of importance. Hence I was appointed executive secretary and put in charge of the work of the society.
My recent experience in New York enabled me to organize this along the lines so admirably laid out by the Woman Suffrage party of that city. Especial emphasis was laid on canvassing, which politicians consider of great importance. In preaching a new cause like ours, it is indispensable, for we are obliged not only to round up the members of a party as the Republicans and Democrats136 do, but to explain its doctrines137 and increase its membership.
The women at Newport were more timid about canvassing than their New York sisters. The summer capital is a very conservative place, and the question, “What will my friends and acquaintances say?” is more vital than in a big city where no one knows and few care what their neighbors do.
A corps138 of good workers was finally enlisted139. Our canvassing luncheons140 proved a decided141 success, especially where the hostess possessed an attractive villa70 and garden. Our calls were made, for the most part, on persons of moderate means. Few of the rich people have their permanent residence in Newport, hence do not vote there. It is also easier to canvass4 among the former, because no supercilious142 flunky, anxious to guard his mistress from unwelcome visitors, comes to the door. It is opened, instead, by the voter’s wife, with whom one can at once establish pleasant relations, unless the baby is crying. In that case it is kinder not to detain her.
Friends often lent us their automobiles, the distances being much greater than in our densely143 inhabited district in New York. Instead of high tenement-buildings we found two-story wooden houses where our chats took place at the open doorway144. Altogether it was pleasant work, chiefly among women, the men being usually absent from home. We assured them that the possession of the franchise145 did not necessitate146 deserting the home, and explained its advantages. It is strange that, after nearly seventy years of agitation147, the question of woman suffrage should still be considered so mysterious! We found most of our hearers open to conviction where their opinions were not already favorable to us. Many names were secured for our yellow (favorable) slips, and only a few for the white (undecided); still fewer for the blue (opposed).
Our labor148 was repaid a hundredfold by the victory of our cause a few months later. For our formidable list of persons favorable to suffrage was copied on a catalogue of imposing149 proportions and presented to the Rhode Island Legislature. It was one of the arguments which persuaded them to grant the presidential franchise to the women of the state in 1917. In New York, while our stirring campaign of 1915 met temporary defeat, it paved the way for the great victory of November, 1917, when the women of the Empire State won full citizenship.
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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suffrage
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| n.投票，选举权，参政权 | |
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| v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论 | |
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5
canvassing
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| v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的现在分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查 | |
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6
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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7
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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8
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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9
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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11
immersion
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| n.沉浸；专心 | |
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12
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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13
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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14
frugality
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| n.节约，节俭 | |
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valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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16
vowels
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| n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 ) | |
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17
plaintively
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| adv.悲哀地，哀怨地 | |
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18
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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19
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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21
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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22
eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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23
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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24
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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25
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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26
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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27
prune
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| n.酶干；vt.修剪，砍掉，削减；vi.删除 | |
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28
metaphor
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| n.隐喻，暗喻 | |
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29
simile
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| n.直喻，明喻 | |
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30
obituaries
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| 讣告，讣闻( obituary的名词复数 ) | |
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31
benefactors
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| n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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33
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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34
benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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35
demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
encomium
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| n.赞颂；颂词 | |
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37
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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38
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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39
thrifty
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| adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的 | |
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40
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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41
intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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42
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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43
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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44
prosaic
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| adj.单调的，无趣的 | |
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45
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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46
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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47
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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48
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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49
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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50
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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51
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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52
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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53
civic
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| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
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54
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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55
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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56
tedium
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| n.单调；烦闷 | |
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57
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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58
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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59
auspices
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| n.资助，赞助 | |
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60
groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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62
crucible
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| n.坩锅，严酷的考验 | |
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63
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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64
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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65
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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66
borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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67
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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68
jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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69
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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70
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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71
backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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72
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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73
isolate
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| vt.使孤立，隔离 | |
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74
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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75
oysters
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| 牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 ) | |
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76
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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77
maelstrom
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| n.大乱动；大漩涡 | |
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78
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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79
supplementary
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| adj.补充的，附加的 | |
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80
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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81
postal
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| adj.邮政的，邮局的 | |
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82
fatiguing
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| a.使人劳累的 | |
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83
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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84
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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85
middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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86
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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87
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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88
peals
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| n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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89
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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90
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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91
generic
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| adj.一般的，普通的，共有的 | |
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92
automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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93
automobiles
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| n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 ) | |
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94
amenities
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| n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快 | |
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95
inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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96
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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97
trolley
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| n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车 | |
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98
woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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99
iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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100
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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101
notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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102
advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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103
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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104
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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105
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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106
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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107
lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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108
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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109
enlist
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| vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍 | |
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110
delegation
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| n.代表团；派遣 | |
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111
panegyric
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| n.颂词，颂扬 | |
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112
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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113
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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114
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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115
ballot
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| n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票 | |
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116
wilful
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| adj.任性的，故意的 | |
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117
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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118
registration
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| n.登记，注册，挂号 | |
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119
outermost
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| adj.最外面的，远离中心的 | |
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120
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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121
altruism
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| n.利他主义，不自私 | |
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122
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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123
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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124
citizenship
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| n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份) | |
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125
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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126
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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127
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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128
canvassed
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| v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的过去式和过去分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查 | |
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129
tardy
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| adj.缓慢的，迟缓的 | |
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130
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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131
squads
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| n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍 | |
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132
beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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133
honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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134
marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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135
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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136
democrats
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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137
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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138
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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139
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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140
luncheons
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| n.午餐，午宴( luncheon的名词复数 ) | |
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141
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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142
supercilious
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| adj.目中无人的，高傲的；adv.高傲地；n.高傲 | |
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143
densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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144
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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145
franchise
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| n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权 | |
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146
necessitate
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| v.使成为必要，需要 | |
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147
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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148
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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149
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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