n made a forcible speech in their favor
and they were passed unanimously, to the utter amazement and
discomfiture of President Davies.

She went home well satisfied with her work, and completed preparations
for the Whole World's Temperance Convention, which was held in New
York, September 1 and 2. Her zeal is amusingly illustrated by her
proposal to invite Victor Hugo and Harriet Martineau to speak. It was a
splendid assemblage, addressed by the leading men and women of the day,
the large hall packed at every session, the audience sitting hour after
hour, orderly but full of earnestness and enthusiasm. The New York
Tribune said of it: "This has been the most spirited and able meeting
on behalf of temperance that ever was held."

The men's convention has a different record. New York, in the month of
September, 1853, was in a whirlwind of excitement. The first World's
Fair of the United States was in progress and people had gathered from
all parts of this and other countries. In order to reach these crowds,
many conventions had been called to meet in this city, among them the
two Temperance, the Anti-Slavery and the Woman's Rights. The Whole
World's Temperance and the Anti-Slavery closed just in time for the
opening of the World's Temperance and the Woman's Rights meetings. Rev.
Antoinette Brown was appointed a delegate from two different societies
to the World's Temperance Convention and, although they had every
reason to believe that no woman would be received, it was decided to
make the attempt in order to show their willingness to co-operate with
the men's associations in temperance work.

Wendell Phillips accompanied her to Metropolitan Hall, where she handed
her credentials to the secretary and, after they were passed upon, the
president, Neal Dow, informed her that she was a member of the
convention. Later, when she arose to speak to a motion, he invited her
to the platform and then pandemonium broke loose. There were cries of
"order," "order," hisses, shouts of "she shall not speak," and above
all the voice of Rev. John Chambers, who, pointing his finger at her,
cried over and over, "Shame on the woman!" Miss Brown stood an hour and
a half on the platform, in the midst of this bedlam, not because she
was anxious to speak, but to establish the principle that an accredited
delegate to a world's convention should not be denied the right of
speech on account of sex; but she was finally compelled to leave the
hall.