n a very
active part in the suffrage movement, I thought I would stay at home
and get ready to implore the committee, having more faith in their
power to render us the desired aid." Mrs. Sargent, with her usual calm
and beautiful philosophy, wrote: "Do not let yourself be troubled. We
can not take down and rebuild without a great deal of dirt and rubbish,
and we must endure it all for the sake of the grand edifice that is to
appear in due time. Work and let work, each in her own way. We can not
all work alike any more than we can look alike. We must not require
impossibilities. All action helps us, it shows life; inaction, we know,
means death. I hope you can be with us next convention. The women of
this country and of the world owe you a debt they never can repay. I
know, however, that you will get your reward."

Virginia L. Minor sent this earnest plea: "Can not you and Mrs.
Stanton, before another convention, manage in some way to civilize our
platform and keep off that element which is doing us so much harm? I
think the ship never floated that had so many barnacles attached as has
ours.... I have a compliment for you, my dear. Wendell Phillips has
just told a reporter of the St. Louis Post that, 'of all the advocates
of the woman's movement, Miss Anthony stands at the head.'"

In her usual racy style Phoebe Couzins concluded her description by
saying: "It seems very strange that when you are not about, things
generally break loose and no woman can be found who unites the
moderation, brains and common sense necessary to carry matters to a
respectable conclusion. That meeting was like those they used to have
in the District of Columbia. Not until the National Association, in the
persons of Mrs. Stanton and yourself, came to the rescue and raised
them to a dignified standard did they attain any degree of hearing from
the thoughtful people of the capital." And so Miss Anthony determined
that no lecture bureau should keep her away from another National
convention.

The entire year of 1878, with the exception of the three summer months,
was spent in the lecture field. On July 19 Miss Anthony and other
workers arranged a celebration at Rochester of the thirtieth
anniversary of the first woman's rights convention. This was held in
place of the usual May Anniversary in New York and was attended by a
distinguished body of women. The Unitarian church, in spite of the
intense heat, was filled with a representative audience.