n in this
expressive part of the city's physiognomy. Long ago, he had discovered
that Fifth Avenue smiles or weeps, applauds or hisses, effervesces with
enthusiasm or gazes somberly like the image of despair, revels in
fervent expressions of patriotism or looks with gloomy distrust upon
public affairs--all according to the mood of the dominant portion of New
York's population--those who control the destinies of the huge private
enterprises that are the marvel of the age, and the management of which
means so much in the way of industrial slavery or economic freedom to
the American people.

This evening there was a note of more seriousness in the air than he had
ever before witnessed on this gay thoroughfare. The rush of automobiles
and taxicabs and carriages with beautifully gowned women and
fine-looking men as occupants was as great as ever; the perfectly
groomed New York woman on the sidewalk, with figure and carriage such as
outclasses the women of every other large city in the world, was there
in numbers quite as great as formerly; the Western woman, who had come
on to take New York by storm, or who imagined the acme of human
existence was in New York cafe life, with all of its vulgar display and
raucous manners, was abundantly in evidence.

But over the entire concourse there appeared to drift an atmosphere of
the spiritual, which lifted them from the plane of the Fifth Avenue
crowd of a year and a half before, and impressed him in the same manner
that he had been impressed in the far East by adepts when they gave
public demonstrations of their powers, or conversed with their Chelae
without the medium of written or spoken language.

When he left America the woman suffrage movement in New York was a
subject of more or less ridicule; a few wealthy women had begun to
identify themselves with it, but they were called "faddists" and their
efforts were not taken seriously. It was apparent now that the suffrage
cause had been given the impetus of the world-wide movement that was
reaching the women of all countries, and had changed from a gospel of
tracts to a militant crusade for their share of the duties and
responsibilities of life and the power properly to discharge them. Never
had he seen so many of the real leaders of New York society engaged in
any work, charitable or otherwise, as had taken part in this parade,
marching on foot the full two miles, and often side by side with the
working-women of the city.

He h