ith a spark of human feeling could
wish to wound her pride. Our honored President, who reads hearts as
others do open books, clasped this unfortunate sister's hand--and left
in it a bank-note--I do not know of what denomination, but let us hope
it was not a small one. The look of surprise and gratitude that flashed
over that woman's face was worth going far to see, as, speechless with
emotion, the tears streaming down her cheeks, she turned away.

"One might go on multiplying incidents by the hour, did time permit.
There were teachers to be fitted out with suitable clothes before the
opening of the schools; boys and girls needing school-books and shoes,
caps, and jackets; new-born babes to be provided, whose wardrobes,
prepared in advance, had been swept away; mothers of families, destitute
of the commonest conveniences of life, to whom the gift of a pan or
kettle was a godsend; aged people, whose declining years must be
comforted; invalids to be cheered with little luxuries. My greatest
regret is that we had not hundreds of dollars to use for every one that
was expended in these directions."

My stenographer, Miss Agnes Coombs, found her post by me, and sixty to
eighty letters a day, taken from dictation, made up the clerical round
of the office of the president. This duty fell in between attending the
daily meetings of the relief committee and receiving constant calls both
in and out of the city.

Our men made up their living-room at the warehouse. The few women
remained at the hotel, the only suitable place in the town.

Later on arrived a shipload of supplies from the business people of New
York, which were stored with the Galveston committee, and we were asked
to aid in the distribution of these supplies, and to a certain extent we
did, but succeeded in organizing a committee of citizens, ladies and
gentlemen, to carry out and complete this distribution.

From lack of knowledge of the real conditions of the disaster and its
geographical extent, this munificent donation had been assigned to the
"Relief of Galveston," and thus, technically, Galveston had no authority
to administer a pound or a dollar to any communities or persons outside
of the precincts of the city proper. This left at least twenty counties
on the mainland on the other side of the Gulf, some of which were as
badly wrecked and ruined as Galveston itself, without a possibility of
the slightest benefit from this great, generous gift.

Seeing th