on, unless somebody has told her, and did not know that I was
coming. I have heard the facts, and I find it difficult to believe that
so great a wrong could be attempted against a woman, and if the name
of Cynthia Wetherell had meant no more to me than the letters in it I
should have travelled twice as far as Brampton, old as I am, to do my
utmost to right that wrong. I give you my word of honor that I have
never been so indignant in my life. I do not come here to stir up
enmities among you, and I will mention no more names. I prefer to
believe that the prudential committee of this district has made a
mistake, the gravity of which they must now realize, and that they will
reinstate Cynthia Wetherell to-morrow. And if they should not of their
own free will, I have only to look around this meeting to be convinced
that they will be compelled to. Compelled to, my friends, by the sense
of justice and the righteous indignation of the citizens of Brampton."

Miss Lucretia sat down, her strong face alight with the spirit that
was in her. Not the least of the compelling forces in this world is
righteous anger, and when it is exercised by a man or a woman whose life
has been a continual warfare against the pests of wrong, it is well-nigh
irresistible. While you could count five seconds the audience sat
silent, and then began such tumult and applause as had never been seen
in Brampton--all started, so it is said, by an old soldier in the front
row with his stick. Isaac D. Worthington, sitting alone in the library
of his mansion, heard it, and had no need to send for Mr. Flint to ask
what it was, or who it was had fired the Third Estate. And Mr. Dodd
heard it. He may have been in the hall, but now he sat at home, seeing
visions of the lantern, and he would have fled to the palace had he
thought to get any sympathy from his sovereign. No, Mr. Dodd did not
hold the Bastille or even fight for it. Another and a better man gave
up the keys, for heroes are sometimes hidden away in meek and retiring
people who wear spectacles and have a stoop to their shoulders. Long
before the excitement died away a dozen men were on their feet shouting
at the chairman, and among them was the tall, stooping man with
spectacles. He did not shout, but Judge Graves saw him and made up his
mind that this was the man to speak. The chairman raised his hand and
rapped with his gavel, and at length he had obtained silence.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "I am