a modified and conservative form, the
prevailing styles, and has fought strenuously the repeated efforts to
graft any kind of dress reform on the suffrage movement.

In March, 1854, after getting back into long skirts, Miss Anthony
decided to go to Washington with Mrs. Rose, and see how the propaganda
of equal rights would be received at the capital of the nation. This
was her first visit to that city and she enjoyed it, but the meetings
were not a financial success. Great prejudice existed against Mrs. Rose
on account of her alleged infidelity, there was no interest in the
question of woman's rights, and Washington was not a good field for
lectures of any sort, Congress furnishing all the oratory for which the
public cared. The papers were kind about publishing notices, but with
the exception of the Star, gave no reports. Chaplain Milburn refused to
let them have the Representative chamber for a Sunday lecture, "because
Mrs. Rose was not a member of any church." Miss Anthony replied that
"our country stood for religious as well as civil liberty." He
acknowledged the truth of this but still refused the use of the room.
Then they applied to Professor Henry for permission to speak in the
hall of the Smithsonian Institute, and he told them that "it was
necessary to avoid the discussion of any exciting questions there, and
it would disturb the harmony of feeling for a woman to speak, so he
hoped they would not ask permission of the board of regents." They had
several good audiences, however, while in the city, made many warm
friends and were handsomely entertained at the home of Gerrit Smith,
then in Congress.

They went to Alexandria and to Baltimore, where they had much better
houses, but everywhere were warned not to touch on the question of
slavery. Miss Anthony was terribly disgusted with the general
shiftlessness she saw about the hotels and boarding-houses, and was in
a state of pent-up indignation to see on every hand the evils of
slavery and not be allowed to lift her voice against them, but later
writes in her journal: "This noon I ate my dinner without once asking
myself, 'Are these human beings who minister to my wants slaves who can
be bought and sold?' Yes, even I am growing accustomed to slavery; so
much so that I cease to think of its accursed influence and calmly eat
from the hands of the bondman without being mindful that he is such. O,
Slavery, hateful thing that thou art thus to blunt the keen edge of