COLUMBIA LIBRARIES OFFSITE HEALTH SCIENCES STANDARD HX64096602 R 1 54. L58 Ea7 The biography of Dio m'ARYr. E'RSTmKn ■.,>/>-■-.■< y^--\'y--~.":^' iJSiiUnnti ICtbrarg 'mm '■■-■■. /^ y5~-2. if ^^^*-^^n^ THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS, A.M., M.D PREPARED AT THE DESIRE AND WITH THE CO-OPERATION OF MRS. DIO LEWIS BY MAHY p. EASTMAN THE TRUEST LIVING IS LIVING TO ONE'S TRUTH NEW YORK FOWLEK & WELLS CO, Publishers 775 Broadway 1891 Copyright, 1890, BY MRS. DIO LEWIS. \ \ To THE MAIiTY READERS OF THE WORKS OF DR. DIO LEWIS this volume is most respectfully dedicated bt Mrs. lewis whose every thought of her husbais'd is still associated with LliTE, LOVE, AjSTD SERVICE PREFACE. To do some good to his felloio-men was the motive wliicli, througliout his life, inspired the work of Dio Lewis. In pursuit of this end he was steadily loyal to his convictions, counting in their advocacy no per- sonal cost, whether of money, friends, or public favor. Through all conflicts and misrepresenta- tions he kept the largest charity for his opponents and his own sweetness of spirit. The story of his life is here faithfully told, in hope that it may help to give to his work and words what he most desired for himself, continued service. One of his latest utterances was, '^ Use is still my word." The record is, in the main, of work accom- plished, but to those engaged in its preparation especial value attaches to principles bearing upon the reform of temperance, which Dr. Lewis clearly stated and persistently advocated, in forms 6 PREFACE. no longer available, and which are here concisely reproduced. It is their hope that when these may be calmly considered, they may prove a help- ful clue out of some complicated and impracticable methods which now block the way of temperance reform. The story of the "Temperance Crusade" has been gathered, and, in the main, has been given verbatim from the current newspapers of its time and from the published narratives which followed it. Dr. Lewis, always absorbed by work in hand, preserved little that told what he had done. For the graphic presentation of the causes and results of the Crusade by Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer, Miss Fiances E. Willard, and Mrs. W. A. Ingham, we are indebted to the volume "AYoman and Temperance." With tender sympathy Mrs. Lewis dedicates this volume to those who have found in Dr. Lewis friend, guide, or helper. CONTENTS. CHAPTER L PAGE Ancestors of Dio Lewis. Family sketches. Work of the mother, Mrs. Lewis, for home, for church, and for temperance, 19 CHAPTER IL Boyhood of Dio Lewis. His investigating turn of mind ; his rehgious experience ; his great working power. A teacher at the age of fifteen. Original methods of discipline and instruction. He estab- lishes a select school in Ohio ; studies medicine ; enters Harvard College Medical School, and also serves as an assistant editor. He practises med- icine ; becomes a homoeopathist ; receives the degree of M.D., 39 CHAPTER IIL Settles in Buffalo, N. Y. His marriage. Publishes papers on the cholera, and establishes a magazine, " The HomoeopathisV His view of the true work of the physician. Illness of Mrs. Lewis leads to a visit to the South. Dr. Lewds lectures and addresses schools in Virginia on temperance and hygiene, . 88 3 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. PAGE He deplores the substitution of legal for moral -suasion methods in temperance work. Joins the "Sons of Temperance," but protests against the exclusion of women. Indifference to his appeals leads him to lecture publicly on " The Influence of Christian Women in the Cause of Temperance." Lecture on homoeopathy causes him to be attacked in the street. Mrs. Lewis recovers her health. Her tribute to her husband, 46 CHAPTER V. Letters from Virginia on the effects of slavery, . . 54 CHAPTER VI. Dr. Lewis visits Europe. Lectures on his return. In 1858 he puts in practice his theories as to woman's work in temperance, at Dixon, 111. , and elsewhere. Committees of women appeal to saloon-keepers, . 62 CHAPTER VII. Conviction of the general need of physical culture. No means of training provided for girls and women. Wants which a true course of gymnastics should meet. Development of the"Dio Lewis System of Light Gymnastics." Dr. and Mrs. Lewis remove to Boston. Classes organized. Col. T. W. Higgin- Bon's estimate of the Lewis system of gymnastics, 70 CHAPTER VIIL Incorporation of " The Boston Normal Institute for Physical Education." Introduction of the system of light gymnastics into England by Rev. Moses Qoit Tyler. Rev. Mr. Tyler's estimate of the system. CONTENTS. , y PAGE Its extension to Europe, Asia, and Africa. The com- parative advantages of military drill and of those of the new gymnastics presented before a committee of the Massachusetts Legislature, .... 80 CHAPTER IX. Sanitarium established. Why women students and teachers break down in health. Women superior to men as gymnasts. What a graduate of a young ladies' school should have gained there. Dr. Lewis opens a school at Lexington, Mass., to embody his views on a true education. He advertises for girls who have broken down at other schools. Notable corps of professors and lecturers, .... 89 CHAPTER X. Regimen of the pupils at the Lexington school. Social life and moral quality of the school. Close relation between pupils and teachers. Secret of the popu- larity of the school, 99 CHAPTER XL Democratic spirit at Lexington. Admission of a pupil of the colored race. Another takes the position of a daughter in the family of Dr. and Mrs. Lewis. Letters from Mrs. Annie Fields, John G. Whit tier, and Wendell Phillips. Reminiscences of anti- slavery mobs and of Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Phillips, 109 CHAPTER XIL The Lexington school building destroyed by fire. A temporary removal to Spy Pond. Close of the school, ....,,,,,, 117 10 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. PAGE Dr. Lewis removes to Boston and builds a private ho- tel, " The Bellevue." Temperance work. Visit to England. Books published. Their warm recep- tion by distinguished thinkers, . . . .124 CHAPTER XIV. Dr. Lewis in the lecture-field in behalf of education and temperance. Extracts from his lectures on temperance illustrate his spirit and methods of work, 133 CHAPTER XV. Spirited response to his methods for closing the dram- shops in Fredonia, N. Y., and elsewhere. Reports of the first campaign day. Permanent results re- ported, 142 CHAPTER XVI. Campaign in Jamestown, N. Y., also in Hillsboro, Ohio. External view of the work in progress, from the '''"Watchman and Reflector,^'' Boston. Legal action for trespass. Claim of $10,000, for damages by prayer. The work from the stand point of a worker — Mrs. Eliza Thompson, 153 CHAPTER XVIL Official report of the camj)aign at Washington Court House. Prayer ; the march ; mass-meetings. A dealer pours his liquor on the ground. Cincinnati whiskey-dealers come to the rescue of their patrons. Bitter cold weather and a tabernacle built. Work of destroying liquor given to the women. Dr. Lewis's account of it, . , 167 CONTENTS. 11 CHAPTER XVIII. PAGE Charley Beck stoutly resists the efforts of the women, and procures an injunction against them. Relig- ious services held before his door for two weeks, day and night. Racy account from the Cincinnati Commercial. "Dem vimmens, dey stay mit a man all day, a-singi^i' unt udder foolishness." After three weeks, Beck announces, "You comes so many I quits." Two days later the last liquor-seller in the town surrendered. Dr. Lewis returns to Washing- ton Court House and is publicly welcomed, . . 175 CHAPTER XIX. New Vienna. Sacrilegious devices of Van Pelt, "the wickedest man in Ohio, " to resist the saloon visitors. The men cause his arrest, to no advantage. The w^omen renew their efforts and he surrenders. He speaks from the lecture platform. Injunction upon the crusaders at Morrow ; it is dissolved at the plaintiff's cost. Devices of Max Goeppert, " a hard case," Clyde, Delaware. Dr. Lewis lectures at the Ohio Wesleyan University, New Lexington, Green- field, Pomeroy, Bucyrus, Ripley, Waynesville, . 189 CHAPTER XX. Dr. Lewis abandons the general lecture-field to give himself entirely to temperance work. Character of the crusade work. Patience and self-control of the leaders. Sympathy of press and people. Ex- ample of misrepresentation, 200 CHAPTER XXL Springfield. Sketch of "Mother Stewart." Lecture by Dr. Lewis and Van Pelt. Organization. Dr. Lewis's caution. State temperance convention. 12 CONTENTS. PAGE Dr. Lewis's terms for temperance work. His advice upon permanent work to follow crusade methods. Xeuia. Sectarian walls broken down. Saloon- keepers are offered help by Cincinnati brewers. Brilliant success of the crusaders in a street of saloons. Chronicle of progress, .... 209 CHAPTER XXII. Press opinions of Dr. Lewis's methods. Crusade work opens in Cincinnati. Incidents of street work told by a worker — ''Lord, give us the esplanade!" Ladies urged by the mayor to desist from street- praying. A mob sets upon the mayor and his sec- retary. The mayor issues a proclamation forbidding street-praying. Arrest of forty-three women, A conundrum. Trial before police court. Offenders dismissed with an admonition. Organized work substituted for street work. Effect of temperance work, as shown by revenue returns. Shelbj^'ville. ■ Liquor venders serve a notice on the temperance alliance, and are met by "peace, persuasion, and prayer," 230 CHAPTER XXIII. Scope of the crusade plan put to a severe test at the State Capital. Call for State conference. Fifteen hundred delegates assemble. Women as managers and speakers. Successful efforts to defeat the license clause in the neAv Constitution of Ohio. Logan. Lebanon. Dr. Lewis solicitous to keep the movement free from legal proceedings, . , . 229 CHAPTER XXIV. Mount Vernon. Advisory committee of men. Two weeks' effort substitutes lemonade for whiskey. coxteK'TS. is PAGE Pride felt in surrender. Business places closed during the hour of public morning prayer. Scene at the Episcopal church. A night visit to saloons. Madisonville. Germans from Cincinnati are treated to free beer, then to a free prayer-meeting, . . 238 CHAPTER XXV. Opening scene in the crusade drama at Chicago. Bra- matis personcB: saloon-keepers; saloon habitues; a quiet old lady. Presentation of the petition of sixteen thousand women against oi^en saloons on Sunday calls out a howling mob. The Common Council passes an ordinance permitting open saloons. The mayor refuses to the ladies his veto, being "pledged to the citizens." As "the citizens" in- clude the mob and do not include women, the defeat of the latter is complete. Quiet but stead- fast work follows. Cleveland. Women take up the work under spiritual compulsion. Account of difficulties and successes, condensed from that of Mrs. Sarah K. Bolton, 345 CHAPTER XXVI. Pittsburg. Difficult ground. Thirty-two women arrested. Scene at the station-house. Comparison of effect of mob of 1874 with the labor riot of 1877. Song of the crusade. Spread of the work to the Pacific Coast. The new movement considered by the English press. It is espoused by leaders among the women of the United Kingdom, and the "British Women's Christian Temperance Union " is formed, 254 CHAPTER XXVII. New York a walled city of saloons. An appeal to the Excise Board and to the leading clergvmen meets 14 CONTENTS. !>Aaiit only apathy. Scene in a house of ill -repute. Action of Trinity church. Miss Smiley sees that "this" (the temperance crusade) " is the gospel," and ad- dresses a public meeting in its bphalf. Testimony to the good work done by the crusade from Thurlow Weed, Hon.W. E.Dodge, Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Rev. T. L. Cuyler, and Dr. Duryea, . . .261 CHAPTER XXVIII. Extracts from a temperance address by Dr. Lewis. Candid review of the conditions of the work from the New York Tribune, 1874. Brooklyn. Faith- ful work of the women and some of the clergy. Conversion and work of Capt. Oliver Cotter. Phil- adelphia. Washington, D. C. Dr. Lewis as he appeared to a Washington press reporter. Mass- uieeting at the Foundry church, .... 270 CHAPTER XXIX. Worcester. Letter from Dr. Lewis. Public meeting. Organization. Doubt as to method of work. Sev- eral ways tried, including at length, and with much distrust, the crusade method. Dr. Lewis's opinion of the local work. Convention, in which was formed the "Women's Christian Temperance Union " of Massachusetts, 278 CHAPTER XXX. Boston. Address of Dr. Lewis before the Young Men's Christian Association, to an audience of di- verse views on temperance. A financial report of his personal work and sketches of the movement in Ohio. The subject of prohibition is forced upon him, and great excitement follows. Dr. Lorimer PAGK lectures on " The Woman's Crusade." A fortnight later the crusade movement is denounced in Music Hall. Dr. Lewis attempts to speak, but is forbid- den, even after the close of the meeting. Discussion on prohibition at Hyde Park (near Boston), be- tween Rev. A. A. Miner and Dr. Lewis, . . . 288 CHAPTER XXXI. Work in Maine, in Rhode Island, and in New York. The sweep of the crusade movement pictured by- Frances E. Willard. Why the effort accomplished less in New England than in Ohio, .... 299 CHAPTER XXXII. Dr. Lewis's attitude to the work of the crusade. The spirit of his co-workers and of close observers. The significance of the crusade method and the source of its power. The women of the crusade. Dr. Lewis's reverence for them, .... 306 CHAPTER XXXIII. "The Conditions which Compelled the Crusade," by Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer. ' ' What Did the Crusade Do ? " by Miss Frances E. Willard. The child of the crusade. " The Women's Christian Temper- ance Union." Narrative of its birth, by Mrs. Mary B. Ingham. Point of departure of the union from the faith which inspired the crusade move- ment, 310 CHAPTER XXXIV. Dr. Lewis publishes "Prohibition a Failure." His views on the subject essentially restated. Pro- hibitory laws efficacious against crimes only. Dis- 16 Contents. PAGE tinction between crimes and vices. Distinction between a moral and a legal right, .... 321 CHAPTER XXXV. Phrenological sketch of Dr. Lewis. Pen jjictures of him as a lectui-er, 337 CHAPTER XXXVI. Need of rest. Visit to California. Charms of camp- life. Meeting unknown friends. Close relationship to domestic animals ; the Indian pony ; the dog. Humanitarian work in Oakland. Attack of par- alysis. Return to Boston. Purchase of sanitarium at Arlington Heights. A remarkable cure of the opium habit, 340 CHAPTER XXXVII. Dr. Lewis's ability to hold many interests in hand without friction. His deliberate speed. Analysis of his character, by Mr. Theodore D. Weld. His daily life as seen by one of his gypsy-jjarty in California, 351 CHAPTER XXXVIII. Enforced rest. Removal to New York. Publication in 1883 of '^In a Nutshell," and ''Dio Lewis's Monthly:' The latter suspended through the fraudulence of an employe. Dr. Lewis retires to Smithtown, Long Island, for rest. He soon resumes lecturing and the work of publication. The doctrine of personal freedom illustrated in family relations. Death of Madame Lewis, the doctor's mother. Love and reverence for her the mainspring of his profound esteem for women. His claim for equal CONTENTS. 17 PAGE Hghts and oppoi*tunit.ies for all. Tribute from Frances E. Willard, 363 CHAPTER XXXIX. Dr. Lewises literary methods. Extracts from his Writ- ings, ♦ . 371 CHAPTER XL. Extracts fromi writings, continued, .... 883 CHAPTER XLI. Preparation of " The Dio Lewis's Treasury." Home removed to Yonkers-on-the-Hudson. Interest in local philanthropy. Sickness and death of Dr. Lewis. Cremation of his body, .... 393 2 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS, A.M, M.D CHAPTER I. The ancestors of Dio Lewis were of Welsh stock. At the time of the marriage of his father and mother, in 1820, their parents owned farms adjoining each other in Cayuga County, N. Y., two or three miles from Auburn, then a village. The father of Mrs. Lewis, Friend Barbour, was one of the largest of men, weighing three hundred pounds. He was well-proportioned, of erect car- riage, and of great strength of body and mind. His voice was so loud and clear that he never used a horn to call his men, as was the custom, for his shout could be heard anywhere on his farm of seventy-five acres. Indeed, Dr. Peter Clark used to say that at a house-raising, when the frame was lifted with the cry of " he-ho heave ! " he had heard Mr. Barbour's voice a mile away. He was a master builder, and pushed work with 20 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. such vigor that when, at one time, he wished to substitute a frame house for the log-house in which he lived, he moved his family into the church across the street on Monday morning, took 3,way the log-house, built a new frame house with three rooms on the ground-floor, and moved his family into it on the next Saturday afternoon. His oldest daughter, D electa, married, at the age of twenty, their neighbor's son. Major John C. Lewis, who had, at that time, assumed the man- agement of his father's farm. He was a member of the Baptist Church, gifted in speaking, polished and courteous in manner, a general favorite, and of exceptional promise. Mrs. Lewis inherited from her father both men- tal and physical strength, and from her mother, in exceptional degree, a devotion to duty which characterized her through her long life of almost eighty-six years. In time ^ve children gathered about the hearth- stone, three sons and two daughters, a brief sketch of whom we here make. The oldest, Asenath Ann, became at the age of fifteen, the wife of a farmer, Mr. E. R. Handy, who died in Iowa, where Mrs. Handy still resides. The second child and oldest son, Dioclesian, or, as he wrote the name in later life, Dio, is the sub- ject of this sketch, and was born on March 3d, 1823. THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 21 Two years later was born Loran L. Lewis, whose history in brief we copy from " Life Sketches of Executive Officers and Members of the Legisla- ture of New York '' of 1870: " Mr. Lewis was educated at Auburn Academy. When about eighteen years old he warmly en- listed in the Washingtonian movement, and was soon recognized as one of the most elective speak- ers on the subject of temperance. He then studied law, finishing his legal course in the ofl[ice of Gov. WiUiam H. Seward. After his admission to the bar, in 1848, he removed to Buffalo, N. Y., and devoted himself with singular zeal, to the practice of his profession. Achieving but moderate suc- cess for a few years, he toiled on, occupying an obscure office, accepting no adventitious aids, un- wavering in the faith that integrity and fidelity would eventually command success. The result has fully justified his confidence. For several years past he has had a large and lucrative prac- tice. '^ He steadily declined nomination to ofiSce, until in 1870, he accepted that for State Senator, which was given him by acclamation, without any solici- tation on his part. He held the office of Senator for two terms. " In 1882 he received, unsolicited, the nomination for Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of I^ew York, a post which he still fills with fidelity 22 THE BIOGRAPHY OF WO LEWIS. and honor. In all situations he has been an earnest, I)ractical, working American citizen." The third son was George Washington Lewis. He received the degree of M.D. from the Medical Department of the New York University, from which he was graduated in 1850. He established himself in 1850 in Buffalo, 'N. Y., as a homoeo- pathic physician, where he still remains, enjoying a successful practice, in connection with his son of the same name. The youngest of the family, Flora Lewis, mar- ried Dr. T. P. Tisdale, of Canada. They passed some years in the Sandwich Islands, where Dr. Tisdale was physician to the king. Later they re- turned to the United States, where the doctor re- sumed the x:)ractice of his profession, in partnership with his son, in Alameda, California. Though the careers of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were thus fortunate, they ascribe to reverses which came to the family in their youth, the habits of industry and self-denial which, with the religious training of their mother, they esteem their best inheritance. As in all households of those days, the needs of the grooving family taxed to the utmost the mother's wisdom and skill and readiness of re- source. Brought up in the time when spinning and weaving, as well as household work, devolved upon the women of the family, Mrs. Lewis had THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 23 developed strength, energ}^, and skill, which stood her in good stead when, as hapj^ened, pjecuniary embarrassment came to the family. In her early days it was customary for the shoe- maker and the tailor to go from house to house to make shoes and clothing for the family. In her father's house when the tailor came she helped to sew for her brothers, for she was the only daughter by the first wife, and there were seven brothers. She had thus learned enough of the trade to cut and fit for her own family, and when it became necessary that she should supply material also, she hired assistants and did tailoring for others. At about the age of fourteen she joined the Baptist Church. Twenty years later, when the doctrines of "The Disciples" were preached in central 'New York, the simple story of the cross and her reverence for the pure Word of God led her to yield to the arguments offered in favor of " the Bible only " as against all human creeds and professions, and she united mth the " Church of the Disciples," maintaining her faith to the close of her life. In a Philadelphia publication called To-day, which Dio Lewis edited in 1871-72, he bears tender witness to the depth and earnestness of his mother's religious trust. Speaking of her habit- ual way of meeting trouble, he said: "When she could bear it no longer she would go away by 24: THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. herself, up-stairs. We knew what she went there for, and sometimes we could hear her say : ' O God! help me! help me! ' Then she would keep very still for a while. When she came down to us again her cheeks were wet, but her face shone like an angel's. " She taught us to pray. We grew up with a very large estimate of the power of prayer. The day was never so dark at our house that mother could not go up-stairs and open the clouds. To- day, more than forty years after these times, I believe in my heart that woman's prayer is the most powerful agency on earth." Exacting though the home claims were upon the hands, heart, and mind of Mrs. Lewis, her in- terests did not stop with her family. Then and to her latest days her sympathies, and, as she felt, her duties were as wide as humanity. The interests of the church were at all times sure of her support, and when, in later years, all of her own sons had successfully passed the perils which beset the path of youth, and already, in their young manhood, faced the future with the clear outlook of self -controlled natures, cultivated minds, and high purposes, the sorroAv of others weighed upon her heart and stirred her to action. A mile from Auburn was a village then called Clarksville, where there was a great water-power. There were cotton mills where the young people THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 25 went to work as soon as old enough. There, too, were places where liquor was sold. So fear as well as hope, danger as well as advantage lay that way. It is difficult for people of our day to realize how common was the use of liquor throughout the country a half -century and more ago. Prior to the Washingtonian movement, which began in 1840, the use of stimulants was as gen- eral and almost as unquestioned as was that of tea. On every sideboard, at every dinner-table, at the evening fireside gathering, in the hay field, at the dedication of the meeting-house, and at the installation of the minister, liquor ran almost as freely as water. Dr. Lewis in 1875, wrote: "A few years ago everybody thought liquor a good thing, and almost everybody drank it. My grandfather Barbour was a deacon in the church and a distiller. He was a very prayerful man, but I suppose that for each prayer uttered by him in the ear of heaven, he sent out, for the stomachs of his fellow-men, five hundred gallons of peach brandy and whiskey. He was a very conscientious man, whose word was his bond, and yet he was an active distiller for forty years." Against the sale and use of liquor there was, indeed, at this time, no public sentiment. In view of this and of the danger at hand, Mrs. Lewis 26 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. and some of the neighbors held many and anxious consultations as to what could be done to ward off the perils which threatened every household. It became clear to them that there was nothing to hope save in the united action of women. These neighbors were, almost withou.t exception, sisters in the church. They made their grief and their duty a subject of meditation and of prayer. By these earnest workers, as in fact by all who knew her, Mrs. Lewis was looked upon as a mother in Israel. They had been long in the habit of turning to her for counsel in domestic, in social, and in religious work. To her they naturally looked as a leader in their extremity. But trust in God and love to man were to her both shield and weapon. It Avas determined to visit the men who sold liquor, to set before them the evils to which this traffic was leading, and to en- treat them to abandon it. Deeply impressed, too, with the power of prayer, these women resolved to seek its aid in the work of conversion. A few ladies, acting for many, began their work by visiting one of the most objectionable places in Clarksville. The dealer received them courte- ously and listened to their plea, permitting them also to sing and pray. He said he would like to gratify them by yielding to their request, as they were his neighbors, but he j)leaded that his fam- ily, in which there was sickness, depended on this THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWLS. 27 business for support. The ladies promised lielp in every way possible till lie should get other work. They would care for the sick and sew for the fam- ily. They had the satisfaction of being taken at their word and of fulfilling the j)ledges made. A visit was made to another dealer, but the day ended before the work was finished. As soon as their houses were in order the next morning they returned to their work of prayer and song and entreaty, and just as the dinner hour gave the proprietor a hope for a change of company, the rattling of paper and the opening of lunch baskets warned him that they had come to stay as long as it should x^rove necessary. When but one place remained where liquor was sold, public opinion had come to the support of the workers and the last one yielded. The ladies, however, remembered the injunction to w^atch as well as to pray, and having prayed they continued on guard lest the sale should be renewed, and for years, at least, the place was absolutely free from the curse of dram-selling. An incident told by Mrs. Dio Lewis illustrates the influence which the women long held in that com- munity. More than twenty years later. Dr. Lewis and his wife, when visiting their mother Lewis at Auburn, were notified one afternoon that a tem- perance meeting would be held in the evening in the school-house. The special motive for the call 28 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. did not appear. When all were assembled, and were seated on the long wooden benches usually occupied by the school children, each turned to the other to ask why they had been called to- gether. Soon some one arose and stated that one of the storekeepers in the village was selling liquor. Dr. Lewis, who knew the man well, sj)rang to his feet and said : ''I do not believe that Mr. Blank would do such a thing. I will go and ask him." " Of course he Avill not tell you if he does," several cried. " I believe he will," said Dr. Lewis, and hurried away. He soon returned bringing the man with him. On hearing the charge the latter distinctly denied that he had sold any liquor. Old Mrs. Smith, who as wife and mother knew the sufferings which come from strong drink, was upon her feet on the instant. Standing tall and determined she looked the man steadily in the eye and said: ''What did I see you turn out that was red, from a bottle, for Mr. A. ? " " That? " said the challenged man. " That was nothing but pop." " Then," said the excited woman, lifting her long, bony finger, and shaking it at him emphati- cally, " then you have no business to sell pop." And while the dealer declared that there was nothing intoxicating about pop, he promised not to sell it again if the women were opposed. Such had come to be the unwillingness of the men in that town to offend, however innocently, the temperance sentiment of the women, THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 29 CHAPTER 11. The following outline of the early life of Dio Lewis has been furnished, so far as indicated by quotation marks, by his brother next in age, Judge Loran L. Lewis, of Buif alo, N. Y. : "At the age of twelve Dio was as large and ma- ture as ordinary boys of fifteen. His mind was remarkably active; so were his movements. He could do anything he desired to do with more rapidity than any person I ever knew. When ac- customed to committing to memory he could read a page in a book once, close the book, and repeat it all. He had an investigating, inquisitive mind. He liked miscellaneous reading, but did not relish digging into study. He learned a great many facts, but did not read many books thoroughly. He was enthusiastic in everything in which he engaged. " He developed as a child a talent for declaiming, even before he could read much, and as a youth he engaged in debates and talked on temperance. " Dio was of a peaceable disposition, and rarely, if ever, engaged in quarrels with other boys. He was cheerful and full of fun. 30 THE BIOGIRAPHY OF JDlO LEWIS. " He was from a boy an earnest opponent of slav- ery. I remember being awakened one night by his crying. I asked what troubled him. He said he had been thinking of the poor slaves. In the school to which he went, when a little fellow, there was a colored boy whom the rest of the children persecuted. Dio became his protector, accompany- ing him home from school and often going for him lest any ' should molest or make him afraid.' " Early in life he united with the people known as Disciples. He was a zealous, active Christian, taking part in religious meetings, and at one time he was disposed to study for the ministry. He urged me to join him, but I declined, having other plans for life-work. " At the age of twelve Dio left school and went into a cotton factory in Clarksville, near Auburn, where he remained perhaps six months, working some sixteen hours a day and receiving from $1.25 to $2.50 a week in orders on stores in Auburn. After this he worked in Wadsworth's hoe, axe, and scythe factory for about two years, attending school at intervals. He did polishing on emery wheels and was paid by the piece at customary rates, which enabled the operatives to earn $1.00 to $1.25 per day. So deft and so rapid was his movement of hand and fingers in polishing the sharpened instruments, that people came to watch it as a curiosity. Dio was soon able to perform an THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 31 amount of work wliicli, at the prices paid, netted him $2.50 to $3.00 a day, and he did his work well. His emploj^er becoming dissatisfied at the amount of his earnings, tried to find fault with the quality of his work, but Dio shamed him from that jjosition. The prices were thereupon reduced, and even then the boy was obliged to work short hours and to idle somewhat, so as not to earn too much. " When he was about fourteen years old a dam was constructed and a large number of men were employed to wheel earth. Dio went into line with the men. When pay-day came the employer gave the men $1.25 a day, but offered Dio only seventy-five cents. ' Why don't you pay me the same as the others ? ' Dio asked. ' You are a boy,' was the reply. ' But don't I wheel as large loads and just as many as the rest ? ' ' Yes.' ' Then why not pay me the same ? ' The answer was repeated. 'You are a boy.' 'If I do as much work I must have the same pay or I will quit work,' replied Dio. He was told to keep at work and he should have full wages. " At about the age of fifteen he began teaching school in our district. He surprised the patrons with novel ways of teaching and managing the school. Heretofore the masters had moved around the room with ferule in hand, always ready to deal a blow as occasion might offer. The young S2 tME feioaHAl'ttY OF i)10 LEWIS. teaclier discarded the whip and went to singing'^ and, for a change, he would march with the children into a piece of woods near the school-house, and sometimes, after the children got tirod, he would allow them to play hide-and-seek." The kindliness and originality of his method were noteworthy and characteristic, and not less so was the courage of his opinion in this youth of fifteen. No story of the exceptional educator who had made study a joy as well as an advantage to the young, could have come to the boy whose days had been spent in the workshop, and his personal experience of school management he has himself narrated, as follows: "When I was a boy the pupil that escaped w^hipping for a whole term was a curiosity. In a school where I S2)ent a year the whip was in almost constant use. I saw a class of forty-six boys and girls stand up in a row to be whipped, and as, in turn, they got their beating, they took their seats. The plan of punishment differed a little with the two sexes. The teacher stood with his legs apart, and each boy got down on his hands and feet, and crawled between the teacher's legs. The idea was for the teacher to bring his legs together suddenly and catch the urchin ; then holding him fast, he would, with a big ruler, give him about ten ringing blows. If a boy thus down on all fours succeeded in plunging through three THE BIoaRAPHY OF 1)10 LEWIS. 83 times without being cauglit by tlie teacher's knees, he went free ; but this very rarely occurred. The girls were not put through this game of all fours, but each girl stood ui3 and took the whip over her shoulders. In that school, which was in the fine town of Auburn, IN". Y., and was kept by Dr. Tucker, a famous teacher, I saw a girl eighteen years old whipped, in the x)resence of the school, till she fainted. Dr. Tucker w^as paid a large salary because of his ability to govern. Such brutalities excited no comment that I can recall; certainly there was no protest, for Dr. Tucker re- mained to the last the most poi3ular teacher in town. I never heard any one claim for him any excellence except his remarkable talent for gov- erning. He did not lay down the whip from morning till night, and it was rare that an hour passed without its being used." The report of young Lewis's unheard-of ways of keeping school soon spread through the town. Coming to his father's ears, Mr. Lewis, Sr., thought it well to investigate by listening under a school- room window one day. Yes, there was singing — he heard it plainly. Then there was perfect quiet in the school and the teacher was saying some- thing in pleasant tones, he could not tell what ; but suddenly there was a rush, and out of the door came teacher and children, and were off to the woods in high spirits. Astonished and mortified, 3 84 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. Mr. Lewis Aveiit home and said to liis wife, " Wliat that boy of ours is up to I don't know. It's queer school-keeping, and tlie people never will stand it. He'll lose his place, that's certain." In fact, the people, accustomed to other methods, did not like it at first, but they soon found that their children were learning better than ever, and that the influence of the teacher was as great out of the school as in. Indeed, the enthusiastic love of the children for the young teacher, who Avas also their sympathizing companion, made his Avishes their law at all times. Judge Lewis says : " Dio continued teaching near home for a year or two, and when eighteen years old he went to what Avas then Lower San- dusky, now Fremont, Ohio, and organized a select school. Here he began the study of Latin and Greek, and the classes which he soon formed in them, as well as in algebra and geometry, kept him hard at work with his own studies in order to keej) well ahead of his pux)ils. The school was patronized by most of the leading citizens, and gave so great satisfaction that in a few months some of them volunteered to erect a handsome school building. They obtained an act of incor- poration, naming it, in compliment to Mr. Lewis, ' The Dioclesian Institute,' and the new quarters were occuioied just before the close of the school year. I'HE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 85 " Of this institute ex-President Kutherford B. Hayes wrote to Mrs. Lewis on December 7tli, 1886 : '' The institute established by your late husband, Dr. Dio Lewis, is well remembered here. I often heard Mr. Lewis Leppelman, now deceased, speak of Mr. Lewis. He was much esteemed as an in- structor and as a man of ability. " I did not attend school here and was not in Lower Sandusky, except as a visitor, during the year 1841. "The institute was superseded by the high school, established under the public-school system of the State." Before the close of the school year Mr. Lewis was attacked by ague of a grave tyx)e, which con- tinued after he returned to iS'ew York, confining him to his bed for several weeks. The malady ]3roved so persistent that by the advice of parents and physician he reluctantly abandoned his pur- pose of returning to Sandusky. He shortly decided to enter upon the study of medicine, which he did in the office of Dr. Lan- sing Briggs, who was then physician at the Au- burn State Prison. "As an illustration of the enthusiasm with which he entered upon his studies, I remember," says Judge Lewis, " that a few weeks after he en- tered the office of Dr. Briggs he found a clumsy turnkey for pulling teeth. He brought in from 'S6 THE EIOGliAPHY OF i»IO LEWIS. tlie field an armful of tlie liead-bones of animals and practised extracting the teeth, and was soon ready to operate upon any of the villagers who would consent. " He had much trouble during his studies from his imagination, which was so strong that he thought he was afflicted with about all the diseases of which he read. He had a small wen on his neck, and when he read on the subject of cancers he thought he had all the symptoms, and I went with him to an eminent surgeon for an examination. Being asured that there was no danger of cancer whatever, the twitching ceased." He remained with Dr. Briggs for three years, excepting that he taught school for one winter session, accompanying him on his rounds at the prison and at length, often acting as his deputy. He thus gained varied and valuable experience. In 1845 he entered the Medical Department of Harvard College. Although he eked out his means by helping to edit a religious paper called The Gen his of CTLristianity ^ which was published in Boston, he was not able to remain through the entire course. He returned to New York and im- mediately began the i)ractice of medicine at Port Byron, in partnership with Dr. Lewis McCarty, the family physician of his parents. This gentleman was a believer in the new school of medicine, homoeopathy, and through his in- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 87 fluence and instruction Dr. Lewis, as lie was then called, became a convert to the system. At this time, it is believed, there was no practitioner of homoeopathy west of Buffalo, N. Y. In 1849 the Homoeopathic Hospital College was organized at Cleveland, Ohio. In 1851 the college conferred upon Dr. Lewis the honorary degree of M.D. 38 THE BIOGRAPHY OF PIO LEWIS. CHAPTER III. I^ 1848 Dr. Lewis removed to Buffalo, N. Y. While at Port Byron lie had become engaged to the daughter of Dr. Peter Clarke, formerly of the Broadway Hospital, New York, whose country residence was in the vicinity. Having become well established in his profession in Buffalo, his marriage with Miss Helen Cecelia Clarke took place on July 11th, 1849. This occurred in the midst of the cholera sea- son, when so great was the claim on a physician's services that on leaving for his wedding several of his patrons followed him to the railroad station for advice in case of emergency. Leaving by a night train for what was then a long journey to the centre of the State, he was married the next morning, and returned with his bride at 9 o'clock on the same evening. On reaching Buffalo, leav- ing his wife to the escort of her brother-in-law, with whom they were to make their home, Dr. Lewis went directly from the station to his pa- tients. During the ravages of the cholera he gave him- self with such devotion tp his practice that lie THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 39 was repeatedly prostrated by attacks of tlie dis- ease. His x^liysicians warned him that if he did not withstand the claims upon him he would be- come so debilitated that he could not rally, but he did not remit his labors. During the cholera seasons of 1849 and 1851 Dr. Lewis wrote a num- ber of x)3.pers on the causes and treatment of cholera. While living in Buffalo, he published Tfte Honiceo'pathist^ a monthly magazine, in which, in addition to the truths of the school which he represented, he laid stress on the prevention of disease as above every other, the work of the physi- cian. In a published lecture Dr. Lewis says: '' There are two classes of physicians, the good and the clever. They are very different characters, though mistaken by many persons for each other. A good doctor strives to prevent sickness ; a clever doctor only to cure it. While the peoj)le are in health the good doctor is ever giving such advice as would, if followed, prevent disease and suffering. The clever doctor says nothing until disease comes, although then he may be very attentive and affec- tionate. The good doctor is laying the founda- tion for public well-being. The clever doctor is only mitigating evils which need not have existed, or which, existing, need not have been developed. The true physician Avill spend nine-tenths of his time in preventing disease and not more than one- 40 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. tenth in curing it." These views he never ceased to emphasize, although it cost him throughout his life, to his sorrow, the co-operation and sympathy of the practitioners of the medical schools. Dr. Lewis found his personal experience in in- troducing hygienic methods adndrably told in The Doctor's Story. By "VViLL M. Carlton. Deacon Rogers, he came to me : "Wife is a-goin' to die," said he. "Doctors great an' doctors small Haven't improved her any at all. "Physic and blister, powders and pills, And nothing sure but the doctors' bills ! "Twenty women, with remedies new, Bother my wife the whole day through, " Sweet as honey or bitter as gall — Poor old woman, she takes 'em all. " Sour or sweet, whatever they choose — Poor old woman, she daren't refuse. " So she pleases whoe'er may call, An' Death is suited the best of all. " Physic and blister, powder an' pill — Bound to conquer and sure to kill ! " Mrs. Rogers lay in her bed. Bandaged and blistered from foot to head ; Blistered and bandaged from head to toe | Mrs, Rogers ^as very low, THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 41 Bottle and saucer, spoon and cup, On the table stood bravel}^ up. Physics of high and low degree : Calomel, catnip, boneset tea — Everything a body could bear, Excepting light and water and air. I opened the blinds, — the day was bright,— And Grod gave Mrs. Rogers some hght. I opened the window, — the day was fair, — And God gave Mrs. Rogers some air. Bottles and J^listers, powders and pillp, Catnip, boneset, syrups and squills. Drugs and medicines, high and low, I threw them as far as I could throw. " What are you doing ! " my patient cried ; "Frightening Death," I coolly replied. " You are crazy ! " a visitor said ; I flung a bottle at his head. Deacon Rogers, he came to me ; "Wife is a-gettin' her health," said he. " I really think she will worry through ; She scolds me just as she used to do. "All the people have poohed an' slurred, — All the neighbors have bad their word. " 'Twere better to perish, some of 'em say, Than to be cured in such an irregular way." " Your wife," said I, "had God's good care, Aiid Hi^ remedies, light and water and air. •i2 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. " All of the doctors, beyond a doubt, Couldn't have cured Mrs. Rogers without." The deacon smiled and bowed his head : " Then your bill is nothing," he said. "God's be the glory, as you say ! God bless you, doctor ! good-day ! good-day ! " In the sirring of 1851 the strength of Mrs. Lewis had been severely taxed by devotion to a sister who died of consiimi^tion, one of three daiigliters of Dr. Clarice who fell victims to that disease. In the fall of that year Mrs. Lewis's health also gave way, and the daily hectic Hush and the hacking cough, under which her weight w^as reduced from one hundred and sixteen x)ounds to eighty pounds, warned her friends of her imminent i^eril. With her constitutional tendency there seemed indeed little room for hope that any human power could save her, but to the effort to do so Dr. Lewis bent all his energies. Like all physicians of that day, he supposed that the only chance for consumptives was to be found in going South. He at once began to look for some lohysician to take his medical practice. Meantime no precaution was omitted. It was decided that, warmly clothed in flannel and wear- ing thick shoes with heavy soles, Mrs. Lewis should take long walks in all weathers. She had THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 43 discarded corsets long before her marriage and she yielded to the doctor's argument, "If I need suspenders to supj)ort a pair of pantaloons, how- much more do you need them to hold your heavy skirts." In adopting them she found great relief. The proprietor of the Buffalo gymnasium, patronized hitherto only by men, was induced to take a class of ladies, selecting for them some of the lightest exercises. But, as it proved, only a few of the simplest of these could be made help- ful to such an invalid as Mrs. Lewjs, and the effort became discouraging. "Perseverv3 for the X3res- ent," urged Dr. Lewis, " and we Avill also try saw- ing wood, which will be good exercise, because the harder you saw the deej)er you must breathe." So while Mrs. Lewis sawed Dr. Lewis split the wood, for companionship and encouragement. " It proved helpful, " says Mrs. Lewis, " for it did drive the air through the air-cells of the lungs, but there was a drawback in the cramped position required in bending over the work. However, from being able to saw only a few sticks as large as my wrist at a time, resting after each stick, I became able before the winter was over to saw all the wood needed for two fires. At the outset a finger's length had been added to my skirt-bind- ings to insure plenty of room for exercise. In six months I put in another finger's length, and again a third time, and it took two years to bring my 44 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. waist to the proportions adapted to tlie width, of my shoulders." Daily walks and drives with her husband on his rounds to visit his i)atients, were faithfully perse- vered in by Mrs. Lewis, regardless of storms. " You have not another patient whom you would dare to treat as you are treating me," she said to the doctor. " Not another one! " he replied. " There is not another who would have the courage to try it, but it is in line with what all consumptive patients need." Though there was steady improvement through the summer, the cough returned in the autumn. Abruptly closing his business, Dr. Lewis took his wife to Virginia for the winter. Passing New Year's Day of 1853 in Washington, D. C, Dr. and Mrs. Lewis went thence to Fred- ericksburg, Va., where they remained several weeks. While there Dr. Lewis employed his en- forced leisure in giving talks on health before schools. He found, to his surprise, that the knowledge of the human system was not only held a matter of indifference, as was too generally the case, even in the Northern States, at that time, but that the study of it, especially by young people, was regarded with something like repug- nance. Letters to a Presbyterian minister of Fredericks- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 45 burg who had a small school of young ladies, insured to Dr. and Mrs. Lewis a very courteous reception by him. Dr. Lewis offered to talk to this gentleman's jiupils on health subjects, and added that he would bring a sheej^'s lungs with him, with which to illustrate the necessity of deep breathing and therefore of loose dress. " Why," said the reverend gentleman, " I would on no account have these young ladies learn physi- ology! An agent for Dr. Cutter's work on that subject has just been here trying to have the book introduced into my school. Of course I refused! " " But how can the girls take care of themselves if they do not know how they are made? " asked Dr. Lewis. " I wish them to consider themselves a mass of animated matter of which God will take care, if they love and serve Him," was the reiDly. How- ever, the reverend doctor brought the young ladies to one of Dr. Lewis's i3ublic lectures, but as it proved to be on i^hysiology he left the hall in the midst of it, taking his pupils with him, thus pro- tecting them from the imminent peril of knowing something of themselves. A presentation of silver plate by ladies of his audiences in Fredericksburg, through the mayor of the city, showed that the general sentiment on the discussion of health topics was not in har- mony with that of the doctor of divinity* 46 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER IV. The subject of temperance had, from Dr. Lewis's youth, deeply concerned him. Almost his earliest efforts, before the village gatherings in the school- house of his native village, had been made in its behalf. He had known the earnest and successful work of his noble mother and her equally noble asso- ciates, along new lines. Toward any victim of the fatal appetite with whom he came into rela- tion, his common expression was " we must do all we can to help him," and, through personal trials which put his feelings and his principles to sever- est tests, his gentleness and his patience were un- failing. It was with deep regret, therefore, that he saw the decadence of the great movement, which in 1840 had been started in Baltimore by a half-dozen members of a social drinking club, who, having been themselves redeemed, went forth, in the spirit of love and pity, to redeem others, and who, in a single year, counted some fifteen thousand drunkards permanently reformed. But he saw the temperance people, eager for immediate results and impatient of moral-suasion THE BIOGRAPHY OJP^ DIO LEWIS. 47 metliods, gradually transfer tlieir reliance for cure of tlie great evil to law and authority, and in several of the Eastern States, expend their zeal in securing statutes which prohibited the sale and authorized the confiscation of alcoholic liquors. "When that remarkable movement of moral and religious forces known as ' Washingtonian- ism' had given jjlace to the agitation of legal measures," wrote Dr. Lewis, " I feared the end of the great temperance revolution had come. Prayer, song, and brotherly love seemed to me to have given place to the constable." He was painfully impressed by the spirit of an- tagonism on the one side and of domination on the other which were developed, and he came to believe, first, that prohibition was impracticable and, finally, that it was wrong. So strong on the part of some was this latter feeling that Mr. George Bradburn, a distinguished anti-slavery lecturer who was an earnest temperance man and of the highest character, said to him : "Why, doctor, after the prohibitory law was passed I felt that the only way I could assert my manhood was to take a jug of whiskey over my shoulder and march down State Street." A beneficial society, based on total abstinence, and called *' The Sons of Temperance," was organ- ized in 1842. It soon spread through all the States of the Union and across its borders. This Dr. Lewis 48 TiiE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LeWIS. joined in 1853, in Fredericksburg, Ya., prottsting, however, against the incompleteness of the pledge, which did not enjoin abstinence from tobacco, and also against the exclusion of women from membership. He urged upon the leaders that in failing to enlist woman in the work they were leaving out the element most essential and indis- pensable to success. "From my earliest recollection," wrote Dr. Lewis, " I have had great confidence in women. My remarkable mother inspired and deepened this faith. I have always thought that if they would combine they might, by love and faith alone, drive out of American life rum, tobacco, and licentiousness. My confidence in this power increases with my age." Meeting only indifference to his appeal for the admission of women to the organized temperance work, he wrote a paper on "The Influence of Christian Women in the Cause of Temperance," and read it in a hall in the old town of Fred- ericksburg, Ya., the same year. This was his first apj)earance on the public platform. Directly afterward he gave lectures on this subject and on health topics in Fredericksburg, Richmond, Peters- burg, Norfolk, and Portsmouth, Ya, Dr. Lewis found that in Richmond the system of homoeopathy was exceedingly unpopular. This was to be expected in a Southern city where there THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 49 was a large and fiourishing allopathic medical school. As the doctor was not in practice, he had no occasion to give expression to his opinions on the subject until an esteemed citizen fell ill, and, the case becoming critical, the young physicians in attendance, the only homoeopathic practitioners in the city, called Dr. Lewis as consulting physi- cian. The patient recovered, and his cure was credited to Dr. Lewis, with a sneer that " those boys," as the younger physicians were contemptu- ously called, " could never have saved him." The x)ublic prejudice against the system mani- fested itself with almost as much bitterness as did that against abolitionism. The attention of the college being drawn to Dr. Lewis's position, a public discussion of the princijiles of the new practice was proposed and was held in the pres- ence of a large audience, mainly composed of the medical fraternity and of professors and students from the college. The scene was boisterous. Cheers greeted the arguments for allopathy, and hisses met those for homoeopathy. The press echoed the feeling of the meeting. The sentiment of the community exj)ressed itself in the syllogism, '^Xew things are humbugs. Homoeopathy is a new thing, therefore homoeop- athy is a humbug." A few days later, while Dr. Lewis was talking with a gentleman in the street, one of the city editors who had denounced him in 4 60 THE BIO(i^RAPHY OF 1)10 LEWIS. liis paper chanced to pass. Lifting Ms cane lie struck Dr. Lewis, laming Ms arm. He was ar- rested and pnt nnder bonds to keep the peace. Before he left the city a service of silver was presented to Dr. Lewis by a committee of ladies at the Baptist church, in acknowledging wMch he said: " During the ^ve weeks of my sojourn in your beautiful city I have delivered seventy-three lec- tures. Half of them have been in the young ladies' seminaries of this city. I have given a series of lectures before the professors and stu- dents of Richmond College, and, as you know, not less than twenty addresses in this church." During several summers Dr. Lewis lectured in the State of New York, and in the winter of 1853-54 and a part of that of 1855, in Kentucky. In the cities of Paris, of Lexington, and of George- town he received elegant testimonials of silver from those who had listened to him. In February, 1855, Dr. and Mrs. Lewis went to Toronto, Canada, where the clear and invigorating air proved more helpful to Mrs. Lewis than the damp atmosphere of the Mississippi Valley. Dr. Lewis had gradually been growing into the opin- ion, which he always held afterward, that con- sumptive patients should not be transferred to a warmer and more debilitating, but to a cooler and more invigorating atmosphere. I'HE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 51 Still, with autumn the dreaded cough returned. Change of climate had proved inadequate to effect a complete cure, and this led the doctor to a more thorough consideration of a healthful dress for women and of the best methods of exercise. The results were so satisfactory in the individual case of Mrs. Lewis that it proved the inspiration to a work for the general good. The combined efforts in behalf of Mrs. Lewis restored her to health in the course of three years. So little expectation of her recovery had those felt who saw Mrs. Lewis during her winters in the South, that when, some years later, a physi- cian who had met her in 1853 called on Dr. Lewis in Buffalo and Avas invited to go home with him to see his wife, he exclaimed, " Why, are you married again? How long did Mrs. Lewis whom I knew live?" " She is the same lady, who, in good health, will welcome you to our happy home," was the doc- tor's reply. The illness of Mrs. Lewis has been reported here at some length especially to show to those who have the baleful inheritance of consumption, that the disease may be conquered even after it has begun to assert itself, by strict obedience to the laws of health if one have the courage to dis- obey the behests of fashion, which are perilous and often fatal, and by the judicious and patient 52 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. use of systematic exercise. Though it is held to be almost impossible to correct defects of form after full maturity, it was at the age of thirty -four that Mrs. Lewis found herself an invalid, with the right shoulder so much larger than the left that the latter required padding, and with the hips very unequal in height, the result of curvature of the spine. The adoption of a dress whose weight rested on the shoulders, and so loose that there was abso- lutely no restriction of breathing, and of boots so thick that she could walk without risk in all weathers, together with daily systematic exercise, restored her to jjerfect health in a few years. She also recovered the natural erectness and symmetry of shoulders and hips, and at seventy -three years of age, she finds herself with no tendency to colds, headaches, or other pains, and with the thrill of health in every nerve, and its flush in her cheeks; in short, a perfectly healthy and vigorous woman, to whom a walk of live miles is a pleasure, and causes but little fatigue. That Mrs. Lewis did not yield to the malady which threatened to make her the fourth victim from her family, she is well aware was due only to the persistent efforts of her husband, who cheerfully sacrificed his business prospects when they were most promising, and forsook the activi- ties most consonant with his tastes, not only to THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 53 seek a climate favorable to her, but by careful study to develop methods of restoration along new and unrecognized lines. To Ms ready and encouraging supx)ort slie gratefully ascribes the ease with which she could disregard the speech of society, ready of course with its surprises at easy dress and thick boots, at a time when health or invalidism, if not life or death, hung in the bal- ance. She knows from the testimony of many women, that thousands consent to the conditions of dress and custom which lead to permanent invalidism because, as many a one has said to her in sub- stance, with touching pathos: " I could bear the comments of others, but I could not bear that my husband should say, with wounded pride, ' Why don't you dress like other ladies? ' No! terrible as it is, I would rather bear the discomfort and take the risks of the burden- some dress." 54 THE BIOGRAPHV^ OF L>10 LEWIS. CHAPTER Y. DuRiTs^G the three winters of residence in Vir- ginia and Kentucky, Dr. Lewis wrote letters to Northern papers. Some are quoted here, as they give a picture of the South while under the do- minion of the system of negro slavery, a picture which is being rapidly obliterated : " Fredericksburg, Va., April 18th, 1853. "Mr. Editor: I have seen no other town in the State of Virginia so unlike our Northern tow^ns as this. While our cities and villages are filled with bright, enterprising mechanics, in Fredericksburg you see none but pompous, rich peoj^le, all of the first families of Virginia, and negroes. " There are no manufactories, and, indeed, noth- ing is done by the whites except dressing and call- ing, and nothing by the blacks except waiting in the laziest possible manner upon their masters and mistresses. There is probably no other town in the whole South Avhere the ' olden times ' are more correctly represented than in this little city of six thousand inhabitants. Many of the white gentle- THE BIOGEAPHY OF IHO LEWIS. 00 men kee^) up the style of feudal lords, and tlie servants are obsequious to every white man, and always address him as ' mas'r.' " Such a society is very difficult to describe. There is little reading, little intelligence. Indeed, there is nothing more common than to meet a first-class gentleman, living in the style of a lord, who has not half the real, substantial intelligence possessed by the farmers and mechanics of the l^orth. " Yet in regard to the courtesies and proprieties of social life, the common white people of Vir- ginia, so far as I have seen them, are equal to the best class at the K'orth. So I think it would be entirely just to state the difference between us as follows : The white people of the South have one- half our intelligence; we have one-half their manners. Such a scarcity of books would aston- ish you. I have not seen more than two or three private libraries of a respectable size in the State. We have occasionally been invited to visit a planter, and have never seen in their houses a library of fifty volumes. I am told by Virgin- ians themselves that hundreds of their w^ealthi- est country gentlemen have no library, and many of them do not even take a newspaper. " In a morning's walk my wife and I called at the house of a planter and prominent citizen. The house was built before the Revolution, and the 56 THE BIOGKAPHY 07 DIO LEWIS. only means of fastening the front door was, as it had been from the first, a bar reaching quite across it, like the door of old barns in the North. There were but two volumes in the house, the Bible and the hymn-book. " Richmond, sixty-two miles farther south, con- tains forty thousand inhabitants, half of whom are blacks. For commercial purposes it enjoys a most fortunate location, being at the head of navigation on James River. " Of the refinement and hospitality of its citizens I could speak in highest terms ; but ' their praise is in all the churches,' and anything I might add would not increase their already enviable reputa- tion. "And yet what I have said of the intelligence of the people of Virginia is applicable to the citi- zens of Richmond. " They are wonderfully cultivated and interest- ing in their manners, but astonishingly averse to thought. In criticising a lecturer, for instance, they speak of his gestures, voice, and j)ronuncia- tion, but very rarely of his ideas. The structure of the whole social organization is calculated to exclude thought of a vigorous and substantial character. In the first place, the whites perform no hard labor, and I believe that physical must precede mental development and strength. " The mental lassitude and indisposition to hard THE BIOGUAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 57 labor, so cliaracteristic of the Sontli, is, undoubt- edly, tlie result of several causes. I have men- tioned but one, but I think it the most important and fruitful one. '' Then Virginia has no system of public schools ; indeed, there are no public schools in the State. In one or two of the large towns they have made an effort to establish free schools, but thus far the scheme has failed because nearly all the wealthy and influential people think the plan a bad one. They think there is danger that their children may associate with others lower in the social scale — a great misfortune in the estimation of the 'first families of Virginia.' '' In spite of these drawbacks we left both Fred- ericksburg and Richmond, and the friends whose unfailing kindness had won our love and grati- tude, with sincere regret." "'AuBUR]?r, N. Y., Sept. lOth, 1853. "Dear Editor: 'Uncle Tom's Cabin ' is really the only anti-slavery agency that has ever pene- trated the South. The great mass of anti-slavery movements at the North have been so shamefully misrepresented by Southern pajDers that the peo- ple of the South have only been led to hate us and to close every aperture in their hearts against our sentiments. But Uncle Tom has made his way into the very citadel of the enemy. You 68 THE BIOGRAPHY OF 1)10 LEWIS. can lind the sable old gentleman away up in tlie ])me forests o"f Georgia and Alabama. Books are about as scarce there as they are in the Barbary States, but ' Uncle Tom ' is in almost every house. And such a preacher as he has proved in those benighted regions ! To be sure, they do not as a general thing listen very attentively or prayer- fully to the simj)le old preacher, being unused to arguments other than bad whiskey, j^istols, and bowie knives, but even these pirate-like felloAvs cannot close their hearts entirely to the Christ- like love of poor old Tom. " While in the South I asked not less than a hundred persons, male and female, what they thought of ' Uncle Tom's Cabin.' It was rare to meet one wdio had not read it. Perhaps half a dozen of the hundred told me they thought it ' a perfect humbug, and that Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe ought to be hung up for the boys to throw rotten eggs at.' But the great majority of them assured me that it was a just and faithful picture of the institution. Quite a number, and those the most intelligent, declared the book too favorable to the South. One intelligent lawyer, who lived in the very heart of pro-slavery bigotry and hatred, assured me that he had resided all his life in the South, had read Uncle Tom three times, and was prepared to say that the book represented the sunny side of the picture. THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 59 "But oh! that 'Key!' that is a bitter pill! ' Yet are not all these extracts from your statute books and from your court trials, and so correct and fair? ' I asked them. ' But Mrs. Stowe has x:)icked up the worst laws and the worst crimes from the whole thirteen slave States,' they rej)ly. ' Still, are not these laws and crimes uj)held by Southern sentiment? ' And I ask in vain, ' Where is the community in the South that has remonstrated against the laws or the crimes? ' ''The 'Key' has had an immense sale at the South. I was in one book-store in which they had retailed six hundred and fifty cox^ies. These books are a godsend to the jjooi" slave. They cannot fail to make the master treat his chattel better, and they cannot fail to hasten the day of the negro's emancipation. " By the way, I threw out some questions in my letter day before yesterday which I wish to ex- jiress again more fully. " Imagine yourself to have passed directly through the heart of Virginia from north to south, and that you are now on the southern boundary. You meet an intelligent. Christian man, over whose passions the institution has not gained the entire mastery. And you ask him. Why is your State such a barren wilderness ? Why is your Great Southern Railroad such a miserable rickety con- cern, allowing the trains to go only eight and twelve 60 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. miles per hour, Avith all sorts of delays and irregu- larities? Why do we not see from the cars, in passing through the whole State, half a dozen fine, newly-x)ainted residences ? Why are all the out- houses mere sheds and only half roofed ? Why are there no fences, so that to feed your mules you have to tie straps around their necks and attach the other end to a stake driven into the ground? And why the old sj^ade-hoe? Why do your working animals look like the daguerreo- type of a shadoAv? Why, to say nothing of jonr miserable negroes, have you such a host of poor, half -brute whites, in whom Ave can recognize hu- manity only by the outAvard form? Why have you no employment for this large class, so that they have to gather crabs and roots for subsist- ence? And why are such an immense majority of your planters' sons and daughters savages in their passions, ignorant and extremely rude? Why have you no public schools? Why is it that so small a proportion of your Avhite population can AA^rite and read their names? Why is it that nearly half of your AA^hites never visit the house of God? AVhy is it that colporteurs have to re- port that they go into large neighborhoods in AAdiich not a single copy of the Bible is to be found? Why is there this miserable, half -barbar- ous state of things in the Old Dominion. And to every question the sincere, Christian Virginia gen- ^HE BIO(>]RAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 61 tleman will reply, 'Slavery! Slavery!' I liave propounded such questions twenty times to sober, tMnking men, and never failed to get this re- sponse. '' He who is jDrepared to appreciate all the bear- ings of slavery will return from a Southern tour infinitely more settled and fixed in his hatred of American slavery." 62 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIG LEWIS. CHAPTER yi. The lectures on health given by Dr. Lewis in Virginia were in line with what he had, from the beginning of his practice, held to be the highest duty of the physician, the prevention rather than the cure of disease. Growing conviction of its importance determined him, as he said, " to shift the switch," and to devote himself to the work of the platform. For the next six years he lectured almost continuously through the Middle and Northern United States and Canada. The only break in his work during this time was made by a short visit to Europe in 1856. In Paris he attended the cliniques of the famous doctors Brocha and Desmarres. The especial purpose of his visit was the pur- chase of illustrative apparatus of the best sort for use in his lectures on physiology, returning with which he resumed the w^ork of his profession. It was his custom to speak on six evenings in the week on the laws of health, laying special stress on his favorite axiom, adapted to suit him- self, "An ounce of prevention is worth a ' ton ' of cure." On Sunday evenings he j)resented in the THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 63 churches, or, by preference, in a large hall, when snch could be obtained, his favorite subject, " The Duty of Christian Women in the Temj)erance vVork." In such cases he invited the clergy to omit their customary service to share in the exer- cises, an invitation which usually was cordially accex3ted. To imx3ress the need of mutual consideration and co-operative action, he sometimes told this story : In the city of there had been no minister settled for many years because of a division in the church which led those of one party to oppose any candidate proposed by the other party. Finally the congregation became ashamed of the heathenish way in which they were living, and determined to agree upon a minister, so a meeting was called and a candidate proposed. When the general feeling seemed settling in his favor. Brother Darby was observed to shake his head. A second candidate was suggested, but still Brother Darby shook his head. Finally, a wise member who saw that nothing would be accom- plished in this way, moved that they adjourn to another evening, and that meantime they confer with Brother Darby. The next meeting resulted in the same way. Still Brother Darby shook his head, and they were in despair of agreeing, when a half-witted member of the church arose and 64 TtlE BiOGKAPiiY OJ' 1)10 LiEWtg. said: " Brethren, I want to tell a dream I had last night. I thought I died and went to the place where bad people go. His Satanic Majesty came forward and asked me w^here I came from. I said, 'From .' 'And what are they doing in ? ' ' They are trying to settle a minister.' 'Trying to settle a minister?' exclaimed he. 'Bring my boots! I must goto to-night.' He w^as in the act of drawing on one boot, when I said, ' Brother Darby is opposed to it.' ' Brother Darby is opposed to it, is he? Then he wdll do as well as I could if I were there myself. Put away my boots.' " In his lectures Dr. Lewis forcibly urged upon women their great powder, through their aff ectional, spiritual, and religious endow-ments, to take the lead in ridding the land of the gigantic evil of in- temperance. " How vividly I recall," says one who often lis- tened to him, "the earnestness with which Dr. Lew^is w^ould try to im]3ress w^omen with a con- sciousness of the w^eight of their influence over young men. He w^ould sometimes say: 'When I see a winsome lady in beautiful attire, graciously dispensing the hospitalities of her elegant home, and hear her say in persuasive tones to a young man who declines the proffered glass, " What, not take wine with me on an anniversary? New Year's Day comes but once a year ! " I can imag- THE BIOGRAPHY 01^ DIO LEWIS. 65 ine the devil standing near and saying, with a look of exultation, " I want no better helper. I could not have done the work of temptation more successfuky myself." ' " He often told of the quiet and efficient work of the women of Clarksville, a section of Auburn, IS". Y., who had freed one small village from the curse of rum-selling, and in his later work, in Ohio, he openly ascribed the conception of the plan to his mother. He believed that these hum- ble women had unconsciously found the line of action along which the great work of redemption must be wrought. In 1858, when speaking at a union service of the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches in Dixon, HI., which was even then quite a city, he resolved to make an attempt to put his theory of temperance work into practice. Of this under- taking he afterward wrote : " I called upon Hev. Mr. Harsha, so well known later for his Avork in the Sanitary Commission, ujpon Hev. Mr. Webb, the Baptist clergyman, and upon the Methodist clergyman, whose name I cannot recall, and asked them to forego their Sun- day evening services to unite in a meeting for the discussion of a scheme for the removal of the drink curse. This I had been publicly advocating for nearly six years. " The meeting was large and enthusiastic, and at 5 66 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. its close a committee of fifty or more women were appointed and named 'tlie committee of visita- tion.' This committee included the wives of the clergymen, who were made a special committee to draft an appeal from the women of Dixon to the retailers of intoxicating drinks of the city. "This was prepared, and Avas remarkably elo- quent and touching. The next morning at ten o'clock the visiting committee assembled in the hall where we had held our meeting, heard and indorsed the appeal, and immediately left the hall in a body to begin their work. " The first effort was directed to the saloon under Union Hall, where their meetings were held, into which they marched with hymns of trust upon their lips. They knelt, prayed, sang, and implored, and there was struck a blow which fell with di- vine power upon the thirty-nine grog-shops which were desolating Dixon. In six days' time not even a glass of beer could be bought in the town." The following resolution w^as passed in Dixon, 111., and published in the city papers: " Whereas, An interest is now manifested by the people of Dixon, 111., on the subject of tem- perance, entirely unparalleled in the history of the place, and whereas a special movement has been inaugurated here for the suppression of the traffic in alcoholic liquors; therefore " Resolved, That the thanks of every friend to THE BlOGRAPIir OF 1)10 LEWIS. 67 the cause of temperance and to moral and physi- cal reform in Dixon are due to Dr. Dio Lewis, the originator of the movement, for his noble and self- sacrificing efforts in the cause of God and hu- manity." Years later Dr. Lewis wrote: " It would be difficult to conceive a more inter- esting story than that of the labors of the vromen of Dixon during that week. The triumph was for the time being complete. " I shall never forgive myself for not remaining on the ground, that I might organize social and literary clubs and amusement halls and other substitutes for the lighted, wai^med, social dram- shops. Thus the woman's crusade would have been fairly inaugurated. But at that time I was burdened with what I felt to be my life-work, that of urging upon the j)eople their right to 'a sound mind in a sound body,' and the introduc- tion of a new system of physical training into the schools of the country, and I therefore gave only Sundays to the temperance work. " Two months later a Sunday was thus occupied in Battle Creek, Mich. There I was ably seconded by the ministers. " The Episcopal clergyman, also the Rev. Charles Jones, the Congregational minister, joined in the work. I remember that the committee was one hundred strong. Their special committee pre- 68 THE BlOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. pared an aj)peal. On Monday morning it was adopted, and one liundred and sixteen women, marching two and two, began their visits. ^' The leader of the women was Mrs. E. W.Pendill, wife of the mayor of the city. This gentleman was also a zealous advocate of temperance. Mrs. Pendill afterward became a noted woman suffra- gist, and at the first suffrage convention held in Michigan she arose in the meeting and gave her gold watch to assist the cause. The watch Avas sold repeatedly till several hundred dollars were realized. The last purchaser had it framed and donated it to the State, and it is now in the State Museum at Lansing. " This town, which hitherto had been untouched by any temperance sentiment, was shaken as by the Spirit of Grod. " At the end of two weeks only one of the forty- nine drinking places in Battle Creek remained open. Within six weeks the last of these gave way before women's prayers and pleadings." The editor of the Reed City (Michigan) Clarion, Mr. C. E. Barnes, who in 1883 published his remi- niscences of the work at Battle Creek, says: " The second place visited by the ladies was the Des Moines Saloon, kept by old Erastus Clark. We frequently talked with Clark about this mem- orable affair. He said the ladies, who completely filled the room while many remained outside THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 69 around the door, frightened him almost to death, and he solemnly promised them to destroy his liquors and quit the business." Mrs. Lewis recalls, as one of the incidents of the campaign, a visit of persuasion to an inn-keeper just outside of the town. The sign of the inn hung from the linib of a tree. Pointing to this the landlord said: ''If you Avill take down my sign yourselves I will quit selling." The ladies hunted uj) a ladder on the premises, and closely following each other they climbed it and removed the sign, which they bore in triumph past the house where Dr. and Mrs. Lewis were stopping. Work similar to that in Battle Creek was accom- plished in Mies, Hinmanville, and other places. 70 THE BIOGKAPHY OF PIO LEWIS, CHAPTER yiL In Dr. Lewis's observations of people in all sec tions of the country, lie was so painfully impressed by the prevalence of pale faces, undeveloped and distorted bodies, and nervous debility that he be- came anxious to arouse the peoY)le to active inter- est in x^hysical culture, and especially to the neces- sity of making it a part of school training. He did not agree with an eminent writer who said : *' Give the boys the unrestrained use of the grove, the field, the yard, the street, with the various sorts of apparatus for boys' games and sports, and they can dispense with the scientific gymnasium." The doctor certainly had no disposition to limit the opportunity to boys. He considered the physical development of girls quite as imjDortant to themselves, and more so to the general welfare. He said: "It is not enough that children grow. Their growth must be symmetrical. It is our duty to see that both boys and girls get an all- sided development, and this no one game or set of games, no one avocation can give. The writer above quoted, Avho believes in letting the body take its chance, would not argue in like way for THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 71 the mind. In the midst of conversations, news- papers, and lectures which evoke intense mental ac- tivity, we turn aside for the methodical training of the academy and college. The poorest man in the State demands for his children the organized school. He is right. An education left to chance could not result in the symmetry which is the highest form of develojoment. Discriminating, systematic, scientific culture is our demand. Let it be for both body and mind." The military drill used to a limited extent in some schools for boys, he considered valuable only in the cultivation of uprightness of body and pre- cision of movement, and singularly deficient in the requisites of a system of muscular training. In the endeavor which had been made to em- ploy gymnastic exercise as a means of restoring Mrs. Lewis to health, the doctor had soon discov- ered serious defects in the system in vogae. It was apparent from the outset that the mere wield- ing of the heavy apparatus tired, and as the aim was development, not exhaustion, the dumb-bells and heavy clubs were given up for wooden ones. Carefully observing where fatigue was induced by exercise. Dr. Lewis began to devise a series of movements which should give development to every set of muscles. He also saw that pulling on fixed weights strained certain muscles, and that these tended to 72 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. become stiff while others were left unexercised. This he comx:)ared to the effect that pulling heavy loads has upon a cart-horse, who therefore wears out early. To develop the carriage, or race horse, where ease, grace, and speed of motion require the fullest command of every muscle, he is attached by the trainer to the lightest vehicle, or mounted by the light-weight jockey. Considering a model gymnast Dr. Lewis wrote: " We visit the circus. Let us study three persons, the man who lifts the cannon, the India-rubber man, and the general performer. The lifter and the India-rubber man are the extremes ; neither is in the highest physiological condition. The gen- eral performer is our model. He cannot lift a cannon nor tie himself into a knot. He holds a point midway between the two extremes. He is neither the slow cart-horse nor the loose- join ted animal, but he is the fine, active, vigorous carriage- horse. He is, in a certain sense, strong, but it is not the strength of grace, flexibility, agility, and endurance." Dr. LeAvis argued that what the human being wants is not the muscular power to lift, for a few years, a great weight in slow time, but health and flexibility of muscle with which to meet quickly and with facility the varied demands of life through a long period of years. It appeared to him that the attractions of a sys- THE BIOGKAPHY OF L)IO LEWIS. 73 tern of gymnastics from vvhicli all but vigorous young men are practically excluded are about equal to those wliicli a ball-room would offer if limited to the same class. To gain health and flexibility through systema- tic exercise Dr. Lewis, therefpre, decided that the following conditions must be met: The ap23aratus must be light, that the strength may not be spent in lifting and wielding it, but be available for exercise. It must be adapted to a great variety of move- ments, since the physiological purpose of all mus- cle-training is the marriage between nerve and muscle. Since enjoyment is also a prime condition of life and health, nerve-stimulus should be secured, to which end the movements should be rhythmic and accompanied by music. The exercises should be social, not individual. They should have the character of games. They should be adapted to both sexes and all ages. In order to carry out these principles Dr. Lewis devoted the leisure hours of many years to devis- ing the proper apparatus, and developed a system in which the athlete finds opportunity for great- est exertion, while in the use of it the delicate child need never be overtaxed. The disciples of the old system of gymnastics, which involved heavy apparatus, often challenged 7-1 THE BIOGRAPHY OF 1)10 LEWIS. the former assertion, but Dr. Lewis found it easy to prove, by practical tests, that " by vigorous ex- ercise after the new method, in less than fifteen minutes legs, hips, back, arms, shoulders, neck, lungs, and heart will all |)lead for rest." For the cumbrous, costly, and fixed machinery of the old system, which required a hall expensively fitted up for the purpose, was substituted appara- tus which was portable, light, and inexj)ensive, consisting of wooden dumb-bells, rings, clubs, and wands, which could be used in any school-room or private apartment. The simj)le device of a small bag of ticking three-quarters filled with beans, for tossing and catching, in games adapted to two or two hundred persons, not only proved an ex- cellent means of exercise, bringing into healthy activity several hundred muscles, but afforded in- valuable training in quickness of eye and hand and in presence of mind. The games, invented in great variety, were an incitement to exercise, quickened the spirits into a glow, and provoked hilarious fun. Of exercises classed as "free gymnastics," be- cause performed without apparatus, the number developed was almost without limit. To avoid too strong a determination of blood toward one group of muscles, the order of these movements was carefully planned so as to provoke circulation always from tliQ main blood-vessels toward their THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 75 natural and successive distributions. Noticing that in the German system of gymnastics the ex- ercises were almost exclusively confined to the training of the flexor muscles, a series of what he called "mutual help" exercises was devised for the equable development of the flexor and exten- sor muscles. These were performed by two or three persons without apparatus and accompanied by music, and were especially graceful. Confident that these methods of j)hysical train- ing would prove a health-lift in the truest sense, without restriction as to age, sex, or condition, he resolved to leave his interesting and successful work on the platform to establish an institution for physical training. To this end Dr. and Mrs. Lewis went to Boston, Mass., in June, 1860. Locating themselves in the beautiful suburbs of West Newton for the summer, Dr. Lewis visited with interest the schools in Boston and vicinity, to observe the physical condition of the pupils and methods of instruction. He directly organ- ized evening classes in gymnastics in several ad- jacent villages, in West Newton, Newtonville, Newton, Newton Upper Falls, Newton, and Water- town. He was fortunate in finding in West Newton the English and classical school of N. T. Allen, then and still ranking among the most popular, as it is one of the most thorough of Massachu- 76 THE BIOGRAPHY OF UIO LEWIS. setts scliools, and notable for its Mgh. grade of moral as well as of intellectual and physical training. Mr. Allen, with quick appreciation of whatever could be of genuine service to his pupils, gave cordial welcome to the new gymnastics and to the lectures on health, for which, in his school. Dr. Lewis was at once engaged. These lectures were continued by the doctor, with great pleasure to himself, until he left Boston for California in 1875. " No one else," wrote Mr. Allen in 1887, " has presented his subjects with such interest and power, nor have I ever found a system of gym- nastics so effectual for good. Heavy gymnastics got its death-l)low. The x>upils were aroused to enthusiasm ; such enthusiasm as I have never seen kindled in my school by any other lecturer. Dr. Lewis was grand." Perhaps the most interesting and encouraging of all his classes was formed at the McLean Hospi- tal for the Insane, a private institution at Somer- ville, Mass. Appreciating the difficulties under which the physicians to the insane labor in stimulating the interest of their patients and in providing activi- ties for them, he proposed to the superintendent to conduct a class in gymnastics. It was not held safe to put apparatus in the hands of the patients. THE BIOGKAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 77 SO "free gymnastics" were at first introduced. The success was so great in fixing the attention of the class, the excitement was so happif ying in its effects, and the order was so good that Dr. Lewis gained consent to furnish the patients with apparatus, and it was soon found that while wands and bean -bag games x)roved as delightful to these invalids as to the jjupils of other classes, not an injury to any jDerson resulted. The report of Dr. John E. Tyler, superintendent of the McLean Asylum at Somerville, Mass., for 1860, says: "In addition to the standard amusements of ball, billiards, and bowling, for which we have abundant facilities, an innovation j^leasantly com- bining diversion and exercise has been made, under the direction of Dr. Dio Lewis, in the introduc- tion of his valuable system of gymnastics. He has spent much time in patient and judicious in- struction to large classes on both sides of the house, and succeeded in interesting and accom- plishing them in the numerous feats of his art. Much benefit has resulted therefrom which was not confined to those actually engaged in the ex- ercise; the bystanders could laugh heartily at the efforts of others." Previous experiences in the State Lunatic Asylum at Utica, N. Y., had given the same results, and Dr, Lewis was convinced that such 78 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. exercise, judiciously conducted, Avould be an in- valuable aid in restoring physical liealtli and mental sanity to the patients, and would prove a great assistance in the management of institutions for the insane. In August, 1860, the American Institute of Edu- cation met in Tremont Temple, Boston, and the sys- tem of the " new gymnastics " was brought before it and illustrated by trained pupils. The interest excited gave impetus to the work, and the atten- tion of prominent citizens being turned to the method, classes were formed, some of children, and in the evening some of ladies and gentlemen, while one on Monday morning drew the leading minis- ters of the city, who keenly appreciated the gain made through the development of unused muscles, and the recuperation which came to overstrained nerves and mental powers. The local enthusiasm soon spread, and messages of interest and encouragement from educators and physicians were received from all parts of the country, urging upon Dr. Lewis the fulfilment of his project. Col. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, in an arti- cle on " Gymnastics " which was published in the Atlantic Monthly oi March, 1861, said: " It would be unpardonable in this connection not to speak a good word for the favorite hobby of the day, Dr. Lewis and his system of gymnastics. Me biogeaphy of dio lewis. 79 . . . Dr. Windsliip liaci done all that was needed in apostleship of severe exercises, and there was wanting some man with a milder hobby, perfectly safe for a lady to drive. The Fates provided that man in Dr. Dio Lewis, so hale and hearty, so pro- foundly confident in the omnipotence of his own methods and the nselessness of all others, with such a ready invention and such an inundation of animal spirits that he could flood any com- pany, no matter how starched or listless, with an unbounded appetite for ball-games and bean-bag games. Wherever Dr. Lewis's methods have been introduced important advantages have followed. . . . His movement is undoubtedly the most im- portant single step yet taken for the physical education of American women." 80 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER VIII. In 1861 Dr. Lewis obtained from the Massa- chusetts Legislature an act of incorporation of " The Boston Normal Institute for Physical Edu- cation." The school was at once opened and largely attended. During the next seven years four hundred and twenty-one ladies and gentle- men, in about equal numbers, were graduated from it. These were able to answer the demand for instructors in the " new gymnastics " which soon came from the schools and from private classes in the larger cities of New England, and later from the remoter parts of the country, until at length the system was taught in every State of the Union. The board of directors of the Normal Institute included many of the most distinguished edu- cators of New England. President Felton, of Harvard University, was its active presiding offi- cer up to the time of his death. Able professors, including the renowned Dr. Walter Channing, of Harvard College, filled the department of anatomy, physiology, and hygiene. The eminent philosopher, A. Bronson Alcott, THE BlOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWtS. 81 of Concord, Mass., gave a series of Ms original and interesting "conversations." The section of vocal culture was in charge of Prof. T. E. Leonard. At the close of each half -year's session a public exhibition Avas given in Tremont Temple, which furnished a large audience-room, seating two thou- sand people. It was necessary, in order to limit the attend- ance, to charge an admission fee, the proceeds of which were always given to some charity. Still many more came than could gain admittance. The exercises were commended in the most eulo- gistic terms by such men as Edward Everett, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Rev. Dr. Kirk, James T. Fields, and John D. Philbrick, the superintendent of Boston schools. As the system was a growing one, and Dr. Lewis was constantly making new inventions of exer- cises, in order to keep the public informed he commenced, in the same year, the publication of a small monthly magazine. At the request of the editor of the Atlantic Monthly he also prepared an illustrated article for that magazine. In 1862 the developed system was published in a volume called " The New Gymnastics." In two years this had reached its eighth edition and the sale is still large. In the report of necrology of the Massachu- setts Teachers' Association in 1886, more than a 82 THE BIOGBAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. quarter of a century after tlie system was pre- sented before the American Institute of Educa- tion, in Boston, in a sketch of Dio Lewis occurs this statement: "It is noteworthy that of the numerous treatises published on light gymnastics in this country, all are but modifications of the Dio Lewis system. No person has succeeded in exciting such enthusiasm in classes of both adults and youth as this magnetic man." In London, England, the system was success- fully introduced by an early graduate of the Normal Institute, the Rev. Moses Coit Tyler, now professor of English literature in Cornell Uni- versity, Ithaca, N. Y., and author — a gentleman who so valued the system that he said : " Of the establishment of the Institute for Physical Edu- cation the same words maybe used which Neander employed concerning a book written by Marsilius, of Padua, ^It made an epocli^ " Mr. Tyler's articles in the leading English maga- zines, his lectures in London before educational bodies, to the aristocratic visitors on Saturday mornings at the Royal Polytechnic Institute, to the gentlemen of science and of critical acumen gathered at the meetings of the Metropolitan As- sociation of Medical Officers of Health, to the learned scholars and practical educators compos- ing the College of Preceptors, and to j)opular audi- ences in town and country, his instruction to ^HE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 8S private pupils of eminence, including Dr. John Garth. Wilkinson, to whom lessons were given early in the morning in the doctor's beautiful garden, and his classes demonstrating the value of the system, were all conducted with an ability and enthusiasm which proved of inestimable value. In forcible words he presented the various ad- vantages of the methods which have been already indicated in these pages and are fully developed in Dr. Lewis's work entitled " New Gymnastics." Addressing the British College of Preceptors, London, he said : " Dr. Lewis has inaugurated in America a great national reform, as distinct, as influential, as glorious as that which was wrought in Germany by Salzmann and Jahn, or in Sweden by the poet and gymnasiarch, Ling." In the following appreciative words he set forth the service and the charm of that feature in the system which made it known in England as " the musical gymnastics : " "" I can only hint at the peculiar benefit result- ing from the habit of performing all these bod- ily movements in strict musical time. Whatever musical development ensues becomes closely as- sociated with the intelligence and will. The whole frame at last seems imbued with the musical prin- ciple, vitalized and permeated by some breath of harmony, grace, and accurate ease. . . . The new system insists upon being enjoyed if pursued at all. 84 THiJ Biography of ijio Lewis. It seeks to stir the sources of exhilaration, mirtli, enthusiasm, and accomplishes this by the viva- cious character of the movement, by the contagion of perfectly concerted action, and by the delight- ful stimulus of music. "The 'new gymnastics' rise far above the dreary level of task- work, and are literally and permanently a pleasure. They recognize the ar- tistic necessity of touching the play-impulse. They attempt to inaugurate, during the hour de- voted to gymnastics, a sort of physical jubilee, a carnival of the emotional and vital powers. . . . Indeed, music is made so central to the system that without it we can do nothing. When the music leaves we adjourn." Mr. Tyler went to London in May, 1863, bearing simply a few letters of introduction. His first communication to Dr. Lewis confessed to misgiv- ings. He said : " When last Tuesday I arrived in this huge city, so awful in its greatness, and passed through it alone, a total stranger, I must tell you that I found my heart in my throat. But now, after three days sjDent in feeling the public pulse, I rise to an absolute certainty not only that I am to succeed, but that I am to succeed tremen- dously. I write these words with joy at the mag- nificent prospect of usefulness now spread before me, and of gratitude to you for guiding me to this work." THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 85 Mr. Tyler was cordially received, and by none more helpfully so than by Mr. Tweedie, the emi- nent publisher, a gentleman widely esteemed for his great service in the anti-slavery, temperance, and other reform movements. " Mr. Tweedie said," writes Mr. Tyler, " that I could not have come to London with a better business ; that the people are waiting and eager for just such a system of gymnastics, and he as- sures me that I have nothing to do but stretch out my arms and bind up the sheaves. He has already put me into communication with the right kind of men, who bid me welcome and thrice welcome. Your article in the August Atlantic has greatly interested them in your system. On reading it they sent for your book on gymnastics and had thought of writing to you to send a man who could teach it, when lo ! my arrival." In June he wrote : " Five weeks ago to-day I ar- rived, and when I think of the progress made, of the firm, broad foothold in London that I have already secured, think of my classes, which are under flourishing, nay, enthusiastic headway at Brompton, of other classes in other sections of London that are in embryo, of the families I have come to know, of the multitude I have reached by my published articles, of the strong, influential men and women who have become my co-workers, surely I must congratulate myself that these five 86 THE 1310GKAPHY OF DIG LEWIS. weeks have more than answered the promise of the beginning. The events of an ordinary year have been crowded into them." July brought reports from Prof. Tyler of lec- tures and enthusiastic audiences in different parts of London, and before the faculty and students of Regent's Park College, and of the work alto- gether in so high-tide of success that it was with reluctance that he yielded to the necessity of pausing while the London world took its summer vacation. Dr. Lewis cordially appreciated and acknowl- edged the eminent services of Prof. Tyler in this work. Speaking publicly of his address before the British College of Preceptors, London, in 1864, he said : " I devoted many years to inventing the new system, but I have never been able to pre- sent its salient features in language so classic and so beautiful." For three years the classes in London were con- tinued under the able management of Prof. Tyler. The system extended in the course of the next decade of years to Great Britain, to Germany, to Africa, to India, and it may be said that it was introduced almost wherever the English language was spoken. Elizabeth P. Peabody said that on visiting Berlin the first announcement Avhich at- tracted her attention was that of a school for physical exej^cise oyer which was written in Ger- THE BIOGRAPHY OF IHO LEWIS. 87 maD, "Die Lewis's Gymnastics." A gentleman returning from St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1872, brought watli bim a programme of tbe closing ex- ercises of a ladies' seminary in tbe city, a school patronized almost exclusively by the nobility. In this programme, beautifully printed upon satin, there were three re j)etitions of the "Dio Lewis's Calisthenics." A gentleman travelling in Scot- land in 1873 had handed to him, in two small towns, a circular announcing some person as " the only representative of Dio Lewis's system of gym- nastics." In 1864 two bills looking to the introduction of military drill into the i)ublic schools had passed to a second reading in the Massachusetts Legisla- ture, when the movement attracted the attention of some prominent educators who believed such training not helpful, but prejudicial to the best de- velopment of the young, and who also deprecated any farther stimulation of the war-spirit which the recent national events had kindled to fever- heat. IS". T. Allen, James Allen, William Lloyd Garri- son, and others asked to be heard in opposition to the bill. This was granted. So earnest was Mr. Garrison that he said : "After thirty years of retirement I will buckle on my armor and go from Berkshire to Nantucket sands to help wipe the barbarous statute from the State," 88 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. Dr. Lewis was invited to j^resent liis views before the committee. A very large audience was in at- tendance. A young soldier fresh from the army and fa- miliar with the manual of arms, who had also received Dr. Lewis's training in the new gymnas- tics, illustrated before the audience, under the doctor's direction, the movements of both systems. So manifest to every observer was the suj)erior adaptation of the latter method to secure to every muscle health and flexibility, the sure conditions of grace and precision of movement, that the fate of the bill was sealed. THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 89 CHAPTER IX. While Dr. Lewis was directing tlie institute for physical culture, so many came from a dis- tance to take advantage of a system of treatment wMcli, rejecting all medicines, looked for cure to healthful diet, well-adapted exercise, baths, direct exposure to the sun's rays, and cheerful home-life, that he concluded to establish a sanitarium in Boston. Here chronic complaints were treated. When the spring of 1864 came the invalids were transferred to Lexington, Mass., for more complete accommodations and for country air, and here the sanitarium continued until 1868. During all this period the Normal Institute for Physical Education continued, the winter session being held in Boston and the summer ses- sion in Lexington. Among the members of the classes at the Nor- mal Institute there were so many school-teachers, and young women who had broken down from study, as it was the custom to say, that Dr. Lewis studied their condition and their gain under physical training with especial interest. He be- came convinced that in most cases, while the 90 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. break-down was only too real, the case was by no means the one assigned, but that it was due, in- stead, to the fact that the girls had been but half- trained ; that for the sake of stimulating some of the mental faculties to a high degree and achiev- ing certain prescribed results, the mind, by whicli was often meant scarcely more than the memory, had been overtaxed, while every law governing the body had been persistently violated. "In these classes, representing about equally the two sexes," wrote Dr. Lewis, "the average health of the women was, in the beginning, lower than that of the men, but with the removal of the corset and the long, heavy skirts, from which, I am sure, without being able to demonstrate it, that ninety per cent, of the so-called female weaknesses come, and with such exercises as thus become possible, a remarkable change ensued. In every one of the thirteen classes of graduates the best gymnast was a woman. In each class there were from two to six women suj)erior to any of the men. In exhibiting the graduating classes from year to year in Tremont Temple women were uni- formly placed in the more conspicuous situations, not because they were women, but because they were the finer performers. Dr. Walter Channing, one of the professors in this institute, often spoke with great enthusiasm of the superiority of the women," THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 91 Careful observation of many of tlie public schools, and especially of the seminaries in which girls were trained, left the physical degeneracy of the pupils who came to the Normal Institute no matter of surprise to Dr. Lewis. In the book called " Our Girls " he says: " I was asked to visit a female seminary some miles out of Boston, on the occasion of its annual commencement. Sitting on the platform with the principal, she whispered to me: 'That class of young ladies seated by the organ is the graduat- ing class.' ' And they have finished their educa- tion? ' I asked. She nodded assent. I gave them a good long look and could not resist the thought, If you had said the girls themselves were finished I should have understood you; but instead of thinking their education finished, I should con- sider that they have not laid the corner-stone in the foundation of a true womanhood." Dr. Lewis was still more painfully impressed with the fact that in many seminaries while the pupils are learning some music, a little French, and less of the solid branches of an English educa- tion, they are, through narrow and rigid over- sight, gradually losing what power of self-control they have brought to the school, and too often are acquiring a habit of dissimulation which marks all their subsequent career. He wrote with intense earnestness : " The worst class of our citi- 92 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. zens are more wortliy of trust tlian some man- agers of ladies' seminaries consider their pupils to be. The general policy is to have an almost end- less series of rules and then police the school and watch for violations. My own horror of these methods, which lead girls to study every species of deception and trick in order to evade the rules and to thwart the teachers, is such that T should prefer that my daughter should never learn to read the name of the God who made her rather than acquire all learning and accomplishments under so demoralizing mfluencesP As a result of much experience and study, Dr. Lewis toas confirmed in these cardinal be- liefs: That the graduate of a young lady^s seminary should, like the graduate of a German univer- sity, he as much improved in body as in mind hy student-life ; that she should he fitted for the active duties of life, the performance of which requires, primarily, a healthy and vigorous body ; that girls who leave school pale, thin, and bent, no matter what their knowledge of mathe- matics, languages, or music, have been outrage- ously humbugged ; that the demoralizing hab- its of concealment and pretence so common in schools can be prevented by throwing pupils on their own responsibility. fits theory, stated in brief .^ was: " Put th^ THE BIOGRAPHY OF DtO LEWIS. 98 whole girl to school and she need not hreak down^ Profoundly impressed tliat the future of the race hinges mainly upon the girls of to-day, Dr. Lewis, eager to help on in the best way, resolved to put his theories to the test of practice. He therefore decided to establish a school for young ladies, or " our girls," as he preferred to call them, in which he could embody his beliefs as to the best conditions for the development of a true w^omanhood. In this he wished to give to its members the liberties and jDleasures of a true and refined home ; by the abolition of distrustful espionage to develop the sense and habit of per- sonal responsibility; by employment of the best teachers, and by familiar association between them and the X3ux)ils, to furnish both conscious and unconscious intellectual and spiritual train- ing; and by complete physical training under hygienic conditions to insure, as indispensable to all the rest, a sound body. The following account of the school is taken, substantially, from a volume published later by Dr. Lewis, entitled " Our Girls : " He bought a large summer hotel in the healthy and historic town of Lexington, Mass., eleven miles from Boston. This he adapted, at large out- lay of time, thought, and money, to the use and comfort of young women. Desiring to convince 94 "I^itE BIOGHAPHY OF 1)10 LEWlg. educators and physicians of tlie soundness of his principles, he advertised especially for pupils who had broken down at other schools. This brought many girls so out of health that for a time it was necessary to treat them as patients. Some were cared for, for months, as invalids. Then they were permitted to attend the classes as listeners, but were not allowed to study books. When well enough they became ]3upils in full. Having too often seen coarse and unmannerly teachers made instructors of girls, as if the knowl- edge of books were the one test of their fitness as guides, regardless of the fine graces, the conversa- tional powers, and the subtle influences of charac- ter which furnish the true, though often uncon- scious education, Dr. Lewis was at much pains to secure a corps of teachers whose character and refinement should be at least equal to their in- tellectual attainment, which he required to be adequate to the work of instruction without the aid, in the class-room, of text-books. In religious matters he wished the school to be altogether unsectarian. From his youth, Dr. Lewis had been a member of the " Church of the Disciples," but as he did not find this denomina- tion represented in the vicinity of Boston, he united with the Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Lewis was a member. The several professors in the school rej)resented the Avidest diversity of re- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 95 ligious views, and this Dr. Lewis preferred, as thus, while the highest principles of religion were inculcated and became the very atmosphere of the school, the pupils came under no one denomi- national influence with respect to creeds at this formative periods of their lives. The leading professor in the department of mental and moral science, and critical reading of the English classics, was Theodore D. Weld, pre- viously head of the noted Eagle wood school, N. J., and distinguished as a Shakespearian scholar and interpreter and as a lecturer on mental and moral philosophy. In early life Mr. Weld studied for the minis- try at Lane Seminary, Ohio, under Dr. Lyman Beecher, but he abandoned the plan and gave himself to the anti-slavery work, speaking from the platform and writing. Referring to him Wendell Phillips said: "His are the most elo^ quent lips that ever addressed an audience on the subject of slavery." Mr. Weld married Miss Angelina Grimke, a Southern lady whose self-sacriflcing devotion to her anti-slavery principles led her to part with her inheritance by freeing her slaves, and to con^ quer her timid reserve and address audiences at a time when for a woman to speak in public was to incur the opprobrium of the world and to brave the alienation of friends. 96 THE BIOGRAPnY OF 1)10 LEWIS. That Miss Grimke's magnetic eloquence won all wlio listened to her and drew from Wendell Phillips the remark, " She swept the cords of the human heart with a power that has never been surpassed and rarely equalled," Avas the gift that was added to that which, in the humblest spirit of self-sacrifice, she sought and Avon — the power to helj) those Avho were in bonds. Loss of voice early compelled Mr. Weld to abandon public speaking, and Mr. and Mrs. Weld established, in 1854, a school at Eagle wood, N. J., which won high esteem from the most cultivated and thoughtful people. Dr. Lewis, in his estimate of its character, expressed the feeling- of many. He wrote: " I had the pleasure to visit this school. Its organization and management evinced an orig- inality so remarkable, a comprehension so com- plete, and a moral power so intense that whenever since I have thought of a school in the best sense, that remarkable company of young men and wo- men gathered about their idolized teacher has risen up before me. "I visited Mr. Weld's school more than once, and never Avithout a yearning to see an educa- tional institution in which this grand man, freed from business responsibilities, might, with all his magnetism and noble thought, be brought face to face Avith a great company of young people. The happiest day during the months of prejDara- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 97 tion for the Lexington school was that on which Mr. Weld consented to join me in its manage- ment." Mrs. Weld assumed the dei^artment of history, and both remained members of the faculty as long as the school continued. The esteem which Dr. Lewis felt for Mr. Weld when they began to work together grew with association, and w^hen, at a dinner-party, the question was asked of each in turn, " Who among all the men you have met impresses you as the greatest ? " and one answered, "Why, Webster, of course," and another said, "Archbishop Manning," and another, "Kossuth," Dr. Lewis said: " Of all the hundred persons, more or less, that I have met v/ho were esteemed great, I consider Theodore D. Weld the greatest. I think his mind the most philosophical and w^ell- balanced, and his moral development the most harmonious." In the department of music was Zerdahelyi, a pupil of Liszt who played with the maestro in the capitals of EuroxDe, and whom Liszt, when en- cored, would sometimes push through the curtain, saying to the audience, " He can play as w^ell as I can." In the Hungarian insurrection against Austria Zerdahelyi joined the army and became a member of the staff of Kossuth, with whom he was at length banished. He was shot in the hand during his time of service, but was still an 7 98 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. accomplislied player and became a remarkable teacher. For a time there was among the lecturers Miss Catherine Beecher, widely known as an instructor of young ladies at Hartford, Conn., and as a writer and speaker on educational topics. Mrs. Caroline M. Severance, who was the first president of the " New England Woman's Club," was also a lec- turer. Miss Virginia F. Townsend, the esteemed author, was one of the teachers. Tn^ BlOGHAPfiY OF DiO LEWIS. 99 CHAPTER X. DuEiNa the four years of tlie continuance of the Lexington school, nearly three hundred young women were there trained under the personal management of its founder, in accordance with a new and peculiar regimen, one especial aim of which was to demonstrate the possibility of im- proving their bodies during their school-life, as the bodies of young men are improved in German universities. An exceptionally full curriculum of study was adopted, and pupils were pushed harder, perhaps, than in almost any other school in New England. The girls averaged about seventeen years of age, and came from all parts of the country, including California, Central America, and the West Indies. They came largely from wealthy families and were delicate girls, unable to bear the artificial life of fashionable seminaries or even of fashiona- ble homes. As simple, and healthful, and cheerful a life as could well be attained was here offered them. The pupils retired at half -past eight, wore no corsets nor close dress, kept their extremities 100 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS* warm with, flannels and strong shoes, ate plain food, and enjoyed many games and much hearty laughter. Dr. Lewis regarded two meals a day as better for the human system than three, and adopted that plan in the school. It of course met oppo- sition from the parents, and, at first, from the pupils, though most of the latter soon came to prefer it. At the beginning of each new school- year, however, the difference of opinion had to be adjusted anew, and, weary with the effort, after two years the 'doctor resumed the customary number of meals. The table, while simple and limited in number of courses, furnished an abundance of the best meats, grains well cooked, and fruits. Soups were not in favor, as the doctor regarded them as re- tarding digestion. He was rigid in the exclusion of pastry. The customary dress of the pupils was the gym- nastic costume worn by Dr. Lewis's classes every- where. It was made short on the shoulders, and so long in the waist that, unless the arms were lifted, it fell over the loose belt. The skirt came half-way from knee to ankle. While the young ladies walked, on week-days, in this dress, with- out attracting especial attention, being simply recognized by it anywhere within a radius of Hve miles as Dr. Lewis's pui)ils, they at first wore the THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 101 ordinary street costume to cliurcli on Sundays. At the reqaest, however, of the venerable pastor of the Presbyterian church, they were permitted, to their great relief and delight, to wear the short dress on Sundays as on other days, making it as beaatif al and becoming as their several tastes dic- tated. Many of the school-girls and some of the young ladies of Lexington not connected with the institution adopted the same style of dress. Especial effort was made that physical training should be complete; nothing was left to chance or to individual proclivity. "In most semina- ries," wrote Dr. Lewis, " physical exercise is op- tional with the pux)ils. If arithmetic were treated in the same way, necessary as it is to civilized life, I fear but little progress would be made." Every member of the school practised the light gymnastics daily, for from an hour to an hour and a half, there was dancing on three or four evenings of each week, and there were many amusing games. So popular were gymnastics among the pupils that when asked whether they preferred to spend the hour of recreation which preceded bed-time in dancing or in competitive gymnastics, they al- most invariably chose the latter. But their exercise was not all in-doors. A fine bowling alley belonged to the school. On all the roads leading out of the village, to Woburn, to 102 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. Arlington, to Waltliam, to Bedford, each five miles distant, and to Concord, seven miles away, Dr. Lewis had quarter-mile distances painted on post or tree or stone wall, and, whatever the weather, the passer-by was likely to meet a bevy of merry girls, with Dr. and Mrs. Lewis, Mr. and Mrs. Weld, or other of the equally happy teachers, with flower-box or geologist's hammer in hand, or a tin cup for drinking at the wayside fountains, as they to(5'k their steadily lengthening walks, which often reached from two to five miles. So safe was the old town, lying beyond the stir of manufactures and active business, that the young ladies could freely ramble in the beautiful groves and woods with which it abounded. On entering the school pupils were measured about the chest, under the arms, about the waist, and around the arm and the fore-arm. The aver- age gain for eight months was in chest measure, two and a half inches ; waist measure, five inches ; size of arm, one and a half inches; of fore-arm, about one inch. The work was so hard that with all this remarkable development the weight of the pupils was often lessened. Of course girls came to the school with injunc- tions from mothers not to climb stairs, and with letters from family physicians urging moderation in gymnastics, a caution not unwise with the cor- §etj long skirts, an^ sjiug dresses tg wJllQll they THE BIOaRAPHY OF DIG LEWIS. 103 were accustomed. Indeed, the mothers who came with their daughters were often so appalled by the amount of gymnastic exercise which they saw the pupils taking, that before venturing to leave their delicate daughters they took counsel with Mr. Weld, his department being aside from that of physical culture, to learn whether Dr. Lewis's enthusiasm in this direction did not carry him too far for the safety of young girls. " This," said Mr. Weld, in 1887, "led me to very careful obser- vation, which enabled me to reassure them, and I can say that although I was a teacher in the school from its establishment till its close, I never knew a case in which gymnastic exercise was over- done or harmful." In the judgment of Dr. Lewis, " in no instance did a pupil fail to improve in health." He wrote: " Pupils came with dread of stairs, from back-ache or palpitation, and nearly all with some form of special weakness. In a few months they could do the full and hard gymnastic work of the school, dance three evening a week, go up-stairs without symptoms^ and walk from five to ten miles on Saturday without inconvenience. After the first month of the school-year even headaches were al- most unknown among them. A common excla- mation from pupils was, ' What a slave I have been ! Everything used to seem a burden. I have Just begun to live ! "• 104 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. ^'From accumulated experience such as few men have had the privilege of enjoying," says the doctor, " it is my deliberate conviction that ninety- nine out of every hundred girls may be so devel- oped, physically, in two years of school-life, that they can walk ten miles without fatigue, be free from aches and weaknesses, and nobly fitted for the grave responsibilities of citizenship and motherhood." In so large a company definite system was in- dispensable to concert of action. There were, perhaps, as many regulations here as in other schools, but the spirit in which they were ob- served was the distinctive feature. The discipline of coercion and restriction was utterly abandoned, and the girls were treated as reasonable and in- telligent beings, who would naturally choose the right and accept the opportunities of mental and physical culture afforded them. The teachers mingled freely with the pupils in all their many amusements, from ball-games and dancing to slid- ing down hill. In this way a vigilant and earnest public senti- ment was developed, which made the trammels and friction of school government quite unneces- sary. The girls bore themselves precisely as they would do in a drawing-room, in the presence of men and women of dignified manners and fine culture. Indeed, such were the persons with THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 105 whom they constantly associated. There was, moreover, so large an element of trust in the rela- tion between the teachers and the pupils that the latter could not escape the feeling that they were X)laced on their honor. During the lirst winter of the school Mr. Weld was so imjDressed by the mental and moral qual- ity of the pupils that he said : ''Dr. Lewis, how did you get so superior a class of girls together ? " " I don't know," was the reply. " I only adver- tised our aim and x^urpose." '' I can ansAver that question, Mr. Weld," exclaimed Mrs. LeAvis. '' These girls are largely the daughters of the thinking mothers of New England, many of whom are earnest anti-slavery workers, and they have seriously felt the need of more sim]3le and sensi- ble training than the boarding-schools have been in the habit of famishing." Years later Dr. Lewis wrote: " The secret of the X)opularity of that school and of the most remark- able intellectual jjrogress I have ever known w^as the absence of what is called ' government.' Every pupil was expected to do her best, and I believe she did it. Neither merit nor demerit in respect to character or recitations was made a matter of record. The result was all that the most critical could ask, and would have satisfied the most ex- acting. The school was a marvellous success, and is referred to^ to this day, by some of the puj)ils, 106 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. as the commencement of a new life, as tlie place where they began consciously to cultivate a true womanhood." The experiences of some of the girls who, for the first time in their lives, were not told, but were expected, to do their best were very touch- ing. During the sessions it was customary to give four or five receptions, one on Christmas, one on Washington's Birthday, one on May Day, and others on exceptional occasions. These began at seven o'clock a.m., and a special ten-o'clock train to Boston took the guests away. Invitations to these were always given by Dr. and Mrs. Lewis, the name of the young lady at whose request it was extended apj)earing also on the card. Among the guests were included the friends and relatives of the pupils in the vicinity and many of the students of Harvard College. The only request Avhich Dr. Lewis was in the habit of making of the pupils before these recep- tions, was that they receive their friends and bid them good-night without leaving the ball-room. For the rest he expressed confidence in their sense of propriety. While there was no system of espi- onage in the school, the public sentiment was suffi- cient to hold, with hardly an exception, each pupil to her best. When some lapse from correct deportment had occurred, it was not iincojnnion for THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 107 the knowledge to reach the principal first from the contrition and confession of the offender. Said one such, in her outburst of confidence: " If you knew how much better I have done here than at any other school, I am sure you would excuse me for this fault. AVhen I was at the G. Seminary I used to say that if we were half as much interested in our studies as we were in cheating our teachers we should become as Avise as Solomon. But here — why, doctor, during all these months that I have been here I have never heard a word from any girl which looked like decei)tion. You trust us so com23letely, and treat us with such respect, that I don't see how the worst girl that ever lived could mean to do wrong," A single incident will, perhaps, best illustrate the spirit of the pupils. Nannette, a young girl whose home-life had been spent in a 'New York hotel, and who had been much indulged in following her own Avay- ward impulses, became one of the Lexington pupils. One evening she had planned a drive with an outside admirer, but the doors were locked and a night-watchman patrolled the halls, not to guard the pupils but the building. IN'annette could only escape by being let doAvn from the window. A stout servant-girl was enlisted for the undertaking, and Nannette was lowered to 108 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. tlie ground, and when the drive was over was care- fully drawn up again. Some of the pupils discovered the escapade, but the first knowledge of it that came to the faculty was brought to Dr. Lewis by Nannette herself. She came to him and said : " Doctor, I have to leave the school." " Leave the school? Why so, Nannette?" "I must; I cannot stay." Again the hesitating girl was pressed for a reason, till, at last, she said: "The girls will not let me stay. At least," she hesitatingly added, "unless I con- fess to you what I have done. They say so, and the praying girls are all joraying for me." Gently urged to say what the offence had been, she told her story, expressed penitence, and, duly admonished, remained in school, proving herself thenceforth trustworthy. THE BlOGHAPHY OF I>iO LEWIS. 109 CHAPTER XI. Although the pupils of the school were mostly from aristocratic families, the spirit inculcated was thoroughly democratic. The head of the school and the leading professors knew no dis- crimination, even in thought, on the adventitious basis of fortune, family, sex, or race. It should be stated here that a few boys were admitted for a time, as Dr. Lewis believed in co-education, and limited the school to girls only because their need of its training was, for the time, most jDressing, and the accommodations were not suificient for both sexes. In I860 or 1866 application was made for the ad- mission of a pupil of the negro race, but with the exjDress statement that it was only in case it would cause no injury to the school. Dr. Lewis, talking with Mr. N. T. Allen, of the West jSTewton school, said : " Mr. Allen, what would you do if you were applied to for admis- sion of a colored girl to your school? " " Take her," said Mr. Allen. " I have done so." " Mr. has applied to me in behalf of such a girl," said the doctor, " but insists upon know- ing if her coming would interfere with the good 110 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. feeling or prosperity of my school. I presented the matter at once to the pupils, and they agreed to receive her cordially." It may have been some privately expressed reluctance which made one noble girl, who has since made her mark in litera- ture, say, " Let her come, and if necessary I will share my room with her." But the parents of some ten or twelve girls from Connecticut immediately protested, adding that they should take away their daughters if the girl were admitted. The following letters on the subject bear wit- ness to a spirit loyal to humanity at a time when it cost public opprobrium : "Boston, Friday, Sept. 15th. " Dear Br. Lewis : — I thank you for your kind and noble letter. Of course, neither Mr. Whittier nor myself would feel justihed in allowing you to jeojjardize your school, already such an impor- tant feature in the education of our country. "Mr. Whittier asks me to thank you for his letter, while I do so for my own from you. The revolution is not yet finished; indeed, who shall tell us when the end shall be ? But when that end does arrive, I think our schools will be no longer disturbed by the entrance of a cultivated colored person, either man or woman. " With respect and sincere regard, "Annie Fields." THi: BIOGRAPHY OF BIO LEWIS. Ill " Amesburt, 16th, 9th Mo. " My Deae Doctor: — I thank tliee for thy no- ble letter and the generous and heroic spirit it manifests. Under the circumstances I should not feel like accejDting thy olfer in Miss F.'s behalf, and I know she would be unwilling to risk the consequences of it. I am not sure but it would be better for her to remain in Philadelphia this winter, at least. " Wishing thee all the success which I am sure thy enterprise deserves, and with assurances of my high esteem and respect, " I am truly thy friend, ''John G. Whittiee." In the spring of 1865 Dr. and Mrs. Lewis be- came interested in three sisters, mulatto girls, who were born in Virginia, the slaves of their white father. It had not been the father's intention that the children should follow the destiny of their mother. They had been brought u]3 in his house- hold, of which, under his own mother residing there, their mother had charge. The children were taught to call him " father " and his mother "grandma," as if they had been altogether of his race. He had instructed them, and proposed to send the oldest North for further education, her wardrobe being already prepared, when the father 112 THE BiOGRAPtiY OF 1)10 LEWIS. was warned by the town authorities that this must not be done. Early in the war the father was accidental! 3^ shot while standing at his own door. Althouoh he left a will which gave his children their free- dom and made them heirs to property, there was no one to see that so obnoxious features of it were executed. These three girls, however, escaped with some other slaves, and found refuge within the Union lines at Fairfax Court-House. A woman who was an army-nurse brought them North. Many will recall the impressive words of Henry Ward Beecher when he baptized the youngest, a pretty child of six years, an alien on her native soil. The second daughter was brought to Dr. and Mrs. Lewis for employment. They knew what trouble would follow the introduction of one col- ored girl among thirty white servants of various nationalities, and she was therefore kept as a maid, in personal attendance, during the hours when she was not in the public school at Lexing- ton, to which she Avas at once sent. Annie proved to be a girl of great worth in every respect. Her lady-like manners and her pleasant disposition won the esteem of all who knew her. But she had the frail temperament common to those of mixed blood, and tw^o years later died of consumption. The oldest of the three sisters was living in the THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. IIS State of New York, and before lier deatli Annie asked if Dr. and Mrs. Lewis woukl not take this sister to fill lier place, to wliicli they consented. She was of dignified and attractive manners, and had much strength of character united with great amiability. Both the girls were quick and am- bitious students, and Mary was gifted with a voice of unusual sweetness. Dr. and Mrs. Lewis soon came to feel so great regard for her that they gave her the position of a daughter in the house. Dr. Lewis presented the question to his jDupils whether his colored daughter would be welcome as a school-mate, and again had reason to feel deei^ly grateful that in those under his charge principle conquered the prejudice in which, of course, most of them had been reared. Though Mary was of most delicate and sensitive nature, no lack of consideration or friendliness marred her happiness during the year in which she was a x)ux)il in the school. But she, too, was the victim of her inheritance. She lost her voice in the trying New England climate, and was sent, for better conditions, to Mrs. Lewis, mother of the doctor who lived in Auburn, IST. Y. She remained for two years in this peaceful home, treated as a granddaughter, receiving and conferring happi- ness, when she, too, died of consumption, and was buried in the family lot of one not of her subject- race, who claimed this because of their mutual love. 114 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIG LEWIS. During this period, tliongli so engrossed with many absorbing interests, Dr. Lewis found time to ally himself with the anti-slav^ery work, at least to the extent of standing by its leaders in their hours of danger. " Dr. Lewis was a true, courageous, and enthusi- astic reformer," says Mr. N. T. Allen, of West NeAvton. " He was present when, in 1862, Wen- dell Phillips was in peril from the mobs in Tremont Temple and in Music Hall, and sat on the front of the platform between Mr. Phillips and myself, with jDistols in his pockets. I re- call the impression made by his erect, and stal- wart, and noble presence. His bearing was al- ways commanding, but never more so than then. He was also one of the escorts which conducted Mr. Phillips through the middle of the street, fol- lowed by a howling mob, to his home, which a dozen men guarded day and night." At this period Dr. Lewis occupied as a gymna- sium, on Essex Street, the second house from that of Mr. Phillips. Mrs. Lewis vividly recalls looking from the windows many times upon a mob surrounding Mr. Phillips on his way to his house; a mob which surged through the streets, not from curb-stone to curb-stone, but from wall to wall of the buildings, sometimes putting their fists or elbows through the plate-glass windows, the sound of whose crashing TSii BlOGHAPSY 01^ DiO LEWIS. llo was added to the shouts and groans of the excited populace. The strain of anxiety lest, at any mo- ment, a bullet from some dastardly hand might be sent to the noble heart of the great leader, found relief only when they saw the door of his house close between him and the riotous throng, and " Thank God, he is safe ! " broke from their blanched lips. More than once between the mob and Mr. Phillips moved a band of loyal women, to serve as a body-guard. The victim of these demonstrations bore him- self Avith a dignity and apparent composure which the lookers-on could not command. "What," thought Mrs. Lewis, "must be the agony of the invalid wife in that imperilled home ! " An an- swer came unexpectedly. A friend called one day on Mrs. Lewis, at a time when Mr. Phillips was on a lecture tour in the West, where he was incur- ring much public odium. She said : " I have just called to ask about Mrs. Phillips. I said to the adopted daughter, ^I hope your aunt does not read these painful newspaper reports?' 'Yes, every one of them,' she replied, ' and only says, " I am not anxious ; no harm will come to Wendell." ' " To one who remarked, " I have never seen so great an invalid as Mrs. Phillips, so full of cheer and spirit," Mr. Phillips promptly replied: "I get my best inspirations at her bedside." During the war a regiment of soldiers from some 116 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. New England State was one day passing through the city, and took its way to the point of depart- ure, the Boston and Albany Station, through Essex Street. The sound of the steady tramp of a thousand men, and the inspiring strains of martial music, preceded the coming of the phalanx of soldiers, but when it aj^proached the house of Mr. Phillips, " John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the ground" rose from a thousand voices. Seeing Mr. Phillips bring out a bust of John Brown and place it on the balcony, that all the soldiers might look upon it, and where, as happened, all could lift their caps in recognition of the two heroes, Mrs. Lewis sent to ask Mr. Phillips if he would like to use her United States flag to drape the bust. He sent the following characteristic reply, which, like all his utterances, is a testimony to the depth of his convictions, and which also bears witness to his tender trust in a glorious future for his redeemed country: "Deak Madam: — Many thanks for the offer of a flag. I decline it because while it covers a mil- lion of slaves I cannot take pride in it. John Brown's bust is still my best emblem ; but I hope soon to wreathe it in the Federal flag, which, I trust, will, in a little while, secure liberty to all under its folds. Kindly yours, " AVendell Phillips." THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 117 CHAPTER XII. The interesting and successful experiment in a many-sided education for girls wliicli was inau- gurated at Lexington came to an untimely end through the burning of the beautiful building in which it was carried on. On the morning of September 7th, 1867, three years after the establishment of the school, the imposing structure, containing one hundred and ten rooms, including a spacious ball-room used for lectures, receptions, and gymnastics, as well as for dancing, was discovered to be on fire, and in a few hours was burned to the ground with almost all its contents, even to family wardrobes. The shade-trees which were scattered through the at- tractive grounds jjr evented the fire from spread- ing farther. Unfortunately the substitution of steam for other modes of heating had just been completed throughout the house, even to the rooms of servants, at heavy cost, the fires not hav- ing been yet lighted beneath the last new boiler, and seventeen hundred dollars' worth of coal had been placed in the cellar. The buildings destroyed were insured at about 118 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. two-thirds tlieir assessed value. Only the previ- ous week it had been urged upon Dr. Lewis by a gentleman experienced in business, that in case of fire the sum for which he was insured woidd fall very far short of the cost of rebuilding at cur- rent prices, then greatly enhanced by the war, and he suggested an increase of twenty thousand dol- lars. The doctor was inclined to trust to the great care taken, including the employment of a night watchman, but finally decided to add ten thousand dollars. He attended to the matter at once, but he directed that the new policy should not be is- sued until September 20th, when the pupils would begin to return. On September 7th the fire oc- curred. But the loss, which in every respect was so serious, seemed light when it Avas considered that twenty days later the building would have contained one hundred and fifty young ladies Avho had been engaged as pupils and the corps of teachers. The best substitute that could be found for the school building, in the emergency, was a summer hotel at Spy Pond, five miles from Boston. In this the school opened, twenty days after the fire, in pretty fair order. The accommodations were so limited, however, that it was necessary to issue circulars to the patrons saying that no invalid pupils could be received. Under these disadvan- tages the school continued only one year. THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 119 It was Dr. Lewis's purjjose to rebuild at once, and to establish an institution which should illus- trate still more comx^letely his ideal condition for broad culture for girls, but his heavy losses and other circumstances obliged him to abandon the project. This he did most reluctantly. As the years went on Dr. and Mrs. Lewis had abundant cause to feel satisfaction and pride in the large number of their pupils who not only hlled with success the usual sphere of woman in the home, but who, in less accustomed ways, be- came the world's helpers. The names of many of them are widely known as teachers, as physicians, and as artists, while others have been permanently identified w^ith the organization of charities and the noble reform movements of the time. Looking back uj^on the work which he had re- garded as so full of promise for young women, Dr. Lewis wrote: " I think the school at Lexington was the truest exponent of education for girls which, up to that time, had been in our country. ''And yet, as has been showm in other writings, the curriculum at Lexington was far from philo- sophical or wise. The waste of time and money on music and the languages was immense. The thought of it even now awakens in my mind the keenest regret. " I believe that the true school will make con- 120 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEAVIS. spicuoiis in its programme the natural sciences, will push very far the rudimentary English train- ing, will give the most emphatic attention to com- position and conversation, and will, above all, watch over the health, manners, and morals of the pupils with a truly paternal interest." It was Dr. Lewis's belief that the exceeding quiet which teachers strive to enforce in schools is not, on the whole, advantageous to the pupils, who must do their life-work in the midst of more or less noise, and should, therefore, learn to hx the mind in spite of such as is incident to the work on hand. His views of industrial education as part of the public-school system, expressed in 1873, may perhaps be properly introduced here. He said: "Almost every young American who has such an education as our public school furnishes is ambitious of professional life. When our schools shall be so modified as to give industrial training, so as to teach the elements of one or two hundred different trades or occupations, in which hand labor is a j)rincipal feature, they will do much to remove these morbid aspirations after the learned professions. A successful blacksmith or cai^en- ter is a king in independence as compared with the mass of doctors, lawyers, and ministers. In- stead of teaching so much Latin and Greek, our public schools should give instruction in the scien- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DJO LEWIS. 121 tific elements of a great number of important in- dustries." That the interest in young women with which Dr. Lewis commenced his work had not abated will appear by a quotation from the introduction to the volume " Our Girls," published two years after the school was given up: "My Dear Public: — I write about the girls because I wish to, and because, after a good deal of self-examination, I candidly believe I have something to say about them. " I have always been deeply interested in the girls. When a youngster nothing so fascinated me, and, as I turn the corner, to go with the old folks, I can't see that my interest in them is a whit less earnest. " When I was occupied with the practice of my profession my interest in the girls was so well known that I had an unusual number among my patients. During the years of my j)ublic lectur- ing my audiences were more than half made up of girls and women. When I established the school at Lexington it was a school for girls, and during four years I lived in the midst of a large family of fine girls. It was a sweet, a delightful experience. " My hopes of the future rest upon the girls. My patriotism clings to the girls, I believe Ani^?- 122 THE BIOGRAPHY OF 3)10 LEWIS. ica's future pivots on this great woman revolu- tion." Dr. Lewis's opinions on co-education — botli as to the practicability and the philosox)hy of it — are summed up in the following narrative of personal experience : " When I was a youngster I attended a prepar- atory academy where girls were admissible to a part of the recitations. Miss F , a very charming lady, appeared one morning and mod- estly took her place at the foot of our class. It w^as a class in Playfair's Euclid. Miss F was a beautiful brunette, with a mouth full of pearls and a sweet voice. The new-comer charmed the boys and awakened in them the usual inter- est. On the first day she asked to be excused from the blackboard. On the second day a certain proposition was to be demonstrated which came first to me. The teacher said that my demonstra- tion was a muddle. There were two boys below me. One of them tried the problem, and when he came to 'therefore,' etc., the master said that ' therefore ' had nothing to do with such a demon- stration as that. The other ]:)egged to be excused, and Miss F tried the same plea, but the master informed her that it was against one of the rules to excuse any pupil from recitations two days in succession. So, with many blushes, she went timidly to the blackboard and gave the dem- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 123 onstration jjerfectly, and without hesitating upon a single w^ord. The next recitation in that class was the best I had heard up to that time, and from that time on there was fair play for Playfair's Euclid among us. " Good Mr. Hull, the teacher, declared that not only had the advent of Miss F made gen- tlemen of the fourteen young men in the class, but that our progress had been greatly increased. " What I wished particularly to pronounce was the fact that the manner of the boys toward Miss F instantly changed. No actor could have changed his face quicker than the young man who sat next to me. When she had finished and had quietly taken her seat, Andrew remarked 'thunder!' and his face was full of admiration. From that time I doubt if anything but admira- tion and fraternal affection found a place among us toward this very hue, bright young woman. '• In a school of both sexes under my supervi- sion, I cured all cases of ' love ' by putting each ' love-couple ' together at the same desk, with per- mission to help each other in their studies. "As soon as a young man is brought into con- tact with a young woman in a way which makes them, in a sort, competitors, and an honorable emulation grows up between them, in short, when other portions of the brain are brought into intense action, the organ of amativeness must give way and take its natural and reasonable place." 124: THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER XIII. In 1868 Dr. and Mrs. Lewis desired to establish tlieir home in Boston. With this in view they bought the property on Beacon Street, opposite the Boston Athenjeum, designing it for a private residence. At this time, however, the inheritance of Mrs. Lewis and her sister becoming available for investment, and in obedience to a natural in- stinct which impelled Dr. Lewis always to X3lan for the general, not merely for individual good, the project of a ])rivate hotel was substitued. The house was extended and made eight stories in height, and many new ideas were incorporated. The second passenger elevator built in Boston was introduced, and Dr. Lewis invented an annun- ciator, which was of great service in connection with speaking tubes communicating with all the rooms. In the basement Avere the finest Turkish baths in the country. Because of its beauty of situation the house was named " The Bellevue." The upper story was selected by Dr. and Mrs. Lewis for their home. From this an outlook was obtained almost unrivalled in the city. The win- dows on the three sides of the drawing-room, look- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 126 ing west, sontli, and east, commanded respectively a view of the State-house grounds near at hand, of the city and surrounding country spread be- neath like a map, and of Boston harbor, with its ever-shifting jDanorama of shipping. The morn- ing sun seemed to rise from its waters curtained in glory, and the moon flooded the broad expanse with silver. In the very midst of the city's life, with all its rich resources at command, the home- life was lifted into the sphere of nature. While Dr. Lewis prized for himself and rejoiced that he could offer to others so great advantages, he considered that his best service was in making a flrst-class family hotel without the sale or use of liquor even for cooking purposes. When he leased the house it was to an avowed temperance man, and the terms were twelve thou- sand dollars per year, repairs and taxes, with the understanding that intoxicating liquors should be excluded. As soon as Dr. Lewis was relieved of the care of the building he resumed the work of lecturing on physical education and on temperance. He spoke in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and never failed to express to his audiences his con- viction that " the only effectual means of suppress- ing the traffic is outside of and above statutory regulations, whether in the form of license or total prohibition, and has its root neither in pub- 126 THE BtOGliAl»Hr 01^^ 1)10 LEWIS. lie demonstrations nor in excitement." He said: " That glorious time when there will be no more TRAFFIC IX INTOXICATING LIQUOKS CAN COME ONLY THROUGH THE OMNIPOTENT POWER OF LOVE, 80 BROUGHT TO BEAR ON THE SELLER AS TO MAKE HIM APPRECIATE THE WRONG HE IS DOING AND SO REFRAIN VOLUNTARILY THERE- FROM AS FROM THE COMMISSION OF ANY ENOR- MOUS OR REPULSIVE CRIME." Referring to the work of this period, Dr. Lewis wrote : " During the ten years from 1860 to 1870 I made an occasional attempt to start the movement to which later in Ohio the press gave the name of 'The AYoman's Crusade.' In 1868 a movement was made in Natick, Mass., and the winter and sping of 1869 a very promising one was started in Manchester, ^. H. "I was possessed by an ever-increasing sense of the importance of the w^ork. Some time was spent in preparing for the undertaking in Man- chester. The Hon. Luther Clark, United States Senator, presided at a meeting in the city hall. All the prominent clergymen of the city were on the platform, and many other influential gentle- men with whom I had conversed previously were present, |)repared to give their aid and co-opera- tion. The meeting was a grand success. The next morning, by invitation of the mayor, the THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 127 committee elected at the mass-meeting assembled in tlie Common Council chamber and at once made preparations to begin the work. " I proposed that several committees of one hun- dred each should be selected, that dealers in in- toxicants should be visited, and that the work should begin the next morning. It was soon ap- parent that I had miscalculated the temperament of New England, for after much discussion it was voted that, instead of the movement that I pro- posed, a large number of small committees should be appointed to circulate, among all the women of the city, a petition to rum-sellers. " I was called back to Boston that day by a misfortune in my private business affairs, and was compelled to remain at home for some time. I will not say that my presence at Manchester would have prevented all mistakes, but certainly the friends of the cause made a serious one during my absence. Instead of going out and beginning their visits to the dram-shops immediately, they concentrated all their energies on securing signers to their petitions. They went at this with great energy, and within a week had the names of nearly all the women in the city, and then they gave another week or ten days to printing these in a pamphlet. It made a volume. This cost much money ; but worse than this, the enthusiasm which had been kindled at the great meeting died away, 128 THE BIOGRAPHY OF J)lO LEWIS. and when tlieir volume of names was ready they were not borne on by a grand passion, as commit- tees must be in all great moral revolutions." The private business referred to Dr. Lewis ex- plained as follows: " While engaged in a series of meetings in New Hampshire I learned that the lessee of the Belle- vue was supplying liquors to the guests of the house, freely advertising them on the bills of fare. I returned to Boston immediately. The lessee declared it impossible to make his business suc- cessful otherwise. I cancelled the lease, surren- dering the ample security which I held, and offered it again for lease. A popular hotel keeper im- mediatley offered me $12,000 rental if I would consent that a room in the basement should be used as a lunch and wine room. This and two similar offers were refused, and on the succeeding July I reluctantly resumed charge of the hotel. I owned the Bellevue seven years and sacrificed more than $40,000 to keep out drink. " This is but one of many pecuniary and per- sonal sacrifices to which I have submitted in be- half of temperance. Words are cheap, but God knows that I would place my life on this sacred altar if the sacrifice could help." In 1871-72 Dr. Lewis was employed as editor of a weekly paper called To-day^ which was pub- lished, for a time, in Philadelphia. Li 1872 the THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 129 Bellevue was again leased, a large reduction from a fair rental being made to secure tlie condition that no intoxicating liquors should be sold there. For the purpose of studying the subject of lon- gevity in the library of the British Museum, Dr. and Mrs. Lewis went at once to Europe. It was their purpose to be absent three years, but the lease proving unfortunate again, they returned in a few months to resume charge of the hotel. During these years of large undertakings, in- volving heavy business cares. Dr. Lewis had also done an amount of lecturing and writing, either of which might well have taxed a man's resources ' of body and mind. While at Lexington he prepared for the press and published, in eight successive editions, " The New Gymnastics," " Our Digestion or My Jolly Friend's Secret," and " Weak Lungs and How to Make Them Strong." While living in Boston he wrote and published " Our Girls," " Chastity," and " Chats with Young Women," and revised a previous volume. He also wrote a book entitled " Longevity," and two novels illustrating his health views, neither of which has been published. The reception of all his books by the public was most cordial, and the sales have been very large and wide-spread. Letters from distinguished persons, from Mrs. 9 130 THE BlOGHAPHr OF DlO LEWIS. L. Maria Child, from Wm. Lloyd Garrison, from Andrew D. White, president of Cornell Univer- sity, from the venerable Mark Hopkins, president of Williams College, from Theodore D. Weld, and scores of others gave grateful testimony of the value of those works, both in respect of matter and of style, which must have gratified their author. We have room but for the general testimony as embodied in the Massachusetts Teacher of 1862, and from one which doubtless Dr. Lewis prized above any other. Says the former: "The noble work which Dr. Lewis has done in behalf of physical education is well known to American educators. It is not too much to say that to him more than to any other man must be attributed the deej) practical interest now manifested by educators throughout the coun- try, in reference to the proper culture of the human body. For many years distinguished professional gentlemen had discoursed on the imj)ortance of physical training, but when teachers said, ' Tell us just what we can do in the school-room toward ac- complishing the desired end,' no one was able to give a distinct and satisfactory answer. Two years ago, at the meeting of the American Insti- tute of Instruction, in Boston, Dr. Dio Lewis de- scribed and practically illustrated his methods of physical culture. We need not refer to the enthu- siasm with which these methods were received. THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 131 All present seemed to unite in exclaiming, ' Here, at last, is something practicable. These things we can learn to do and teach our children to do.' The influence of Dr. Lewis's arguments and visible proofs was soon felt far and wide. Prominent ed- ucators at once began to put into practice what they had learned. The doctor's book on gymnas- tics is a capital one and ought to find its way into every house in the whole country." The other is as follows : "Auburn, N. Y., April 16th, 1875. " My Dear So?^ : — Your Avork ' Chastity' is the most important of all your writings. But you must not expect for it a large circulation. Civil- ization has not advanced far enough to warrant this. Vicious men will oppose it. " It is most happily calculated to elevate woman, and I rejoice in every means that has this ten- dency. '' This work ought to be in every house. Chil- dren should read it. As far as the evil exists, so far should the warning extend. It is a mock mod- esty which keeps people in ignorance. " Lovingly your mother, "Delecta Lewis.'' 132 Tttii BIOGilAPHY OF 1)10 LEWIS. V. CHAPTER XIV. Dk. Lewis's desire to put before the people his views on health and education was so earnest that he never entirely gave up lecturing, however heavily his local enterprises taxed him. While conducting the large school at Lexington, Mass., his public speaking was necessarily limited to localities which could be easily reached. After the surrender of that work he was able to extend his field. Amid the varied interests of the suc- ceeding years he used all the time he could com- mand for this work. For the winter of 187.S-74, under the auspices of a lecture bureau he was engaged for an extensive course of lyceum lectures in the West. During these he continued, as had long been his custom, to devote Sundays, without charge, to the work of temperance, always keeping in mind what he had for twenty years desired to see inaugurated, a practical movement on the part of women to close the saloons. Brief summaries taken from newspaper reports of his lectures on temperance will best illustrate his spirit and the method proposed. THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 133 When invited by pastors to substitute his tem- perance lecture for the usual sermon, Dr. Lewis often used as a text the first and ninth verses of the eighth chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Cor- inthians : " Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." ''And let us not be weary in well-doing ; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." " I read these verses," said the doctor, " because their loving, sympathetic spirit may help us to a proper consideration of the subject before us. "There are in man five natures, the physical, intellectual, social, moral, and religious. "The physical is the body; the intellectual in- cludes the perceiving and reflecting faculties, — the mind; the social embraces those feelings or sen- timents experienced in our social intercourse with each other ; the moral our benevolence and justice ; the religious is the worshipping sentiment. Each of these is essential. " Eighteen hundred years ago Jesus Christ came into the world to save man, the whole of man, the body as well as the soul. This it was that Paul meant when he wrote to the Romans : ' I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, 134 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. wholly acceptable unto God, which is your rea- sonable service.' " It is commonly considered that when a man gives up swearing for praying, and leaves drink- ing-places for prayer-meetings, he is converted, but four-fifths of him are not converted unless his benevolence, and his social qualities, and his intel- lectual gifts, and his body itself are used in God's service. " The deist supposes that if he is only benevo- lent and just he has true religion, seeming to for- get that within man there is a religious sentiment, which must be brought into exercise if he would be a true servant of heaven. "Every form of j)aganism brings into action only the religious sentiment, and the Cliristian religion, in too many cases, has only the same par- tial interest for its votaries. " Many persons have made the great error of thinking that learning to pray or to exercise the religious nature is conversion to Christianity. It is only one-fifth of a real conversion, because it only exercises one of the five natures which enter into the composition of humanity. " The Christian religion is designed to convert and develop the whole human being. Wlien a man is fully and really converted to Christianity he is purified and elevated in all these five natures which make up the man. When he who formerly THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 135 cnrsed God conies to worship Him he is converted as to his religious nature. If he formerly looked with indifference on the sufferings of God's poor and wronged his fellows in business transactions and has become alive to the claims of misery and woe, two of his natures are converted. If he for- merly sought only evil companions and prostituted his nature by idle and vulgar anecdote, but now turns to men and women of intelligence and vir- tue, and takes upon his lips nothing but that chaste and refined conversation which his wife and daugh- ters would not blush to hear, his social nature is converted to Christ. If he formerly loved the idle nonsense of political quarrels, the daily report of j)olice trials, and is now absorbed in God as seen in recorded revelation and in the sublime works of nature, he illustrates the conversion of his intel- lectual nature. " If he formerly cared nothing for his body's cleanliness and health, but now looks upon that body as a temple for the residence of the Holy Spirit, as an instrument lent his soul to perform its mission here upon earth, we perceive the con- version of the physical man. " We thus get a complete conversion. " This," continued the doctor, " is a broad kind of temperance, but it is a kind I love to talk about, for it is the kind we need to make the progress that we cannot lose." 136 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. From the newspaper report of another lecture we quote the following: " Who is responsible for the hold which drink- ing usages have on our community to-day ? Clearly not the drunkards ; they win no one, but, on the contrary, by their loathsome and pitiful state help the temperance people; not those who drink reg- ularly and at times get drunk, for fathers warn their sons of their inevitable fate. But it is the men who lead social opinion, and who drink now and then in a respectable and gentlemanly man- ner without exposing themselves to reproach; these are the ones who are, before God and man, responsible for the drunkenness of to-day. They are the recruiting officers in the devil's army, and upon them is the guilt of the degradation that shall come to young men who are now pure. " What shall be done? The temperance reform has gone back for the last twenty years. The world tried cursing drunkards and liquor-sellers for hundreds of years and it did no good. At last six poor drunkards in Baltimore made a great discovery, that cursing the driinJcard is useless; that loe must go down to him and lead him up. This was in harmony with what Jesus taught, but Christians left it for drunkards to apply the prin- ciple. As a result of this effort thirty years ago the arm of love Avas around the drunkard; now it is only the arm of the rum -seller, THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 137 " The WasMngtonian movement, as it was called, owed its success to its acknowledgment that the drunkard Avas a brother; but it tailed in that it still cursed the rum -seller. The liquor-dealer is no more guilty than the drinker. u Tiiere is a wide distinction between vice and crime : crime is amenable to human law ; vice only to the divine law. Vice may do vastly more harm than crime, but the distinction must be made. The trouble is that nineteen men in twenty believe only in the doubled-up fist. '' The right to personal liberty is the greatest prize of the last centuries. To advocate force in regard to personal habits is dangerous ground. "The temx)erance work should be treated in connection with the religious sentiment. The movement should be considered as earnestly as a revival of religion, having for its objective point the sux)pression of a terrible and wide-spread vice. The evil to be attacked can only be successfully approached by strictly religious and spiritual in- strumentalities. " The first practical step recommended is for all who feel it their duty to opxjose intemperance to pray in secret and also in their families for the cause they have at heart. Thus they enter into sympathy with the divine element in the move- ment, and put themselves in spiritual harmony with the providential awakenings and tendencies 138 THE BIOGRAPHF OF DIO LEWIS. of the times. Thus prepared, let them meet for conference and social prayer. The result is that the spirit of love, patience, and faith is cherished and diffused, the Christ spirit^ wliicli should he recognized as the complete and only panoply of the holy war. None should go into the loorli until he can lay aside all combative or threaten- ing tendencies. The movement is purely philan- thropic, and only that spirit which comes from God and goes out to man should pervade its work. *' Need I say that for a Avork which demands this love, this faith, this unwavering trust in God, this power when reviled to revile not again, the hope of the nation is in the women and in them alone? "As I have often said, as I repeated the story of my venerated mother and her neighbors in their wonderful work in the little drink-cursed village in New York, I believe that woman's prayer and patience and love are more potent in the cure of intemperance than all other agencies combined. "Every healthy soul believes in prayer. In certain circumstances it is as instinctive as breath- ing, but it must be of a certain sort. There are two kinds of prayer for temperance, that which hurts the cause and that which helps it. The former is addressed under false pretences to the THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 139 rum-seller, the latter to God. I heard the first in front of a saloon when a minister with clenched fists and a loud, harsh voice closed with these words : 'And now. Almighty God, wilt Thou soften his hard heart? Wilt Thou, with Thy strong right arm, break down his obdurate will? ' But I heard the prayer to God from an ignorant girl, who said: 'And now, dear Father, we thank Thee, even though Thou mayest not answer us, because we feel that we are getting so close to Thee. The difference between the best of us and Thee is so great, and between the best and the worst of us so small! And if Thou hast patience with us, should we not have i^atience with each other? ' "Nor is there any use for temperance people meeting at one end of a town to try to pray into conversion intemperate men gathered in grog- shops at the other end of the town. It can't be done. " For the women who prayerfully and deliber- ately enter into . this movement I would suggest that committees be formed; one of these should prepare temperance pledges to which signatures should be invited. " Let these pledges include, first, the old Wash- ingtonian pledge of total abstinence ; second, the dealer's pledge to give up the traffic ; third, the doctor's pledge not to prescribe strong drink if anything else will do; fourth, the druggist's 140 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. pledge not to sell except on the presentation of tlie doctor's prescription; fifth, tlie property -holder's pledge not to allow his property to be used in the traffic; and sixth, the lawyer's pledge not to de- fend any man who may be known to be guilty of general liquor-selling. " In the circulation of these pledges towns are to be districted, and all places where liquors are sold are to be visited, the appropriate jjledge is to be offered, and the keepers are to be conversed Avith in a kind and neighborly way. If the ladies are addressed roughly, only kind and x)atient an- swers are to be given in reply. If allowed to do so, a hymn or two may be sung and prayers offered in the saloons. Then the visitors are to quietly depart, to call again in a day or two, which, I be- lieve, they will generally be asked or permitted to do. "Approached in this spirit the rum-seller will seem something different from the moral monster temperance people have been accustomed to con- sider him. He will become the subject of loving and prayerful solicitude, that he may be saved from his reckless and inordinate desire for gain. "Men must not feel that they have nothing to ^ o in this work except to say ' God bless the .\''>men.' Let committees of men organize to stand behind the women, supporting them by sympa- thy, by prayers, and by the necessary material THE BlOGHAPHY Oi" DIO LEWIS. 141 aid. They should also form committees of two who will seek out the drunkards and talk kindly witJi them, not to them. But let them be careful to leave to the women the management of the campaign. They have an instinct, as men have not, of the best way to do things, and when they fail we need not hope to succeed. '' Thus it will be seen that the agencies jjroposed are not legal, not threatening, but in the form of tender, resj)ectful, and earnest appeal to the moral nature of those whom they address. " I admit that this new doctrine may be un- popular, but I claim that it is reasonable and consistent with Christianity, and that the temper- ance movement of the future must" of necessity come to this standard." Later, as the work progressed. Dr. Lewis urged the women to establish reading-rooms and amuse- ment halls for the benefit of those who had here- tofore given their spare hours to the dram-shops, and also favored the organization of committees of business men to lielj^, by their counsel and in other ways, those who had thrown themselves out of employment by giving up their traffic in liquor. Simple as was the method adopted, "it was," said Dr. Lewis, " the outcome of long and anxious thought, commencing when the Washingtonian movement was crowded out of the field by our American mania for regulating the world by statute." 142 THE BIOGHAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER XY. On December 13tli, 1873, Dr. Lewis came, in tlie course of his regular lecture tour, to Fredonia, JN". Y., and. spoke in the lyceum course on " The Higher Education of Girls." At the request of prominent citizens he also lectured on Sunday evening, in the Presbyterian church, on "The Duty of Christian Women in the Cause of Temperance," and presented his views of the way of removing intemperance. Referring to the occasion afterward, Dr. Lewis said: " The circumstances were not peculiar and I had no unusual expectations; but before the lecture was done it was evident that there was a deep, strong passion pervading the audience, and when I asked if the women were inclined to organize more than a hundred rose to their feet. I pro- posed that a committee to carry out the method suggested be organized at once; but the clergy present objected to organizing as not suitable to the Sabbath, so a meeting v/as called for the next morning, when a committee of one hundred women was chosen who began their work immediately. THE BlOGHAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 148 " The marvellous promptness of their action is shown by the fact that when, at 12:30 o'clock on that day, I left to go to Jamestown, where I had to lecture that evening, the hotel where I was stopping was filled with women who were plead- ing with the landlord to give up the sale of liquor. The latter came to me in great trepidation, and asked what I had seen in the management of his house which required prayers, that I had set a thousand women upon him." From the local press of the time we copy, in part, the account of this first uprising in what proved to be the movement for temperance for which Dr. Lewis had been looking for more than twenty years. The Fredonia Censor pf December 17th, 1873, said : " When it was announced Sunday morning in the pulpits that Dr. Dio Lewis would address the people on temperance that evening, there was no indication of an unusual meeting, and though the churches omitted their services, and the house was packed, nothing practical was exj)ected. . . . '' Dr. Lewis told of early experience in his native town, in which, through women's efforts, the sale of liquor was speedily abolished, and poverty gave place to thrift, vice to virtue, and misery to hap- piness. He had seen this same work wrought by women fifteen years since in Dixon, ILL., and in 144 'THE BiOGRAPtlY OF DIO LEWIS. Battle Creek, Midi. He believed it could be done in any town. . . . "At the conclusion of the lecture it was evident that something was going to be done. There was not a loosely strung neri^e in that audience of nearly a thousand people. " Hon. Orson Stiles said that his wife and others mentioned would join in the work, and if they did, they would succeed. The women of this town had the question in their own hands. " L. A. Barmore said his wife and mother would go in this army. They don't propose violence, force, or arms. They simply invoke God's bless- ing on their prayers, and ask these men to desist from their traffic. He would like to see the man who could resist an appeal from fifty such women, and he would not give a cent for the piety of any man who would not stand by them and say ' God speed you.' " Rev. Lester Williams believed in striking while the iron was hot, and asked all the ladies Avho sym- pathized with the cause to stand up. It seemed as if every woman in the house rose to her feet. " Rev. A. L. Benton rejoiced in his whole heart in this movement. Dr. Lewis indorsed Mr. Wil- liams's proposition, and there was not much delay before the meeting was organized with Dr. Lewis as chairman and a committee appointed to name fifty women for the service proposed. While the ^SE BIOGEAPHY OP DlO LE^VIS. 145 eaMmittee was engaged Mr. Stiles was called on. He thought the great trouble of our business men was fear of loss of trade. If the women could vote this work would have been done long ago. Mnety-nine women out of a hundred feel more intelligently on this subject than the men do. He didn't know about the lecturer's talk about the men having the largest brain. It wasn't so at his house. " The chairman asked every man who would sus- tain these women by giving moral support and money, if necessary, to stand up, and nearly every man in the house arose. " Dr. Lewis said he should leave town on Mon- day, and should bid good-by to his landlord of the Hanson House without the slightest expectation that he should ever see him at the head of the bar again. "A committee of ladies was appointed to draft an appeal, and a meeting was called for ten o'clock the next morning. After more speeches, prayer and benediction, the meeting adjourned at a late hour, but wide awake. "There were at least three hundred men and women on hand at the hour appointed, and after prayer, singing, and exhortation by speakers of both sexes, the ladies withdrew to arrange the de- tails of their march. The men present continued in prayer and consultation, when it was suggested lO 146 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. that those present pledge their support in dollars and cents. This was done without stint. *' Temperance meetings were arranged for every Sunday night and prayer-meetings for every night till the work should be accomplished. ^'The women were reported to have adopted their appeal and to be terribly in earnest. " It was about half -jDast twelve when the proces- sion of ladies came forth from the basement of the Baptist church, and a fine-looking procession it was, as they quietly walked across the park with the wife of Jugde Barker and the wife of Rev. L. Williams at the head. There were over one hun- dred in the line, comprising wives of our most re- spected citizens, venerable and revered matrons as well as many young ladies. "Down the steps of the Taylor House saloon filed the determined band and nearly filled the room. The proprietors, Messrs. M. H., W. W., and D. Taylor, were all present, and Mrs. Barker imme- diately informed the head of the firm of the ob- ject of their visit, namely, to appeal to them, per- sonally, to cease the sale of intoxicating liquors. " Mrs. Williams then read the appeal from the ladies. A hymn was sung to Pleyel's sweet air, then all joined in the Lord's Prayer. Mrs. Tre- maine, a venerable and gifted woman, followed with a prayer which, in its impressive earnestness and Christian tenderness seemed inspired. THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. l47 " Mrs. Barker then asked Mr. Taylor if lie would not accede to their appeal. He said he was not prepared to answer. He believed in temperance, did not drink himself, but felt obliged to keep liquor in his hotel. If he were not keeping a hotel he would be as strong as they. The ladies said they did not come for argument, but urged him by the promises of God to heed their pledge. Mr. Taylor finally said : ' If the rest will close their places, I'll close mine;' at which he was heartily cheered. ' I mean the drug stores, too,' he added, which amendment was accepted. W. W. Taylor here spoke up and said he didn't as- sent to that. All business in town must shut up before he would, so the ladies said they hoped he would consider the matter and they would call again the next day. He gallantly responded that they should be pleased to see the ladies every day, and the proprietors were bidden a polite good- afternoon with thanks for the courtesy shown. "At Smeizer & Hewes the programme was re- peated for the benefit of Mr. Hewes, who said that he had a license and should continue to sell ac- cording to its provisions. Mrs. Barker said she hoped he would consider it and they would call again to hear his decision. Mr. Hewes said he should be happy to see them. So they filed on to the sidewalk and into the next door. '* Willard Lewis, proprietor, was waiting to re- 148 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. ceive them at tlie bar, and listened to the appeal, the hynin and the prayers. Then he began to tell them how harmless his beer was, but finally said if the rest would shut up he would, or words to that effect. "J. D. Maynard's drug store was next visited, and the proprietor received them very cordially, listened respectfully to the appeal and subsequent exercises, and said he agreed with them exactly ; was always opposed to intemperance, but he could not run a drug store without selling liquor. He would promise not to sell to drunkards. This was satisfactory, but he promised to consider the matter farther. Another prayer was offered, and with a cordial invitation to call again the ladies were escorted out. " Our space will not permit us to detail the subsequent visits. " Before the evening prayer-meeting Mr. May- nard decided to accede to their prox)osition not to sell any more liquor to be used as a beverage, and two or three ladies went to his store and received his pledge. There was much rejoicing. Whether this movement succeeds in the immediate object sought or not, it has evidently raised a i:)ublic sen- timent here which, if not abated, will sooner or later end the liquor traffic in our midst. Men cannot stand back and see their wives and mothers make these sacrifices for a cause and remain in- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 149 different. We venture to suggest also that this movement will be a great educator of the women. By the time that band has tramped a week there will not be many women in it who will say, 'I have all the rights I want. Don't ask me to vote.' We wouldn't be surprised if every one of them should be on hand at the next charter election. They can put votes into the hands of husbands, sons, and acquaintances, though the law may pre- vent them from droi3j)ing the ballots into the box. And if those women are on hand at the polls all day they can turn the election which way they will. " There is X3ower in such an organization as these women have formed and the families they repre- sent. The men on whom they called Monday sjooke of their coming with jokes and jeers, but did not laugh when they came away; the 'good-after- noon' was often spoken from pallid lips. The boys and larger loafers who followed ' to see the fun' found nothing to laugh at in the sad but awfully earnest countenances of the apjoealing hundred. There was nothing ridiculous about it ; nothing undignified; it soon became strangely quiet in the pauses. This was not entirely due to the rules of etiquette. These women were plead- ing from the love they bear for others, not for themselves. Then there were furrowed counte- nances in that procession which the observers 150 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. knew had been made wan and tearful by lives of misery produced by intemperance, lives of blasted hopes of mourning and even of tragedy. It was like passing along the shelves of a library and reading the titles of the books, every volume of which was filled with heart-rending tales. Is it a wonder that such a scene compelled decorum? One who could look on it with indifference must have a heart of iron. " Tuesday, p.m. — The women are marching one hundred and twenty-seven strong. Sparing the reader further detail, suffice it to say that before the sun set more than half of the rum-sellers had solemnly pledged themselves to quit the nefarious traffic. Within forty-eight hours every seller of drink in Fredonia had signed a pledge never to sell any more." In a paper read before the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and Reform Club of Fredonia, fourteen years later, February 9th, 1887, by Mrs. S. McNeil, after quoting from the Fredonia Censor above mentioned, she added: " The next day we met and organized a work that spread like wild-lire. The papers called it the woman's movement. Well, they were moved, they did move, and are still moving, but the power that started and still impels them was and is of God. " The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 151 Freclonia had its birth at this date, nnder these circumstances, and it continues unto this day. True, we have had some trials, but these have only made us stronger. In 1878 we had a moral earthquake which engulfed thirty-two of our members, but that number was added within three weeks and the new material was of stronger metal. I believe they now could face a mob undaunted, even though it were composed of our worthy citizens of Fredonia. We number between fifty and sixty, hold a meeting every week, and on a well-systematized plan work in harmony with two hundred and fifty thousand God-fearing women of our land." Mrs. Barker, under date of December 4th, 1887, writes, in reply to inquiry of Mrs. Lewis as to the effect, in the long run, of the crusade movement in Fredonia: " I find that since that time [1873] licenses were granted for a year or two, but of late years we have had no liquor-sellmg in the town, and I am glad to say the good effects resulting therefrom are admitted by all good citizens." We again quote from Dr. Lewis: " The news of the wonderful awakening in Fre- donia reached Jamestown during my lyceum lec- ture that evening, and at its close a clergyman rose and asked if I could not stay till the follow- ing evening and hold a temperance meeting. Thi§ 152 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. was impossible, as I must lecture in Pennsylvania Tuesday evening. So w^e held a meeting the next morning. The good work was begun at once, a band of fifty ladies going forth to the saloons, and in three weeks the village was freed from the liquor curse." THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 153 CHAPTER XYI. HiLLSBORO, the seat of justice of Highland County, Southern Ohio, was by no means the place where a radical movement was likely to find favor. It contained about 5,000 inhabitants and was beautifully situated. It afforded unusual educational advantages, having two institutions for young ladies, and its society was noted for its culture and refinement. Its inhabitants were mostly from Virginia and were noted for a sort of aristocratic conservatism. The old style of liv- ing, with the ancient customs of the State from whence they came, including the side-board and decanters, were still retained among the wealthy gentlemen of Hillsboro. The use of liquor, therefore, had for generations been held altogether respectable. True, a few earnest temperance men, including Gov. Allen Trimble, initiated a total-abstinence movement about the year 1830, but the pulpit took up arms against it and a condemnatory sermon was preached in one of the churches. Here, following a lyceum and temperance lec- ture by Dr. Lewis on December 24th, 1873^ a pro- 164 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. gramme similar to that of Fredonia and James- town was followed with like enthusiasm, and again the women were organized into a marching, praying, and singing army. An external view of the work as it apx)eared in progress, is given in the Boston organ of the Baptist denomination, The Watchman and Re- flector. The editor j^refaces the narrative by saying: '' If any think this is a work to be sneered at, let them read the following report of the efforts in Hillsboro, where the work began with a lecture by Dr. Lewis on December 23d, 1873. We con- fess we did not read it with dry eyes : "* Turning the corner on last Saturday after- noon I came unexpectedly u]3on some fifty women kneeling on the pavement and stone steps before a store. A daughter of a former governor of Ohio was leading in j)rayer. Surrounding her were the mothers, wives, and daughters of former Congress- men and legislators, of our lawyers, physicians, bankers, ministers, leading men of all kinds. In- deed, there were gathered there representatives from nearly every household of the town. Tlie day was bitterly cold. A cutting north wind swex)t the streets, piercing us all to the bone. The plaintive, tender, earnest tones of that plead- ing wife and mother arose on the blast and were carried to every heart within their reach, Passers- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 155 by uncovered their heads, for the place Avhereon they trod was holy ground. The eyes of hard- ened men filled wdth tears, and many turned away, saying that they could not bear to look on such a sight. Then the voice of prayer was hushed, the women arose and began to sing softly a sweet hymn w^ith some old, familiar words and tune such as our mothers sang to us in childhood's days. We thought, can mortal man resist such efforts? " ' Then they knelt, and once more the earnest tones of prayer were borne upon the breeze. So, from ten o'clock in the morning to four in the afternoon the work went on, the ladies relieving each other by relays. Close by was the residence of Hon. John A. Smith, oar former M. C, and now delegate to the Congressional Convention. His noble, warm-hearted wife provided a boun- teous lunch, to which the workers resorted to strengthen the inner woman, then returned to kneel and pray. The effect upon the spectators was indescribable. 'No sneer was heard, scarcely a light word was spoken. The sx)irit of devotion was abroad, and those who would scorn to pray themselves, yet felt that here was something which they must at least resjject. Many a " God bless them ! " fell from lips accustomed to use the name of deity only in blasphemy. There was not a man who saw them kneeling there but felt that if he 156 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. were entering heaven's gate and one of these women were to approacli, lie would stand aside and let lier enter first. " ' Tlie end is not yet ; the hearts of these women daily grow stouter, their faith brighter, and their prayers more earnest. A thoroughly Christian spirit pervades the community, and the feeling is one of yearning love and pity for those who stand out against their duty to their fellow-men.' " A visit of aid and encouragement was made to Hillsboro by the leading temperance ladies of Washington Court-IIouse accomi3anied by Mr. Morehouse, the superintendent of schools, and Mr. Dean, teacher of the high school, both of whom made stirring and eloquent addresses. An eminent private citizen of Hillsboro, writ- ing to Dr. Lewis January 3d, 1874, reports the work in hand : "The women and men of Washington Court- House achieved a complete triumph in a week. The women and men of this town have worked as intelligently, as earnestly, and as uninterruptedly eleven days and three nights, and the victory is not achieved. Why this difference? " Counting the special obstacles, he says : " In Hillsboro the trafiTic is in the hands of a comparatively plausible and so-called 'respecta- ble ' class of men, and many prominent citizens are jn the habit of using liquors, so that they have THE BiOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 157 hitherto, been able successfully to resist all tem- perance efforts, and imagined their position im- pregnable, and not until to-day was there any sign of yielding. ... *' One of the obstacles here met with was from a druggist and liquor-dealer named Dunn, who brought action for tres]3ass, claiming to have been damaged by i^rayer to the extent of $10,000." (It would seem that he should have taken such a case into a higher court.) '' The people of Hills- boro promx)tly made a subscription with which the women could meet the issue." The Cincinnati Gazette reports : " The guarantee fund to assist this movement now amounts to §13,000 and can easily be raised to $100,000. A little opposition will run the figures up indefinitely." Later: "A dispatch has just been received from Cincinnati that $16,000 have been raised there to ' back ' the whiskey men. Send it along, gentle- men ; currency is scarce up here, but we will see you and go you double. Cincinnati cannot force a thing on this community which we will not have." At the trial able counsel was employed on both sides and the court-room was crowded to over- fiowing for seventeen days. The jury were com- pelled by the ruling of the court to bring a verdict against the defendants, and laid the cost on them, with $5 damages. 158 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. Said the correspondent of the New York Tri- bune : " Dr. Lewis thinks little of the legal obstacle in the form of an injunction against prayer which the ladies of Hillsboro and Washington have en- countered. He says this phase of the situation presents a golden opportunity for a new and more glorious victory. Instead of regarding the in- junction, which was secured on a technical con- struction, of law, he advises them to go before the door of Dr. Dunn in greater numbers than ever, and sing and pray there, unmoved by threats of violence. He thinks no judge in Ohio would dare order the arrest and imprisonment of two hun- dred praying women, that no constable could be found to carry out such a judicial decree, and that, if arrested, no county jail could hold two hundred female martyrs." Counsel for the defence carried the case to the Supreme Court on a bill of exceptions to the rul- ings of the judge. Though money had been fur- nished him for the contest by the whiskey ring, Dr. Dunn was by this time bankrupt and his as- signee declined to defend the suit in the Supreme Court. The report of a Cincinnati paper of January 15th says: " The excitement pervading the entire commu- nity over the woman's temperance movement THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 159 exceeds anything we have witnessed in Hillsboro during a residence of twenty years, excepting only that occasioned by the news of the liring on Sumter at the outbreak of the rebellion." We are fortunate in being able to give one per- sonal experience from the standpoint of a worker in the temperance army, and are indebted for the account from which we are permitted to condense the following sketch of a gifted leader to the pages of " Woman and Temperance," by Miss Frances E. Willard. It is believed that it fairly illustrates the spirit of devotion and consecration in which the work was undertaken. Miss Willard refers to " the eddy at Hillsboro, of that whirlwind of the Lord which had in a few weeks swept over the great State of Ohio, and had grown to the proportions of the woman's tem- perance crusade." She continues: " By common consent Mrs. Eliza J. Thompson, a gentle -mannered lady of sixty years, from youth an earnest Christian and always prominent in charitable works, was selected to lead the chosen band on its first visit to the saloons. She was a wife, mother, and grandmother, loving and be- loved, with marks uj)on her face of the grief which renders sacred, which disarms criticism, and, in this instance, has a significance too deep for tears. She was the only daughter of Governor Trimble, than whom Ohio never had a chief mag- 160 T^ME BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWJg. istrate more true. When in 1836, nearly forty year^ before, she had accompanied her father to Philadel- X)hia to attend the national temperance convention, she had shrunk from entering the dignified assem- bly, composed of men alone, whispering timidly, 'O papa, I'm afraid to enter. The gentlemen may think it an intrusion. I should be the only lady, don't you see?' the governor replied: 'My daughter should never be afraid, even if she is alone, in a good cause.' With that he led her to a seat, and Eliza Trimble was the first woman ever admitted to a national temperance convention." The account of the strange call which came to Mrs. Thompson in 1873 she wrote out for a near friend in the following words : " On December 22d, 1873, Dio Lewis, a Boston physician and lecturer, delivered in Music Hall, Hillsboro, a lecture on ' Our Girls,' and on the next evening he gave a free lecture on temx3erance. " I did not hear Dio Lewis lecture (although he was our guest) because of home cares that re- quired my presence, but my son^ a youth of six- teen, was there, and he came to me upon his re- turn home, and, in a most excited manner, related the thrilling incidents of the evening; that Dr. Lewis told of his mother and several of her good Christian friends uniting in prayer with and for the liquor-sellers of his native town, until they gave uj) their soul-destroying business, and then THE BIOGHAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 161 said : ' Ladies, you might do tlie same thing in Hillsboro if you had the same faith ; ' and, turn- ing to the ministers and temperance men who were on the platform, added : ' Supi^ose I ask the ladies of this audience to signify their opinions upon the subject? ' They all bowed their consent, and fifty or more women stood up in token of aj)- proval. He then asked the gentlemen how many of them would stand as ' backers ' should the ladies undertake the work ; and sixty or seventy arose. 'And now, mother,' said my boy, 'they have got you into business, for you are on a com- mittee to do some work at the Presbyterian church in the morning at nine o'clock, and then the ladies want you to go with them to the saloons.' " My husband, who had returned from Adams County court that evening and was feeling very tired, seemed asleep as he rested upon the couch, while my son, in an undertone, had given all the above facts; but as the last sentence was uttered, he raised himself upon his elbow and said : ' What tomfoolery is all that?' My son slix)ped out of the room quietly, and I betook myself to the task of consoling my husband with the promise that I should not be led into any foolish act by Dio Lewis or any association of human beings. But after he had relaxed into a milder mood, continu- ing to call the plan, as he understood it, ' tom- foolery,' I ventured to remind him that the men II 162 THE BIOGRAPHY OF 1)10 LEWIS. had been in the 'tomfoolery' business a long time, and suggested that it might be God's will that the women should now take their part. After this he fell asleep quietly, and I resumed my Bible-reading. Notliing further was said upon the subject that had created such interest the night before until after breakfast, when Ave were gath- ered in the family room. First my son ax3proached me, and gently placing his hand upon my shoul- der said, in a very subdued tone : ' Mother, are you not going over to the church this morning? ' As I hesitated, and doubtless showed in my coun tenance the burden upon my spirit, he emphati- cally said: 'But, my dear mother, you know you have to go.' Then my daughter, who w^as sitting on a stool by my side, leaning over in a most ten- der manner and looking up in my face, said; 'Don't you think you wdll go?' All this time my husband had been walking the floor, uttering not a word. He stopped, and i)lacing his hand upon the family Bible that lay upon my work- table, he said emphatically, ' Children, you know where your mother goes to settle all vexed ques- tions ; let us leave her alone ; ' withdrawing as he spoke, and the dear children following him. I turned the key and was in the act of kneeling before God and His holy word to see what would be sent me, when I heard a gentle tap at my door. Upon opening it I saw my dear daughter with THE BIOGRAPHY OF DiO LEWIS. 16B Iter little Bible open and the tears coursing down her young cheeks, as she said, ' I opened to this, mother. It must be for you.' She immediately left the room, and I sat down to read the wonder- ful message contained in the 146th Psalm. " ISTo longer doubting, I at once repaired to the Presbyterian church, where quite a large assem- bly of earnest people had gathered. " I was at once unanimously chosen as the presi- dent (or leader); Mrs. General McDowell, vice- president; and Mrs. D. K. Finner secretary of the strange work that was to follow. "Appeals were drawn up to druggists, saloon- keepers, and hotel jDroprietors. Then the Presby- terian minister (Dr. McSurely), who had up to this time occupied the chair, called upon the chair- man-elect to come forward to the post of honor, but your humble servant could not ; her limbs re- fused to bear her. So Dr. McSurely remarked, as he looked around upon the gentlemen : ' Breth- ren, I see that the ladies will do nothing while we remain; let us adjourn, leaving this work with God and the women.' "As the last man closed the door after him, strength before unknown came to me, and with- out any hesitation or consultation I walked to the minister's table, took the large Bible, and, open- ing it, explained the incidents of the morning; then read, and (as tears would allow) briefly com- 164 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. merited upon its new meaning to me. I tlieii called iix)on Mrs. McDowell to lead in prayer ; and sucli a prayer ! It seemed as tliougli tlie angel had brouglit down ' live coals from off the altar ' and touched her lips. She had never before heard her own voice in prayer ! "As we rose from our knees I asked Mrs. Cow- den, our Methodist minister's wife, to start the good old li}'mn, ' Give to the winds thy fears,' to a familiar tune, and turning to the dear women, I said: 'As we all join in singing this hymn, let us form in line, two and two, the small women in front, leaving the tall ones to bring up the rear, and let us at once proceed to our sacred mission, trusting alone in the God of Jacob.' It was all done in less time than it takes to write it; every heart was throbbing, and every woman's counte- nance betrayed her solemn realization of the fact that she was 'going about her Father's busi- ness.' "As this band of mysterious beings first encoun- tered the outside gaze, and as they passed from the door of the church and reached the street be- yond the large churchyard, they were singing these i)rophetic words : " ' Far, far above thy thought, His counsel shall appear, When fully He the Avork hath wrought That caused thv needless fear.' THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 165 " On tliey mar died in solemn silence np Main Street, first to Dr. Wm. Smith's drug store. After calling at all tlie drug stores, four in number, their pledge being signed by all save one, they encountered saloons and hotels with varied suc- cess, until by continuous daily visitations, with persuasion, jjrayer, song, and Scripture-readings, the drinking-places of the town were reduced from thirteen to one drug store, one hotel, and two saloons, and they sold ' very cautiously.' Prayer- meetings were held during the entire winter and spring every morning except Sunday, and mass- meetings in the evenings, at the M. E. church one week and at the Presbyterian the next. " After visiting the drug stores on the 24th of December, 1873, our band slowly and timidly ap- proached the first-class saloon of Robert Ward, on High Street, a resort made famous by deeds the memory of which nerved the heart and paled the cheeks of some among the seventy as they entered the open door of ' the witty Englishman,' as his patrons were wont to call the jjopular Ward. Doubtless he had learned of our approach, as he not only propped the door open, but, mth the most perfect suavity of manner, held it till all the ladies passed in; then closing it, walked to his accustomed stand behind the bar. Seizing the opportunity the leader addressed him as follows : ^Well, Mr. Ward, this must seem to you a 166 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. strange audience. I suppose, however, that you understand the object of this visit.' Robert by this time began to perspire freely, and remarked that he would like to have a talk with Dio Lewis. Mrs. T. said : ' Dr. Lewis has nothing to do with the subject of our mission. As you look upon some of the faces before you and observe the fur- rows of sorrow, made deep by the unholy business that you j)ly, you will find that it is no wonder we are here. We have come, not to threaten, not even to upbraid ; but in the name of our Heavenly Friend and Saviour, and in His spirit to forgive and to commend you to His pardon, if you will abandon a business that is so damaging to our hearts and homes ! ' "Advantage was at once taken of the embar- rassment and hesitation of the saloon-keeper. The ' leader said, softly, as she looked around upon those earnest faces, ^Let us pray.' Instantly all, even the liquor-seller himself, were ujion their knees. " Prayer and hymn followed and the Spirit came down and touched all hearts. " The scene was one for a painter or a poet," THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 167 CHAPTER XYII. After Dr. Lewis's lecture of December 23d, whicli gave impetus to the movement in Hillsboro, already described, lie went at once to Washington Court-House, a town of about three thousand people and much given to dissipation. Again, after the lyceum lecture one on temperance was called for, and on Christmas Day, in the Presby- terian church, Dr. Lewis explained his plan of campaign. An organization of forces was effected and supported by a '' committee of responsibility " composed of thirty-seven men, who agreed to fur- nish the necessary pecuniary means to carry on the work. An appeal was adopted, printed, and circulated through the community. The errand of mercy on which they were to go forth was under the charge of Mrs. J. L. Bandeman and Mrs. Judge McLean. Mrs. George Carpenter, wife of the Presbyterian minister, was reader of the appeal. The secretary of the organization, Mrs. M. Y. Ustic, furnishes the following official report: "On Friday morning, December 26th, 1873, 168 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. after an hour of prayer in the M. E. cliurch, forty- four women filed slowly and solemnly down the aisle, and started forth upon their strange mission with fear and trembling, while the male portion of the audience remained at the church to pray for the success of their new undertaking, the toll- ing of the churcli-bell keeping time to the solemn march of the women as they wended their way to the first drug store on the list. The number of places within the city limits where intoxicating drinks Avere sold was fourteen — eleven saloons and three drug stores. Here, as in every ]3lace, they entered singing, every woman taking up the sacred strain as she crossed the threshold. This was fol- lowed by the reading of the appeal and prayer; then earnest pleading to the dealers to desist from their soul-destroying traffic and sign the dealers' pledge. "Thus all day long they went from place to place, without stox)ping even for lunch till five o'clock, meeting with no marked success, though invariable courtesy was extended them. 'Not even their reiterated promise, ' We will call again,' seemed to ofi'end. " No woman who has ever entered one of these dens of inquity on such an errand needs to be told of the heart sickness that almost overcame them as, for the first time, they saw behind those painted Avindows or green blinds, and entered the THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 169 little back room or found tlieir way down winding steps into the damp, dark cellars, and realized that into such places many of those they loved best were slowly descending, through the allure- ments of the brilliantly-lighted drug store, the fascinating billiard-table, or the enticing beer-gar- dens with their siren attractions. " A crowded house which gathered at night to hear the report of the day's work betrayed the rapidly-increasing interest in this mission. " Saturday morning, December 27th, after an hour of prayer, an increased number of women Avent forth again, leaving a number of men in the church who continued in prayer all day long. Every few moments the tolling bell cheered the hearts of the crusaders by pealing forth the knowledge that another supplication had ascended for their success; meanwhile notes of progress were sent by the secretary to the church from every place visited. " On this day the contest began, and at the first place the doors were found locked. With hearts full of compassion the women knelt in the snow upon the pavement, to plead for the divine influ- ence upon the heart of the liquor-dealer, and there was held their first street prayer-meeting. "At night the weary but zealous workers re- ported at the mass-meeting, the various rebuffs re- ceived, and their success in inducing two druggists 170 THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. to sign tlie pledge not to sell except upon the written prescription of a physician. " The Sabbath was devoted to union mass-meet- ings, with direct reference to the work in hand, and on Monday the number of ladies had increased to nearly one hundred. That day, December 29th, is one long to be remembered in Washington as that upon which occurred the first surrender made by a liquor-dealer of his stock of liquors in an- swer to the prayers of women, to be poured by them into the street. Nearly a thousand men, women, and children witnessed the mingling of beer, ale, wine, and whiskey, as they filled the gut- ters and were drank up by the earth, while bells were ringing, men and boys shouting, and women singing and praying to God who had given the victory. " On the fourth day the campaign reached its height, the town being filled with visitors from all parts of the country and adjoining villages. There was another public surrender and another pouring into the street of a larger stock of liquors than on the previous day, and more intense ex- citement and enthusiasm. " Mass-meetin.o^s were held nightly and victories repeated constantly, until, on Friday, January 2d, 1874, one week from the beginning of tlie work, at the public meeting held in the evening, the secre- tary's report announced the unconditional sur- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 171 render of every liquor-dealer, some having sliij)ped tlieir liquors back to wholesale dealers, others hav- ing poured them into the gutter, and all the drug- gists having signed the pledge. "By this time the new method of fighting whiskey began to attract the attention of the press and of people in surrounding ]3laces, and meetings were announced to be held in every village and school district in the county. Committees of ladies and gentlemen were sent out from Wash- ington Court-House to assist in these meetings, and also, by request, into all the adjoining counties. Meantime the meetings were constantly kept up at home, and all the while gained in interest. Early in the third week the discouraging intelligence came that a new man had taken out a license to sell liquor in one of the deserted saloons, and that he was backed by a whiskey house in Cincinnati to the amount of $5,000 to break down the move- ment. On "Wednesday, the 14th, the whiskey was unloaded at his room. About forty women were on the ground, and followed the liquor in and re- mained, holding an uninterrupted prayer-meeting all day and until eleven o'clock at night. "The next day, which was bitterly cold, was spent in the same place and manner, without fire or chairs, two hours of that time the women being locked in, while the proprietor was off attending a trial. On the following day, the coldest of all 172 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. the Avinter of 1874, the women were locked out, and stood on the street holding religious services all day long. " Next morning a rude frame building, which they called ' a tabernacle,' was built in the street, just in front of the house, and was occupied for the double purpose of watching and prayer through the day, but before night the sheriff closed the saloon and the proj)rietor surrendered. Thus ended the third week. " A short time after, on a dying bed, this four- days' liquor dealer sent for some of the women, telling them that their songs and prayers had never ceased to ring in his ears, and urging them to pray again in his behalf; so he passed away." Dr. Lewis gave the following added description of the work at Washington Court- House: ". . . After repeated visits to the saloons, the prox)rietor of one of the largest asked the ladies, one morning, to please not return; said that he had stood the visitation well enough, because they were ladies, but it had become a bore and he hoped they would not come again. To this Mrs. Car- penter said : ' Oh, yes, but we must. Why, do you know, Mr. Smith, what we did in the church that first morning, before we started down here ? There were just enough of us to reach around the room, taking hold of hands and making a large circle. We knelt down where we stood, and with hands THE B10GRAt»HY oF t)IO LEWIS. 173 still clasx)ed we raised them up and vowed to Heaven tliat, if we lived, we wonld not cease tiU tlie selling of liquor was stopped in this place.' '' ' And do you mean to come here every day and pray till I stop?' asked Mr. Smith. " ' We do,' said the ladies. ' You see, we have to if we live.' " Smith yielded and signed the pledge. He had just supplied himself with a large quantity of liquor, and finally he agreed that if the women would bring it up out of the cellar themselves, without helj) of any man, they might have it to do what they pleased with. Immediately hats, furs and cloaks were laid aside, and in a short time the women had eighteen barrels of liquor rolled upon the pavement, while they all stood round and sang ' All Hail the Power of Jesus ' Name ' with the greatest enthusiasm. "There was now some hesitancy about who should open the barrels and destroy the liquor. There were two whose lives had been made miser- able by it, and to them was given the privilege and duty of knocking in the barrel heads. " Axes were brought, and these women wielded them with dexterity and effect, and soon the liquor was flowing in the street. " At the end of eleven days every one of the thirteen saloons had yielded, but outside the town limits there still remained one place where liquor 174 THE BIOGRAPHY OF BIO LEWIS. was sold — a beer-garden kept by Charley Beck. A judge had granted ' Charley' an injunction for- bidding the women to come on his premises, and the Cincinnati brewers had sent sympathizers up to him xDromising him all the profits of his busi- ness and $2,000 besides if he would keep open a year. "Judge McClure owned the land adjoining Charley Beck's, and he told the women to come there and pray. They brought ' the tabernacle,' which they had used elsewhere. A stove was put in it, and the boys, always full of fun, got a head-light of a locomotive with strong reflectors and threw the light into Beck's door — so strong a light, they said, that you could see a man's con- science^ if he had any, as he went in and out the door. " For two weeks religious services were held in the tabernacle, day and night, and the women were constantly on duty." THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 175 CHAPTER XYIII. A GEAPHic account of the contest with Mr. Beck was published in the Cincinnati Commercial from its own correspondent, Mr. J. H. Beadle: " Washhstgtox, Fayette Co., Ohio, " January 21st, 1874 ". . . When we changed to the Muskingum Val- ley line, half a dozen groups began simultaneously to talk about the war on whiskey shops so heroi- cally inaugurated by the women of this part of Ohio. Reports were conflicting as to whether the enemy was only scotched or really killed, and for information I concluded to pass a day in the redeemed town. "When, after dinner, I inquired what was in progress that would be likely to interest a stranger, the landlord of the Shaw House promptly made reply: ' There ain't a saloon open in the whole place. Mighty dry here for a Cin- cinnati man ! But there's a woman's prayer-meet- ing at a saloon just out of the corporation, over the creek. Maybe you never attended one.' "Without deigning a reply to his sarcasm I 176 ^HE BIOGRAPHY 6F DID LEWIS. struck out on the Leesburg pike, and half a mile or so from the centre of the town found the only surviving saloon, kept by one Carl Beck — an ex- ile from fatherland — familiarly known as ' Charlie.' But I should never have taken it for a saloon. It was after the pattern of a country school-house, in the same inclosure with Beck's residence, with well-arranged grounds and in the centre of a fine, suburban neighborhood. The place was evidently in a state of siege, prepared for the enemy at a moment's notice. No ladies were in sight. The door was locked, and my knock brought no re- sponse, though a confused murmur inside indi- cated the presence of customers. '"Hello, mine friend, vat you vant — eh?' was suddenly asked from the residence, only a few rods away. "Explaining my errand to Mr. Beck— for he it was — he broke into a voluminous complaint in old Dutch and English: "'I got no vitnesses. Dem vimins dey set oop a shob, on me. But you don't been a " 'bitual troonkard, eh? No, you don't look like him. Veil, goom in, goom in! Yat you vant, beer or vine? I dells you dem vimins is shoost awfuL Py shinks, dey build a house in de street and stay mit a man all day, a-singing and oder foolishness. But dey don't get in here once agin, already.' " In obedience to this invitation I had entered I'HE BlOd-RAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 177 by the side door (the front was locked and barred), to find four customers indulging in liquor^ beer, and pig's feet. One announced him- self as an ' original granger/ a second as a ' retired sailor,' while others were non-committal. They stated that two spies had jast applied for admis- sion, men who would come in and drinkj then go and swear they were ' habitual drunkards ' under the ' Adair law,' and that accounted for Mr. Beckys suspicions of me. "The landlord broke in: 'You bin a reborter? Yell, I shoost like to see a goot man here von der Engwirer von Cincinnati. Anoder man yester- day goom mit dem vimins : I tells zem all : ' You shoost go out; you got no peesness here.' And den he puts his hand so, in his poosom, for a pees- tol, und say, ' You touch dem vimins, I put you vare you don't zell beer any more, already.' All the time he was talking Mr. Beck was running first to one window and then another, looking to- ward town, in a state of nervous excitement, which showed that he was in constant dread of another invasion. He complained bitterly that ' dem vel- lers in town, dey skoolked and left me to fight alone, but I shtop for dem vimins, once, two weeks already. I keep a decent house. I sells vine, beer, und cigars, und I don't got no trunken mens in my house.' "After remaining two hours I concluded the 12 178 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. ladies were not coming that day, and returned to town. I found opinions divided. A majority of the citizens were enthusiastic over the movement and its success, but there was an undercurrent of doubt. The remarks of one prominent merchant struck me as very sensible : ' I tell you, my young friend, the women have more power in favor of temperance, ten times over, than the men. They are free from political entanglements ; they work for the pure love of humanity. A hundred women can do more for a moral reform than ten thousand voters. We can only make laws, but they can touch the heart. It must be a hard-hearted man who can stand in his saloon and resist the plead- ings of a good mother whose son has been ruined by liquor, when she comes with tears in her eyes and prayer on her lips. Yes, sir, if the women in each town would take hold as they do here, Ohio could be made a temperance State in six months.' " At night there was a mass temperance meeting in the principal church, and various committees reported progress. " One lady had brought suit against Mr. Flinn for selling liquor to her husband, and as there was no doubt, from the evidence, that she Avould get heavy damages, he had preferred a request for the ladies to intercede for him, adding: ^A heavy judgment will sweep away every dollar of my property.' THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 179 ''An editorial disparaging the movement was read from a prominent Democratic paper of Cin- cinnati. The spirit in which this was discussed, and, indeed, the spirit of the entire meeting, was in the highest degree temperate and conciliatory. Whenever there were any indications of anger or impatience they were promptly checked, and by occasional prayer and singing the large assembly were enabled to maintain a most Christian temper. The harshest thing said abont the editorial was that ' the editor was probably misinformed and was acting through ignorance.' " One gentleman stated that Carl Beck had kept an open house all night ; that the anti-temperance lawyer was there and they made it one of the nights of the season. " Continued singing and prayer, with an inter- change of views, appeared to quicken the hearts of the working committee, and they announced their intention to move immediately on Mr. Beck. At this I started ahead to make a reconnoisance, but the two ladies reached the saloon just before me. " A few rods from his house I met Mr. Beck, making all speed toward town, rather the worst- scared Dutchman I have seen for some time. ' Ach, mein Gott,' he shouted, 'dey gooms; I tole you dey gooms agin to-day, already. I shoost go und see my gounsel, to see ven I no got a right 180 THE BIOGRAPHY OF BIO LEWIS. to my own property.' And lie struck out for to^vn in sucli style that expert boys might have l^layed marbles on his coat-tails. " On reconnoitring the premises I espied some men peeping from behind an out-house, and, at sight of me, emerged, one by one, my gay acquaint- ances of yesterday. They lamented the loss of their lager, which had been left standing in their hurried departure. The two ladies being in a carriage were not suspected until almost at the door; then Beck had hurried his customers out at the back door, and fled to his ' gounsel.' The main body of the ladies soon arrived and took up a position with right centre on the door-step, the wing extending each way beyond the corners of the house, and a rearward column along the walk to the gate. In ludicrous contrast, the routed rev- ellers stood, in a little knot fifty feet away, still gnawing at the pig's feet they had held on to in their humed flight, while your reporter took a convenient seat on the fence. The ladies sang: *' ' Oh, do not be discouraged, for Jesus is your friend: He will give you grace to conquer and keep you to the end.' "As the twenty or more clear, sweet voices mingled in the enlivening chorus — " 'I'm glad I'm in this army,' etc., the effect was inspiring. I felt all the enthusiasm THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 181 of the occasion, while the pig's-feet party, if they did not feel guilty, certainly looked so. The sing- ing was followed by a prayer from Mrs. Gardner, wife of Mills Gardner, Esq., of the Constitutional Convention. She prayed for the blessing of God on the temperance cause, then for Mr. Beck, his family and friends, his house and all that loved him, and closed with an eloquent plea for guidance in the difficult and delicate task they had under- taken. As the concluding sentences were being uttered, Mr. Beck and his ' gounsel ' arrived. As my head was bowed against the fence I did not notice the lawyer till he touched me, and I soon saw that he was ' case-hardened ' for the occasion. The ladies paid no attention to either, but broke forth in loud strains : " ' Must Jesus bear the cross alone ? No, there's a cross for me.' " ' The lawyer borrowed some of my paper, whis- pering at the same time, ' I must take down their names. Guess I shall have to prosecute some of them before we stop this thing.' "I should need the pen of an Irving and the pencil of a Darley to give any adequate idea of the scene. On one side was a score of elegant ladies, singing with all the earnestness of impassioned natures; a few rods away a knot of disturbed rev- ellers, uncertain whether to stand or fly; half-way 182 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. between the nervous Beck, bobbing around like a case of fiddle-strings with a hundred pounds of larger-beer fat hung on them, and on the fence by the ladies a cold-blooded lawyer and an excited reporter scribbling away as if their lives depended on it. It was painful from its intensity. "The song ended, the presiding lady called upon Mrs. Wendel, and again arose the voice of prayer, so clear, so sweet, so full of pleading tenderness, that it seemed she would, by the strength of womanly love, compel the very heavens to open and send down in answer a spark of Divine grace that would turn the saloon-keeper from his purpose. " The sky, which had been overcast all the morn- ing, began to clear, the occasional drops ceased to fall, and a gentle south wind made the air soft and balmy. It seemed as if nature had joined in the prayer. " Again the ladies sang: * ' ' Are there no foes for me to face ? ' "As the song concluded the lawyer stepped forward and said : ' Now, ladies, I have a word to say before this performance goes any further. Mr. Beck has employed me as his attorney. He cannot speak good English, and I speak for him here. He is engaged in a legitimate business, and you are trespassers on his property and rights. If THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 183 this thing is carried any further you will be called to account in court, and I can assure you the court will sustain the man. He has talked with you all he desires to. He does not want to put you out forcibly. That would be unmanly, and he does not wish to act rudely. But he tells you to go. As his attorney I now warn you to desist from any further annoyance.' Again the ladies sang : " ' My soul, be on thy guard ; Ten thousand foes arise. The hosts of sin are pressing hard To draw thee from the skies.' '' Mrs. Carpenter followed with a fervent prayer for the lawyer and his client. But they fled the scene, leaving the house locked up. After con- sultation the ladies decided to leave Mr. Beck's premises and take a position on the adjoining lot. They therefore sent for the tabernacle. Mean- while Beck returned, opened the back door and admitted his four customers, who had stood by faithfully. I entered the house while the ladies continued to sing. It would be painful and in- decent to relate the remarks made by the besieged. They seemed to think it quite fitting that I should come and go between the parties, talking to me freely and using a deal of wit on ' Charlie ' Beck, urging him to ' go out and return thanks for the daylight serenade,' 184 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. "It was a scene I never expected to witness in Ohio — four roysterers smoking, drinking and black-guarding in a little room, wliile through the windows could be seen a platoon of fair women standing guard, while with occasional intermission the sweetest songs in our language were floating in the air. The revelry inside soon broke down, an awkward silence followed, and the half-ashamed fellows shambled out into the road and homeward. Mr. Beck shut up shop for the day and I returned to the city. " As I close, at dark they have the tabernacle well arranged with seats and comfortably warmed. It stands about thirty feet from Beck's front door^ a little to the left. In front of it they have rigged up a powerful reflector which shows the approach of customers, and in that formidable position they propose to remain till midnight." The following we copy from " Women and Tem- perance," by Miss Frances E. AVillard: " On Friday, February 6th, another man opened a beer saloon in a new locality. The ladies imme- diately visited him in committees, and thus spent the day. Next day, however, they took up their stand in front of his door, continuing their ser- vices into the evening, at which time their force was increased by the entire congregation at mass- meeting, who chose to conclude their services in unison with the watchers before the saloons. THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 185 " Temperance was still the pulpit ttieme on tlie Sabbatli, and on Monday, February 9tli, all the business houses were closed from eight to nine, to attend the business men's prayer-meeting. Large delegations were present from adjoining villages at that early hour. " At the meeting there came a messenger from this man stating that he would give up his busi- ness, which announcement was received with cheers. " It. was decided that all who were not enjoined from so doing should march out to Mr. Beck's beer-garden, where the proprietor met them at the gate, and after a brief consultation with a com- mittee apxjointed for that purpose he publicly an- nounced: 'You comes so many I quits. I will never sell any more beer or whiskey.' Again the crowd gave vent to their feelings in cheers. Mes- sengers were dispatched to the women who re- mained praying in the church to join them. All the bells commenced ringing, and the procession, numbering two hundred strong, started out to Sullivan's beer -house, now the only remaining sa- loon in the township. Marching up Court Street the number increased, and, amid the most pro- found silence, the men and women pursued their journey. About half-way there the man in ques- tion was met and interviewed. He asked two days to consider, which were granted, The procession 186 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. then returned, the bells all the time ringing out their chimes on the crisp morning air. Meetings, morning and evening, continued with unabated interest, and at each came to us the cry from other points: 'Come and help us.' " On Wednesday morning, February 11th, at mass-meeting in the Presbyterian church, Mr. Sul- livan came and j^ublicly pledged himself ' to quit forever the liquor business.' A general rejoicing and thanksgiving followed this surrender of the last man. '' Thus, through most of the winter of 1874 no alcoholic drinks were publicly sold as a beverage. *' As Dr. Dio Lewis had signified his intention of again visiting our village on Tuesday, February 17th, that day was appointed as one of general re- joicing and thanksgiving. Accordingly arrange- ments were made for a mass-meeting to be held in Music Hall at two o'clock p.m. At half -past one a thousand people were gathered at the depot await- ing the arrival of the train. Promptly at the hour Dr. Lewis, accompanied by quite a corps of newspaper men, alighted from the car, and was greeted with music from the band and cheers from the vast concourse of people, who immediately proceeded to the hall, where the following brief words of welcome were addressed to him by Mrs. George Carpenter: " ' Dr. Lewis : In the name of the women of Wash- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 187 ington, I welcome you. Eight weeks ago, when you first came among us, you found us a people of warm hearts, generous impulses, fully alive to the evils of intemperance, and needing only the magnetism of a master-mind to rouse us to a de- termined resistance of its ravages. Yours Avas that mind. Dr. Lewis, your hand pointed out the way. You vitalized our latent activities, and roused us all, men and women together, and w^e have gone forth to the battle side by side, as God intended we should, ourselves perfect weakness, but God mighty in strength. He sent you here. He put the thought into your heart. He prepared our hearts to receive it. And now He has brought you among us again to gladden you with the fruition of hope long deferred, — to see the seed sown years ago by your mother springing up, budding, and bearing fruit. Dr. Lewis, I wel- come you to the hearts and homes of Washington.' " Dr. Lewis replied substantially as follows : " ' Madam and Friends : I cannot make a speech on this occasion. I have always been on the fron- tier, always engaged in the battle of reform. And now to find something really accomplished — to find a town positively free from the curse of liquor-selling — it really seems as if there is noth- ing for me to do. I feel as one without working harness. But I will say this : none but God can ever know how much I owe to this town, nor how 188 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. fortunate it Avas for me and for others that I came here. I will not say that this is the only com- munity in which the work could be begun. The heroism and self-sacrifice displayed in other places Avould make such a remark invidious.' " After the response by Dr. Lewis the remainder of the afternoon was spent in general speech-mak- ing. The evening was occupied in listening to a lecture by Dr. Lewis, and the day fitly closed by an informal reception given to the orators of the occasion at the home of one of ths crusaders." THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. l89 CHAPTER XIX. Nowhere else liad the ladies received sucli indignities as met tliem at Isew Vienna, where they were violently resisted by a man named Van Pelt, who kex-)t the saloon known as " The Dead Fall " and who had won the title of the wickedest man in Ohio. He was described by the corre- spondent of the Cincinnati ComTnercial as "a burly man, with a round, knobby head and a bulbous nose, having the sort of physique often seen in the frequenters of the pit and the prize- ring." All went smoothly with the ladies in their visits to the saloons until they reached this place of evil name and repute. Their coming seemed to drive Van Pelt to fury, and wdien a second visit was paid to him he had made special preparations to receive them. In one of his show-windows was an unusually fine display of whisk ey -bottles ; over the door jugs and bottles were hung, and a black fiag consiDicuously surmounted all, while within doors Van Pelt could be seen walking the floor and flourishing a club at invisible foes. The Avomen Avere not deterred by the spectacle, 190 'THE BIOC^RAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. but to tlie number of forty or more visited his shop twice a day. ''During a prayer," as told by the New Tork Tribune correspondent, who witnessed it, " when tlie leader uttered the words ' May the Lord bap- tize him with the Holy Spirit,' the enraged Van Pelt began to throw dirty water and then beer upon the ladies, saying, 'I'll baptize you,' until they were finally driven from his den thoroughly drenched. They finished their exercises outside his door, while he stood at the window denounc- ing them with horrid imprecations. Public in- dignation against him was fully aroused, and it is probable the men of the tow^n wdll finish the work by the destruction of his place of business." The method adopted by the men "to finish the work" was to have Van Pelt arrested and put in jail for a week, from which he came more furious than ever. When visited by the ladies at his saloon he challenged them to a prayer- meeting in w^hich he should make every alternate prayer, and three times he followed their tender appeals by his blasphemous ones. The ladies, meantime, liad learned that the land adjacent to Yan Pelt's belonged to the railroad company, and they gained permission to occupy it, which gave them a strong position. Then with unfailing patience the ladies persevered in their work for his conversion, and on February 3d the corre- the: biography of dio lewis. 191 spondent of tlie ^N'ew York Tribune telegraphed that paper the following: " To-day the people of New Yienna witnessed the com]3lete surrender of the notorious Yan Pelt, after three weeks' labor. A procession of about a hundred ladies inarched to his saloon at two o'clock P.M. Some rumor had spread which led the people to close the stores and workshops and join the gathering throng. When the crowd was assembled at the ' Dead Fall ' saloon, Yan Pelt appeared and announced that h6 was ready to give up his entire stock for the good of the temperance cause. He said with emotion and apparent sin- cerity, ' I make a comj^lete surrender, not because of law or force, but to the women who have labored in love. It has reached my heart.' Nar- rating the circumstances later, he said '. . . I then asked the ministers to please carry out the whiskey. They were terribly willing, and out it went. I gathered up that same axe that I had threatened the women with, and drove it as near through those barrels as I could, and out ran the whiskey. Such a shout as went up I never heard before, and never will again till I stand before God. The tears ran down their cheeks like a fountain stream.' " Devotional exercises closed the scene. All the bells of the town were rung in honor of the occa- sion. To-night an earnest temperance meeting 192 TilE BIOGRAPHY OP t)iO LEWIS. was held, and Van Pelt made a brief address, con^ fessing Ms wickedness and admitting tliat he could not reconcile himself to the business. He referred to his saloon as a low groggery, saying, ' Yes, I'll call it a low groggery, for no man can keep a high one.' At the close of the meeting a purse of SloO was presented to Van Pelt as an exj)ression of the feeling of the community to- ward him." The correspondent of the New York Tribune writing from Columbus, Ohio, February 8th, 1874, says: "... Mr. Van Pelt also addressed the audi- ence in a rough, uncultivated, but evidently earn- est and sincere manner. His remarks were lis- tened to attentively, and when he had concluded the audience called loudly for him to relate his experience as a whiskey-dealer. He hesitated at this, but the appeals becoming more urgent he spoke briefly of his past life, confessing that he was ashamed of it, and preferred silence in regard to it. He said : ' I have been urged by liquor- dealers in Cincinnati to resist the women's jDlead- ings, and have been offered, free of cost, all the liquor I could sell for a year if I would remain firm ; but no man who wishes to be a man among his fellows could look upon the pleading faces of those wives and mothers, and listen to their prayers day after day, without spurning such an ofi^er.' " THE BIOGRAPHr OF DIO LEWIS. 198 A week later the corresx)Oiident of the New York Tribune said : " To-night Dr. Lewis is liappy in the society of John Calvin Yan Pelt, the hero of ]N'ew Vienna. Van Pelt is about forty years of age, with the frame and fist of a prize-fighter. He is now fighting as hard for total abstinence as he has heretofore fought for his rights as a liquor-seller." Dr. Lewis, describing this man, said : " While Mr. Yan Pelt is, through nature or association, a coarse man, beside whom you would not choose to sit, yet when, stirred by this revival, he speaks of his experience, you cannot restrain your tears." Correspondence of the Cincinnati Commercial^ February 13th: " Yan Pelt continues to im^Drove. His grammar is horrid, but his words are terse and stocky, reg- ular old idiomatic English." At Morrovr, a town in Ohio of twelve hundred inhabitants, there were seventeen saloons. The proprietor of the one which was classed as the most respectable, a young man of some culture and well connected, petitioned the court that cer- tain persons, naming one hundred and four ladies and gentlemen, including Dio Lewis, should be restrained from disturbing him in his lawful busi- ness, and asking judgment against said defendants for one thousand dollars. Judge Eaton decided that the complainant's 13 194 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. business was not lawful; that lie maintained a nuisance which was in derogation of the rights of the defendants ; that the maintainer of a nuisance can have no standing in a court of equity when he wishes to be protected in his unlaAvf ul business, and the injunction was dissolved at plaintiff's costs. As a result the saloon w^as closed and the proprietor left town. Of another tyx)e the most obstinate liquor-dealer here was Max Goepert, a brother of a wealthy Cin- cinnati brewer, who kept a low place near the rail- road station, a man whom the brewers patted on the back and said, " No matter who gives up. Max Groepert will not." The men Avho sympathized with the women thouglit prayer was wasted on such a wretch, and almost Avished to take him and lynch him, but the women never lost courage. Passengers on the Little Miami trains might see them at al- most any hour from six in the morning until ten at night, kneeling on steps before the door, with piteous faces upturned, and pleading with the Al- mighty to have mercy upon that saloon-keeper and change his heart. The correspondent of the Cincinnati Comoner- cial wrote : "Again I passed the little village of Morrow, and again saw the pitiful sight in front of the sa- loon of Max Goepert, upon whom has fallen the mantle of Van Pelt, together Avitli the title of THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. l95 Hhe wickedest man in Ohio.' When the cars stopped the ladies were singing a hymn with the familiar chorus, *' ' Happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.' while Goepert, smoking his pipe, stood at the window smiling npon friends whom he recognized on the passing train. His case seemed hopeless. For weeks he has withstood the prayers and en- treaties of the entire female population of the vil- lage, and the singing seems to have a soothing eif ect upon him rather than otherwise. For a day or two he displayed in his window a card on which there was a representation of a corpse being carried off on a bier and the inscription, 'This man was talked to death.' But this joke was not appreciated, even by the men, and it was with- drawn. If the crowd at Goepert's door had been composed of men, praying would long since have been abandoned as a forlorn hope ; but from sun- rise to sunset the women sustain their patient watch, and from all parts of the State ascend the prayers of faith for their success." One day later the same correspondent wrote: " At Morrow we found the ladies in much larger force than when we saw them last before the sa- loon of Max Goepert. The proprietor still smiled behind his glass door, but such a smile ! It was as if one had soaked his face in tan-bark ooze and 196 tkE BTOGiiAt'Hr bi" t)io Lewis. the contracting power thereof had drawn his mouth into a fixed, mechanical grin. ''At last, on a morning early in March, the ladies came as usu^l and found only the empty shell of the old shanty. " Goepert and his effects had disappeared. The bells were rung loud and long, and the patient and persistent workers wept for joy." " In Clyde, when an angry saloon-keeper called upon his rabble to hoot, and threw a pail of cold water into the face of the leader of the band, with- out stopping for an instant she said : ' O Lord, we are now baptized for the work.' The effect was magical. All were quiet and the victory was complete. The saloon-keeper went with them to the church, where the most earnest prayers were offered for him." Miamisburg, Ohio, January 29th, communica- tion to the Yolksblatt: '' A remarkable fact which the beer brewers of Cincinnati who purchase their malt from this vi- cinity may make a note of is this. The wife of the owner of the malt house, F. Schenck, of Franklin, is among the women going about in that town. . . . The women there are carrying on at a fear- ful rate." In February Dr. Lewis went to Delaware, Ohio, to fill an engagement to address one of the literary societies, " Chi Phi," of the Ohio Wesleyan Univer- THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 197 sity. But so great had become the enthusiasm over temperance, both on the part of audience and lecturer, that a vote was taken on a motion to sub- stitute a consideration of the new method of work for the tox)ic announced. As a result Dr. Lewis presented the absorbing topic. Speeches were made by officers of the university, and, leading citizens indorsing the method, the ladies organized, gentlemen pledged their support, and the next day more than a hundred were v^isiting saloons. Dr. Lewis being asked about the work in Cin- cinnati, said that he thought they were laboring very hard there, going about in large parties. His theory is that for large places quite small com- panies do better, while in small toAvns the Avhole community can rise up with effect and sweep away the sale. ** Some eighty of the young men in the Wesley- an University having refused to sign the pledge, the young ladies in the to^vn formed a league of non-association with unpledged young men, which soon brought nearly all to terms." According to a dispatch from Delaware, dated February 24th, '^ The excitement was so intense to-day that it was found almost impossible to conduct the ex- ercises at the university, and throughout the place little mercantile business was transacted. Every- thing gave way to the question of the hour." The saloon-keepers tried to compromise with 198 THE BIOGKAPHY OF ])lO LEWIS. the women, offering to sell nothing but beer if the women would withdraw from the work. This the women refused to do. Many saloons surrendered. In the midst of the work election day came and the voters elected the entire temperance ticket. The greatest enthusiasm i)revailed. All the bells of the town were rung, cannons were lired, and a praise -meeting held in the Opera House, which was crowded to its utmost capacity. From New Lexington, Ohio, it is reported that the Roman Catholics there have entered into the movement. Father Mortier, the priest, taking the lead, supported by Sisters of Charity. In this town the female Catholic academy is located, and the college of St. Joseph. This is the oldest Eng- lish Catholic theological college west of the Alle- ghanies. In the place there have been fifteen liquor-saloons, twelve managed by Catholics. All these have abandoned the trafliic. In Greenfield Ohio, eleven saloons were closed in six weeks and in a short time all were. The correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette^ January 24th, 1874, says: "The tipplers here now have to watch their chance and slij) in when the crusaders are absent. One who was in advance as the ladies approached a saloon to-day rather unexpectedly, said he never before saw such a scrambling to get out of a back door. They tied like a flock of scared sheep. One THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 199 fellow, being badly frightened and more unfortu- nate than the rest, fell down three or four times, losing his hat each time, before he could rightly get the use of his legs, and fled when none pursued him." In this town, at a jubilee following the crusade work, $20,000 Vv^ere, subscribed toward a Christian association. " The only place where there appears to be little progress is at Pomeroy, on the Ohio River, where coal mines and blast furnaces are plenty and drinking-saloons number about sixty. The drug- gists and physicians, however, have been won over, and work contiuues, with no diminution of ho23e of its final success." "At Bucyrus, Ohio, in defiance of the resolu- tions of the Council requiring the mayor to em- ploy special police to keep the women away from the saloons, they swarmed out in still greater num- bers, even sick women leaving their beds to show their s]3irit. The mayor is said to have found almost insurmountable difiiculty in getting special police, public sentiment being so determinedly hostile to interference with the women." At E,ij)ley seventeen out of twenty saloons were closed in nine days. At Waynesville hand-bills were circulated by one of the saloon-keepers warning the ladies not to visit him, as a grocery was not a place of wor- ship. 200 THE BIOGRAPHif OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER XX. After the organization of the work at Fredonia, Jamestown, Hillsboro, and Washington Court- House, Dr. Lewis wrote: " These repeated ontbnrsts of the Divine flame convinced me that I should make no more engage- ments for lyceum lectures for the winter, and that I should give assistance to the work in Ohio. I therefore telegraphed to the business bureau to this effect, and asked them to cancel, so far as could be done, engagements already made." So quick was the sympathetic response to the movement throughout Ohio that Dr. Lewis was at once so burdened by his correspondence that he was obliged to employ a stenographer. Dur- ing a business visit to Boston applications to the extent of a hundred per week came to him from Ohio to lecture and to help organize locally " the temperance crusade," as tlie press began to en- title the new movement, of which he was desig- nated as the " Peter." He therefore returned without delay and com- menced lecturing at Cleveland, Ohio, February 8th, 1874, where, as at Cincinnati on the 9th, at THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 201 Xenia on the lOtli, and in other places in rapid succession, he was greeted by enthusiastic crowds which the largest halls could not accommodate, and the work of organization went on. Friends of temperance throughout the State gave themselves at once to the work, and the hearts of the noblest women seemed stirred to un- wonted depths. The timid and the reserved grew courageous, and the physically delicate became enduring under the enkindled sense of their re- sponsibility to their unfortunate brothers, and success, which every wliere crowned their efforts, lent new zeal and a deeper sense of tliankfulness. While hitherto it had been difficult to secure the admission of temj)erance literature into the secu- lar or even into the religious press, the people were now so eager for the latest tidings that the great daily newspapers of New York, Ohio, and other States kept special corresj^ondents in the field of action, who furnished lengthy reports of the campaign. The religious press promptly reflected the many phases of the movement, sometimes filling pages of their issues. The New York Tribune ^ent, unsolicited, one of its ablest representatives, Mr. Moses P. Handy, to accompany Dr. Lewis from Boston to Ohio, that its columns might furnish the most trustworthy accounts of this new form of Christian warfare. 202 THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. This gentleman continued with Dr. Lewis throughout the camj^aign, loyally insisting, in the times of exciting opposition and threats from the liquor interest which ensued, ux3on having another bed placed for him in Dr. Lewis's room, that he might act as guard in case of attack. That the position of press correspondent was no sinecure appears by the statement of a single newspaper, which says: '' We gare a few days since a condensed sum- mary of one day's campaign in the warfare against intemperance in the West. The reports repre- sented thirty-three towns in six different States. We condense here the reports since received. The two lists include ninety-eight cities in eight different States." And yet the story was untold; the essential spirit of the whole, the conversations, the prayers and the personal efforts could not be adequately set forth by the x>ress ; they were not subjects for newspaper reports. There was in the work, as carried on in the sev- eral towns and cities, both unity and variety. The workers everywhere manifested the same zeal, the same persistent purpose, the same patience with offenders, toward whom they had no feeling of contempt or anger, but only the spirit of loving- service. From the same divine source all drew Strength to combat the resistance which, in many THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 203 forms, personal greed and appetite opposed to them. As the ]^ew York Times of February 14th, 1874, said, reviewing the work : "The successes of the women did not make them dictatorial. They were just as mild in their requests to saloon-keepers as ever. They made no demands. Tears, prayers, and songs proved more effectual, and with these the work went on. The movement became popular, and in the face of itte popularity, old topers who were long since sup- posed to be lost to shame did not dare to go to the liquor-shops still open. There was an actual stag- nation of the liquor traffic, and those dealers not influenced by prayer had to suspend business from sheer lack of patronage." The only recorded inotance when the ladies lost their patience is given by Mrs. CarjDenter, of Wash- ington Court-House, before named as the leader of the work there. She relates that after they had been at work for some time at the saloon of a stub- born dealer, he lost patience and rudely told them to go home and attend to their own business. Thereupon the ladies also lost their temper and told the fellow that if his conduct Avere repeated they would send their husbands after him to en- force the law. This did not mend the saloon- keeper's evil mood. But when the ladies returned and prayed over the matter until nearly midnight. 204 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. tliey saw that tliey liad not acted in the spirit of the Master, nor in accordance with the true theory of the movement. Accordingly on the next morn- ing they went to his saloon, admitted that they had been in the wrong, and asked his pardon. From that moment the fellow's fate was sealed, and on the next day he unconditionally sur- rendered. The lady who tells the story says she believes that if she and her associates had not con- fessed their error and returned to faith in the law of love, their victory would have been long delayed if accomplished at all. Meantime, with varying but cheering success the work went on. The story of both the encour- agements and obstacles which it met can be told most fairly as well as most graphically in tran- scripts from the j)ress of the time. It is difficult to choose from these and from personal narratives gathered by Miss Frances E. Willard, Mrs. Wit- tenmyer, and Mrs. Bolton, the brief records which the limits of this volume j)ermit. What must here be condensed into a few chapters was re- ported in columns and in broadsides in the daily and religious press, as the contagion spread. The various evangelical denominations pub- lished without stint their " God speed " to the work. The Herald and Presbyter of February 24th, 1874, quoted hearty commendations from more than twenty of the leading religious week- lies of the country. THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. S05 Bistinguislied leaders of tlioiight reviewed the work from platform and pulpit. Dr. Ciiyler, in the New York Evangelist^ said of these Western women: "God bless them! they are extorting praise even from those secular presses that have never before dared to lift a syllable against the rum power." The unanimity of friendly feeling for the work on the part of both press and people, outside of the German press and of those engaged in the liquor traffic, was noteworthy. It is true that a Cincinnati organ of the liquor manufacturers gave unfavorable reports and burlesqued the workers, declaring that " a devil of conversion has seized the souls of the women of Ohio," but when one of its caustic editorials was brought forward at a public meeting of the temperance women, "the harshest thing said," wrote the Cincinnati Com- Tnercial reporter, " was that ' the editor was prob- ably misinformed and acted through ignorance.' The only resistance offered was to pray earnestly for him and advise him that they were doing so." From the Watchman and Reflector^ Boston, April 9th, 1874: "We regard the woman's temperance move- ment as the most signal event of the age, next after the great uprising against American slavery, and it seeks the overthrow of a vastly greater evil than did the latter. The bondmen of the South 206 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWI^. might be the Lord's freemen, but the rum power makes its every victim the devil's slave. " The grand characteristic of the movement is that women lead off in it and are its main sup- porters. It is the concentrated joower of mother- hood, and wifehood, and daughterhood, and sister- hood, and loverhood, all thoroughly Christian- ized and consecrated as with a pentecostal bap- tism, and combined with the calmness of fixed pur- pose against the traffic. It seeks to bring woman's power to plead with God and man to bear at the very source of the evil. ^' Nothing is more wonderful in this movement than its religiousness. If it is not a work of God, then the great uprising against human chattelship was not of God; the Reformation was not of God ; Pentecost was not of God ; and no revival of religion at the present day is of God. Its primal impulse and its accumulated momentum have come of prayer — prayer from the prof ound- est depths of woman's nature. "The success has been wonderful. In Ohio alone nearly if not quite two thousand drinking- places have been closed, and the work is extend- ing to every town and village in the State. Thence it has rapidly widened out, until now it is felt at a stage more or less advanced from the Atlantic to the Pacific." The following will serve as a type of the antag- THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LfiWlS. 207 onism to tlie movement whicli now and then wil- fully but amusingly misinterpreted its spirit. A New York Herald reporter having inter- viewed Dr. Lewis, the latter remarked: "The shutting up of the liquor saloons is not one-tenth part of the good that will come of the work. This is the first religious revival ever known in this country having a distinct and tangible object, and is therefore the first one likely to retain all it gains." A newspaper which quotes this exclaims : "... That being the case, we ask by what right does the government submit to 'religious revivals,' and allow its tax-payers to be perse- cuted and ruined, and the national treasury de- prived of its principal revenue? " It is the persecuting spirit of the seventeenth century in a new form. Its XDhilosojohy is that the wicked — i.e.^ non-puritans — have no right which the faithful and good are bound to respect. No- body can say where they will stop ! "Is it not time that our national Congress should pay some attention to that outrageous and humiliating movement, which really puts us back in civilization nearly two hundred years, and de- bases this country in the high opinion which other nations have thus far entertained for it? " The New York Herald asks : " Who will say that the Ohio reformers, in their 208 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DTO LEWIS. ardor to suppress the liquor traffic, may not i)ro- j)ose to burn the beer-sellers, if the indications should fail of their effect? History may repeat itself, and though this is a material age, there is no reason why men should not be prej^ared to die for beer, which, in its way, is a substantial, com- prehensible blessing to the poor. Men have died for ideas they liked but did not comprehend, and why should not martyrs be ready to suffer in the cause of beer, which they both like and under- stand? We have it on good authority that " ' Of all cookeries most The saints love a roast,' and it is quite within the range of possibility that Dio Lewis may yet preside at an auto-da-fe for the conversion of beer-sellers." THE BIOGHAPHT OF BlO LEWIS. 209 CHAPTEE XXL The Boston Daily Adi^ertiser of February 12tli, 1874, says: "In less than two months tlie open traffic in liquor lias been driven from a score or more towns, and in many more it is carried on under tbe great- est possible discouragements. Meanwhile the cru- sade increases in strength and jDower, and has become in many of its aspects one of the most in- teresting movements of the times. The matter of chief surprise is that means which everybody was at first disposed to ridicule have proved more po- tent than all the laws and engines of official action ever applied to the j)urpose. . . . " When these meetings were first set on foot, it appeared that the over-zealous women were guilty of trespassing, and some legal steps were taken to check the progress of their movement. Later ac- counts show that exxDerience has taught them dis- cretion, and they are now taking good care not to violate the law in any respect. They enter no house they are forbidden to enter, but when not asked to come in they hold their religious services on the sidewalk, and after requesting the proprie- 14 210 THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. tor to pledge himself to sell no more, they pass on to come again." From the Cincinnati correspondent of the New York Tribune^ February 9th: " The reports and newspaper paragraphs which have been circulated in the East give but a faint idea of the intense excitement which prevails throughout this State in view of the women's war on whiskey. In traversing the State from the ex- treme northeast to the extreme southwest, this great movement is found to be the prominent topic of conversation everywhere, while its wonderful results are fully apparent to all who visit the scenes of the recent contests between the women and the whiskey-dealers. At first the story of the marching, singing, and praying of women w^as a subject of jest, or sneered at as fanatical, but for a fortnight j^ast the movement has loomed up in all the proportions of a social revolution, promis- ing to sweep over the entire West; a movement attended with all the solemnity of a religious re- vival, discussed by some with bated breath and by all respectable people with reverence. It is literally true that the women have not been van- quished on any field in which they have fairly joined battle with the liquor-dealers. The most stubborn oj^ponents have unconditionally suiTen- dered, and the friends of the traffic are beginning to ask in earnest, ' Where is this thing to end? ' THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. ^11 " The arrival of Dr. Lewis, the apostle of the new gospel of temperance and the originator of the popular system of warfare now in vogue, bids fair to give fresh impetus to the movement.'' February 11th, 1874, came to be known at Spring- field, Ohio, as " White Wednesday." Much effort for temperance had been made here by the women, stimulated by the zeal of a lady of sixty years, reverently known as " Mother Stewart " from the days when the boys in blue gave her the title in the time of the civil war. She h ad been for many years a devoted worker for temperance, and had been especially well and favorably known through her efforts in the prosecution of liquor-sellers under the Adair law, which, as amended in 1870, gave the wife or mother of a drunkard right to claim damages for the sale of liquor to her husband or son. She had ably and successfully pleaded these cases before jurors in the lower courts, as was the right of any one under the law of Ohio. Though it was her method to lay stress upon the enforce- ment of law, while finding spiritual support in prayer, when the new movement so suddenly stirred whole communities to action she gave it her enthusiastic support, although it was a car- dinal principle of the crusade to disassociate itself from all legal methods. Through her remarkable gifts and persistent 212 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. purpose she became widely known, both in the United States and England, as one of its most in- spiring leaders. Her visit to the latter country led to the formation of the British Woman's Temperance Association. Although the ladies of Springfield, a city of some twenty thousand peox)le, were advised by Mr. Brown, of the Cincinnati Gazette^ who had ob- served the progress of the crusade work, that Dr. Lewis recommended his method as likely to be effective only in towns of a few thousands, the enthusiasm of Mother Stewart persuaded a small band, albeit with much fear and hesitancy, to visit saloons on J'ebruary 10th. The Ladies' Benevolent Society had invited Br. Lewis to lecture in Springfield on February 11th, on which day the saloon band increased in num- bers to thirty or forty. In the evening the Opera House was packed to overflowing. Mother Stewart rejDorted the work of the day. Dr. Lewis spoke, and the appearance of the now noted Yan Pelt, the reformed saloon- keeper, and his simple story moved the audience to tears. The meeting ended in a blaze of enthu- siasm. The next morning Dr. Lewis was present at a meeting held at the Central Methodist church, which was crowded with ladies, and the number who joined the band was double that of the day before. THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 218 Dr. Lewis's caution in the midst of enthusiasm and success appears in the following letter. A telegram to the New York Tribune from Spring- field, Ohio, February 13th, 1874, says : '' Dr. Lewis fears that the friends of temperance will move prematurely in those neighborhoods where a few have read the newspaper rex^orts, but where there is not a general interest. Under such circumstances a few good women start out, but the numbers bring the movement into contempt, and then the mass of the better class of ladies will hold back. He urges that there are four distinct stages, beginning with the conversational, which must be comj^leted before the second step is taken, that of the large public meeting, at which the best ladies of the town must be appointed in large numbers. The third stage will require no man- agement, as it is the stage of saloon- visiting, and the women will take care of it. The fourth stage is that of tying up the loose strings and clinching the nail with reading-rooms, etc. " This Western soil the doctor regards as pecu- liarly adapted to the temperance plant. He says: ' It has taken root and flourishes here for the first time. I propose to return to Massachusetts and open the work in Worcester, but I do not find the New England soil adapted to this new method of warfare.' " Having set forth the principles in which he so 214 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. strongly believed, Dr. Lewis was always ready to surrender the work without reserve to those whom he regarded as endowed from on high with power to carry it forward. He often said : ' The manage- ment of the campaign should be left to the women. They have an instinct of the best way to do things, and when they fail Ave need not hope to succeed.' " On February 24th a State temperance conven- tion was held at Springfield, Ohio, at which about one thousand delegates were present, and four hundred and fifty women marched in procession from the headquarters to the hall. Dr. Lewis served as temporary chairman and organized the meeting, and Mrs. H. C. McCabe was elected per- manent president. On February 14th the special Cincinnati corre- spondent of the New York Tribune quotes from a talk with Dr. Lewis on methods: "... Money must be used as little as possible. It is not time to pay men for temperance lectures or to start the ball, and most people will suspect the motives of a liquor-dealer who surrenders only on condition that his stock be purchased, or for whom a purse is raised after he takes down his sign and knocks in the head of his barrels." The correspondent continues: "The slanderous statement that Dio Lewis prays for temperance at fifty dollars a night has been a powerful weapon in the hands of the enemies of the movement. The THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 215 truth is, as the writer happens to know beyond question, that this large-hearted humanitarian, with ample means at command, is dispensing them liberally in carrying out his idea of effecting total abstinence by moral suasion, which appears to be one of his hobbies. *'As a lyceum lecturer he, of course, has a regular charge, but when engaged by any institution or society to talk on this theme, even under ordinary circumstances his charge is one-half the usual fee, but for his services in this movement, which will absorb his whole time for weeks if not for months, I am quite sure that he asks no compensation." A letter from Dr. Lems published in the Cin- cinnati Commercial of February 4th, 1874, urges the women to establish reading-rooms and amuse- ment halls for the benefit of those who heretofore have given their spare hours to the dram-shop, and also to encourage rum-sellers to engage in other business, declaring that " rum -sellers are not the moral monsters temperance people represent them, but good-hearted fellows generally, who are en- gaged in a money-making business, against which their neighbors have made no earnest protest. As they lose their means of living, the women who shut up their shops ought to help them to a better life." The first attempt of the crusaders to assail the liquor interest in the cities was made at Xenia, 216 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. Ohio, wliicli contained ten thousand inhabitants and held one hundred and twenty places where liquor was sold. It was hardly in accordance wdth Dr. Lewis's judgment that a movement should be made here. He regarded the plan of work as adapted to towns and small cities, say of not more than five thou- sand inhabitants, but much questioned its prac- ticability in the larger i:)laces. The women of Xenia Avere, hoAvever, inspired to undertake the suppression of the great evil, and on February 11th he assisted them in organizing. It was said that there w^as not a woman of any social position in Xenia who was not identified with the move- ment. The Cincinnati Gazette of February 13th says: " Judged by the standard of intelligence, social position, linancial standing, and Christian char- acter, they rank among the foremost. Their meet- ing this dreary, wet morning, at nine o'clock, was full of ardor. Many facts show^ed how fully the movement has the supx)ort of the citizens. Mr. Davis Piper had oifered to furnish carriages from his livery stable, to be placed around the ' Shades of Death,' for the accommodation of the women, if they wished to hold the situation later in the night. Mr. Richardson offered his large omnibus to move the ladies from one point to another dur- ing the week. Mine host Bradley, .pf the ' ,St THE BIOGRAPHY OF DTO LEWIS. 217 George,' also tendered a carriage for the same pur- pose." The Cincinnati Commercial reporter said : " I left Xenia with the impression that it was too rigidly conservative for the temperance Avar. A week after I returned and found the city ablaze with excitement. At least five hundred ladies were in the movement, either directly at work or assisting those who were. " Every res^^ectable family in the place was rep- resented. The Scotch Seceders, who are numer- ous, were peculiarly active. Ladies who had obeyed St. Paul's (supposed) injunction most re- ligiously now prayed in the streets with the fervor of Methodist exhorters. Ministers who had writ- ten elaborately to prove that Christians should sing only the metrical version of the Psalms, in ac- cordance mth the creed of that church, now sang to the inspiring tune of ' John Brown's Body,' etc. "The wan of separation between the various churches seemed completely broken down. Here- tofore the attentive observer, hearing a prayer, could distinguish by the tone and style whether it was that of a Seceder, Methodist, or other sec- tarian. But now the nicest ear could not dis- tinguish; all prayed just alike. All seemed as sisters in Christ, and the sanguine were led to hope that this movement would lead to a complete union between the sects." 218 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. The Cincinnati Commercial of February ISth contained a dispatch from Xenia, saying : "The rex)resentatives of six wholesale liquor- houses were here yesterday, offering the saloonists all the liquors they can make use of while the campaign lasts, free of charge." One hard place was besieged from eleven o'clock A.M. until dark, while another surrendered at sight, and hung out a sign on which was printed, ' This business is stopped ! ' It is charged that four attempts have been made to burn the residences of clergymen who have preached against the evils of intemperance. February 13th. A fund of $10,000 has been subscribed for protection if needed. A telegram to the New York Herald of Febru- ary 20th, 1874, said: " A Xenia, Ohio, special of last night's date says that the greatest victory yet achieved in the tem- perance war has been gained here to-day, in White- man Street. The nine saloons in that short street, five within a space of three hundred yards, have gained an unenviable reputation, and are known about town as ' Shades of Death,' ' Mule's Ear,' ^HeU's Half Acre,' 'Certain Death,' and 'Devil's Den.' For three days the ladies have labored al- most incessantly in front of the ' Shades of Death,' which is considered the back-bone of the rebellion. The proprietor only seemed to grow more stub' THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 219 bom, but at two p.m. to-day lie opened his doors, invited the ladies in, and announced his uncondi- tional surrender. After prayers he rolled the bar- rels of liquor into the street and smashed them in, amid hymns, prayers, and great excitement. *' The news flew as on wings over the town, and in a few minutes it seemed that all the poiDulation were hurrying toward Whiteman Street. A dis- patch was sent to the State convention of gran- gers, and that body, numbering six hundred, rose and indulged in three hearty cheers. "All the church bells were ringing, and the entire town turned out to rejoice. Before night it was rumored that three more saloons had agreed to surrender to-morrow morning. A notable fea- ture of the war in this city for the last two days has been the presence of a large school of girls, led by their teacher, Miss Laura Hicks, singing before the saloons. It is seriously proposed to close all the schools and business houses for a por- tion of each day, that the w^hole population may be brought to bear on the saloons. It is believed that not a month wall pass before every saloon in Xenia will be closed. " March 14th. — Last saloon in Xenia closes after desperate resistance," 220 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER XXII. The Cincinnati Commercial says : " On Tuesday of this week Dr. Lewis attended two meetings in this city, and explained the methods which he considered most proper and effective in the conduct of the woman's campaign against the vice of intemperance. The doctor's views and plans, as unfolded by himself, are much more moderate, definite, and practical than most persons in advance of his visit supposed them to be. It is evident from their published iireambles and resolations, that the opponents of the temper- ance movement have not comprehended the move- ment which Dr. Lewis represents, with any degree of exactness, either as to its methods or its results. They evidently imagine the woman's movement to be a political one, in the direction of pro- hibition, or woman's rights, one or both. Dr. Lewis's explanations, however, entirely dispel this misconception. Those who make specialties of these doubtless seek to profit by the prevalent ex- citement, but the woman's movement proper has no connection with either of them, but is on a basis wholly different from theirs, THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 221 " Dr. Lewis says : " ' This movement is essentially a revival of reli- gion, especially directed to the sux3pression of a great and terrible vice. Any attempt to force an enthusiasm must certainly fail. To be successful it must rest on the calm, settled convictions and purposes of those engaged in it. The evil to be attacked can only be successfully ax)proached by strictly religious and spiritual instrumentalities.' "Thus it will be seen that the agencies em- ployed or recommended are not legal, not threat- ening, but in the form of tender, resx^ectful, and earnest appeal to the moral nature of those whom they address. ... " The opponents of temperance cannot combat this movement vvith either political, legal, or for- cible methods. They must employ a different class of weapons altogether." Cincinnati, of all places, offered the greatest ob- stacles to crusade work. An immense capital was invested for the manufacture of liquors, the trade in which amounted to $33,000,000 annually. One- third of the i)opulation were Germans and the saloons numbered three thousand. Eighty women joined in the first saloon visita- tion, and, as indicating that they had material as well as more important stake in the community, it is worth noting that the wealth represented by them was over $3,000,000. A crowd of eight thou- 222 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. sand peoi)le gatliered in a few moments. Some blessed and others cursed tlie women, but, wrote one of them, " we never felt so near to heaven as we did then." The same lady, Miss M. E. Winslow, relates another day's experience : " One day I led a band of eighty or a hundred to the esplanade. The authorities had said ' this movement must be put down,' and the mayor had privately given orders to the police to be scarce where the women were. We did not know that, and after visiting fourteen saloons we marched toward the esplanade, where we found a dense mass of several thousand men awaiting us. I heard a man say, * Jack, a woman's foot shan't touch the esplanade to-day ! ' And I said, ' Lord, give us the esplanade.' One great, brutal-looking fellow stood in my Avay, debauched and de- graded, yet with a look which told that there was a heart somewhere. I took it for granted that this was Jack. I walked right up to him and said, ' Jack ! ' He started as if he wondered how I knew his name. ' Jack, we are a band of broken- hearted mothers and wives, weeping and praying because you are all going to hell as fast as you can go. We want to pray here, right by this fountain, and I want you to make way for us and keep the men still till we get through our service.' " First he looked like a thunder-cloud ; then he THE BIoaRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 22S looked foolish; tlien I smiled, and lie said, with a fearful oath, ' I'll do it. Make way for the cru- saders ! ' And as he forced his great, brawny shoul- ders through the crowd, many voices shouted: ' God bless the crusaders ! ' "Then we knelt around that central fountain which is the glory of Cincinnati, and two thou- sand men, mostly reeking with the fumes of rum and tobacco, knelt with us, with tears and sobs." Another day, as the band approached an open market-house, they found an unnsually belliger- ent crowd. Butchers fresh from their stalls, with their sleeves rolled up and their aprons on, and their butchers' knives in their hands ; villanous- looking men, some with pistols protruding from their pockets, and women debased by strong drink, uttering curses, were all huddled together, while just across the street a cannon had been placed so as to sweep the market-house if fired. But the women marched right on to their usual meeting- place. When Mrs. Leavitt knelt in prayer she found herself facing the cannon, with the possi- bility of its being fired. The crowd, that seemed to expect such an event, surged to either side so as to be well ont of the way. Mrs. Leavitt remembers saying to her- self: "If God wants to take me to heaven in a chariot of fire as He did Elijah, I would just as soon go that way as any other." 224: THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. The placing of the cannon was a trick to frighten the women, and w^as not repeated. At first the manufacturers and dealers laughed at the attempt of the women to call public at- tention to the harm of the liquor traffic, but loss of business and the effect on public sentiment soon aroused them to resistance. The ladies were told that they must not hold meetings in the streets, but must confine them- selves to the public squares and market-places. They obeyed orders, but were one day surrounded by a mob of the vilest men and women. The mayor came to them and earnestly appealed to them to go home, saying: " I'll not be responsible for your safety unless you do. For God's sake, ladies, desist!" The ladies appealed to him to disperse the mob, but immediately, at some word of reproach wdiich an indecent expression from one in the crowd made him utter, the mob swept toward him with a yell that caused the mayor and secretary to run for their lives. The mayor said afterward that it would take all the police force within twenty-four square miles of the city to protect the ladies. He also said that the whole board of police commissioners were opposed to the women. Immediately after this the mayor issued a pro- clamation forbidding the ladies to hold meetings on the streets, basing this action on an old side- THE BIOGKAPHY OF 1)10 LEWIS. 225 walk ordinance that had been a dead letter for years. Not knowing of it some of the ladies went on as before. " At a saloon where we were denied admittance," wrote the leader for that day, " we knelt and were singing, when a policeman laid his hand on my shoulder and said: 'Mrs. Leavitt, you are under arrest.' 'All right,' said I, and sang on. Then we prayed for that j)oliceman and for the crowd. Then we rose, forty-three in number, and walked, two by two, in an orderly manner, about two miles to the station-house. There they asked our names, nativity, and ages. They took mine first, and while they were taking the others I thought maybe the Lord had something for me to do there, so I went round to the cells and talked to the inmates. "At the close I put to myself this conundrum: ' How is it that every one I spoke to was put in for drunkenness, and we forty-three women were brought there for trying to put it down? ' " The mayor soon entered, looking like a man who had drawn an elephant in a lottery. The Common Council, after two hours, dismissed the ladies on parole. On the next Monday the forty- three ladies, six of them ministers' wives, three wives of rich bankers, and all the rest wealthy citi- zens, went to the police court, and after those ar- rested for drunkenness had been tried, the case of 15 226 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. those wlio had tried to prevent it was brought be- fore the court. " The judge decided that their offence was tech- nical but without evil intent, and they were dis- missed with admonition. " The women did not wish to break the law, and various forms of organized work were substituted for the methods in use. Citizens had been roused to protest, and nearly all the pulpits vigorously denounced the liquor traffic." When the obstacles placed in the way of the work at Cincinnati were reported to Dr. Lewis, he said: "This persecution in Cincinnati will help the temperance cause. I am glad that violence has been used. It arouses the people. The devil is always keeping still. He does not wish men to be aroused, and that is one reason why there are so many failures " The New York Tribune of March 14th, 1874, says: "A comparison of the returns of internal-rev- enue collections in two of the largest liquor dis- tricts in Indiana and Ohio, for the months of Jan- uary and February, gives some idea of the effect of the woman's temperance movement upon the liquor traffic. " The total decrease in the two districts named is $353,720.14. TiiE BIOGHAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. ^27 " It is estimated by revenue officers that eighty per cent, of the collections are derived from alcohol and malt liquors; the decrease of revenue on liquors therefore is $282,976.12." From the New York Tribune correspondent, In- dianapolis, February 11th, 1874: "The war has been raging for some days at Shelbyville, Ind. Several of the saloon men mani- fested a disposition to fight for what they call their rights. Last Saturday they served upon the ladies the following writ : "'You will take notice that from this time, henceforth, if the temJDerance alliance either con- gregates on, near, or about our premises or places of business for the purpose of holding prayer- meetings or other meetings, obstructing the side- walk or entrances to our premises, or in any way molesting us or our agents by your meetings, we, the undersigned, liquor- vendors and saloon-keep- ers of the city of Shelbyville, will hold you and your husbands liable in a civil action for damages. . . . This notice is to be considered in force from and after its reading.' "The ladies in their reply, announce as their watchwords ' Peace, Persuasion, and Prayer,' and ask that their reply may be received in the kindly manner which dictates it. They say : " ' Gentlemen: — You threaten us. We answer in the kindness of our hearts. You warn us to cease TfiE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. praying and singing in the vicinity of saloons, h& cause, as you suggest, it causes a loss of money to you. Permit us to answer by saying that it is you who are destroying our property, sapping our health, blocking up our sidewalks and streets with your drunken men, and putting us to tens of thou- sands of dollars expense to restrain and punish the criminals you make.' " A lady writing of the work of the alliance, says: " The workers learned to trust God as they had never done before. As Moses stood between the erring Hebrews and their God, and on Mount Sinai the presence of Jehovah well-nigh over- whelmed him, so w^e stood interceding for the fall- en, and at times the glory of God shown to us was all that we could bear. The promise that no evil should befall us was verified. A saloonist threatened to place gunpowder under the floor and cause an explosion beneath us, but we visited him and no harm came to us. Another turned a fierce dog upon us, but he hung his head and ran away. A dealer's wife stood close by a kneeling crusader and held a hatchet over her head, but the lifted arm fell harmless by her side. Guns were loaded and flourished menacingly at the windows near us, and many desperate threats were made. But the Lord of Hosts was with us." THE BIOGRAPHY OF PIO LEWIS. 229 CHAPTER XXIII. "CoiiUMBUS, Ohio, February 16th, 1874. " The eyes of all the temperance people in Ohio will scan the newspapers to-morrow for news of the long-looked-for and often-postponed attack of Dio Lewis and his crusaders on the caxDital of the State. Dr. Lewis himself evidently has doubts about the projjriety of subjecting his plan to such a severe test, still holding his plan especially adapted to the smaller places, but the ladies of Columbus were so earnest and so urgent that the battle had to begin at once. To-night the opening meeting was held and was an encouraging suc- cess." On the platform were nearly all the prominent clergymen of the city, twenty-five State- Senators, and fifteen members of the lower branch of the Legislature, all as vice-presidents of the meeting, over which Dr. Lewis presided. After the hymn " Nearer, my God, to Thee " had been sung by the audience standing. Dr. Lewis re- marked that this hymn struck the keynote of the campaign, and explained his plan, which was, in general termSj to remove the cause of intemper- 230 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. ance by peace, persuasion, and prayer, the Wv3men using these means to effect the object. On the 17th, about three hundred persons, mostly ladies, met in City Hall to organize. They began by holding daily prayer-meetings, from one of which, at the Presbyterian church, on March 3d, two hundred women went forth to the saloons, while the great bell tolled from the steeple. One saloon-keeper had provided a brass band, and when the ladies appeared before his sa- loon played " Shoo, fly, don't bother me," and the roughs joined in harmoniously. But soon many a tear was brushed from manly cheeks, and the ex- pression of derision by the band was tempered into the playing of " Home, Sweet Home." The following call for a State convention was issued about the middle of February : " At an immense meeting in City Hall, Colum- bus, Ohio, it was voted to call a convention of the friends of the women's temperance movement, to meet in that hall on February 24th, at two p.m. General consultation and the establishment of a bureau are the objects of the convention. The bureau will supply lecturers and organizers; in brief, it will supply the conditions of success. Every city, town, village, and neighborhood in the State is invited to send delegates. Half of these should be women. . . . '' Pio Lewis." THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 231 This call drew together a large number of men and women, in about equal numbers. It was esti- mated that there were more than fifteen hundred delegates. The meetings were very enthusiastic. The press said : " The temperance convention for a more perfect organization of the women's work which met this afternoon was the most harmoni- ous and enthusiastic, as well as the best-managed convention which has met here for many years." The N'ew Yorlv Tribune correspondent at Co- lumbus on the 24th reported the women as doing most of the speaking, and said : " They have thus far shown their power to con- trol the proceedings and to give every act the flavor of a peaceful spirit. The speeches were in good taste and some were really eloquent. Deep religious fervor marked all the x^roceedings, and an air of religious revival, without the extreme emotional manifestation often observed on such occasions, pervaded the meeting at every stage. "Mrs. Mattie McClelland Brown, chief of the order of Good Templars in Ohio, is a cultivated speaker and used the arts of rhetoric with much power. The others spoke simply, but with much pathos. " A telegram was received from the women of Lancaster stating that they were moving upon the enemy one thousand strong. " Among the resolutions was one that this or- f^f- 232 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. ganization be made permanent under the name of ' The Woman's Temperance Association of Ohio,' and Mother Stewart recommended in a speech the organization of permanent auxiliary societies in every county. The influence of the convention was shown in the Ohio House of Representatives, where, on February 24th, 1874, a resolution "to extend to the women of Ohio congratulations upon the sig- nal success which has attended their efforts, and hearty sympathy with their object " came within three votes of passing. " On the 20th of March two or three hundred of the women of Columbus marched in procession to the State Capitol, and held a meeting in the rotunda. " The members of both houses left their seats, and stood reverently, with uncovered heads, dur- ing this meeting. The Avomen were preparing for a struggle that they foresaw would come, and they went to their work boldly. A bill was introduced in the Legislature to protect the sale of ale and beer. " The women met it with counter-petitions and mass-meetings. Delegations came from all the neighboring towns, and the Capitol was crowded during every session with the friends and enemies of temperance. It was a hand-to-hand fight Avith {;l}e rvim power, and the women gained the yictorys THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 283 " On the 18th of April they had the satisfaction, after the midnight hour, of seeing the Legislature adjourn without doing anything in the interest of rum. The Constitutional Convention of Ohio had sub- mitted to the voters of the State a new constitu- tion containing a license clause. "Anti-license meetings were held in almost every church and school-house, and speakers were found not only among the brothers, but also among the sisters, who for the first time in their lives dared to lift up their voices in the congrega- tions of the people, in earnest, eloquent appeals to those who represent them at the polls not to legal- ize, by their sacred right of franchise, the curse the women have labored so earnestly to drive from their beloved State. Much previously unknown and undeveloped talent was thus brought into active service, and the defeat of the license clause in the constitution of Ohio by a large majority, though not strictly in the line of its special meth- ods, was one of the grand results of the women's crusade." The following is condensed from the report of Mrs. John Walker: " Logan, the county-seat of Hocking, with two thousand inhabitants, contained before the cru- sade eighteen saloons. Much of the Avealth of the towii was in the hands of prominent liquor-.. 284 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. sellers, and men in other forms of business quailed before them. Our lawyers and office-holders, with scarcely an exception, were in their interests. " We who worked in the crusade felt the mag- nitude of our work, for many of these liquor- dealers were our friends. " Our meetings were solemn ; processions well ordered; our work determined and telling, for God seemed to come so near to us that He touched us with His guiding hand. " I can never describe my own feelings as the leader of it. " I seemed under a mighty inspiration, so calm, so peaceful, so fearless, so trustful, and with re- markably clear views of God's truth. It was a spiritual phenomenon unexplainable even to our- selves. How our hearts burned as we talked of Him by the way ! " In three weeks we had the four drug stores under pledge and all the saloons closed except one. That was upheld by the wholesale dealers in cities and by the Catholic j)riest at home. " Our Lutheran minister also upheld his people who sold liquor. " Now for the results. " Although some of these liquor-sellers gave us their hand before the crowd, and with tears prom- ised that they would never sell liquor again, after a few months they returned to it again, and as THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 235 mucli was sold as before. There is a kind of brotherhood among them and they fear and influ- ence each other. " But was the crusade a failure, as some have said? By no means. We gave the liquor busi- ness a blow in this town, from which it never has recovered and never will. ■ " It is neither respectable to sell or drink whis- key in this town now, although much of it is done, for so long as there is money in the business it will be continued. "But public opinion has taken an immense stride." Lebanon, Ohio, February 13th, 1874, the corre- spondent of the Cincinnati Commercial wrote : " The glorious company of apostles for the tem- perance cause is moving on, but if the firm of Lewis & Van Pelt keep bobbing around as they have begun, the journalistic section will soon join the noble army of martyrs. "... Debarking at Deerfield, the doctor and the Vienna aj)ostle found a nice carriage awaiting them, but the four journalists took the same old hack for the five-mile ride. They duly reached the Lebanon House and soon began to feel uneasy about the doctor and his wicked partner. Two hours of anxiety passed, and we were about to send out scouts when they arrived, and informed us that they had stopped for an important meet- 236 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. ing at South Lebanon. The largest church in that place was crowded at a few hours' notice and the temperance apostles were summarily halted; both delivered lengthy speeches, and the meeting, lasting an hour and a half, was a great success. '' Here at Lebanon the church was well filled. Dr. Lewis has splendid executive abilities. Al- though something of an orator he is far more of an organizer. " Rev. Mr. Douglass, being called on, opened vig- orously on a political basis. He pronounced sav- agely for prohibitory legislation, stringent, severe, declaring himself a native American, etc., ad nau- seam. . . . When my first surprise i^assed I glanced at Dr. Lewis. His brows were contracted, his mouth drawn persimmon style. Another would have promptly squelched the offender, but Dr. Lewis could not do that. Instead he at- tempted a diversion, and by one of those strong, nervous appeals in which he is so powerful, re- stored the balance and good humor of the audi- ence." A Cincinnati telegram to the New York Tribune, February 18th, says: " Dr. Lewis reports progress quite equal to nis expectations, but expresses the fear that the move- ment is in danger of losing its high moral and re- ligious sjjirit by becoming mixed up with threats of men and legal proceedings. ME Biography of dio Lewis. 287 ''He says: 'One hundred and fifty towns in Ohio have been cured. But such results come from unwavering trust in the divine method; whenever that gives way and reliance upon law takes its place disaster follows. This was mani- fest at the spring elections. In many towns the women said, " Let men put up temperance candi- dates and we will work for them." They were elected, but the whole tide of rum returned before the election, and went on despite the officers. In the towns in which they clung to the divine methods and ignored x)olitics the reform has kept the field.' " 238 l^HE BIOGRAPHY OF BlO LEWIS. CHAPTER XXIY. At Mount Vernon a new plan was adopted in the appointment of what was known as the Men's Advisory Committee, composed of a representa- tive of each of the leading professions, business corj)orations, and benevolent orders and associa- tions. Thus the lawyers, clergymen, physicians, editors, insurance companies, and manufacturing establishments were all represented. So the sev- eral orders. Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Red Men, and for the first time in the history of the movement, the colored people had a voice in the direction of a meeting. From the special correspondent of the New York Tribune^ Mr. Handy, from Mount Vernon, Ohio, February 27th, 1874: "When I visited this place two weeks ago I found twenty-eight places where liquor was sold. The most influential men in the place advised the women not to begin the movement, believing that failure was certain and that it would retard the progress of the temperance reform in Northern Ohio. Dio Lewis came, however, and in two days persuaded the women to make a trial. The men THE BiOGRAPfiY OF DIO LEWIS. ^89 agreed to sustain the women and did so witli their whole hearts. Organization was effected and street work begun. The men, meantime, closed their places of business and repaired to the churches for prayer. The enemy took fright at once. The saloons considered most formidable first gave way; others followed in rapid succes- sion, and to-day I find that of the twenty-eight liquor stores here twelve days ago only five have not surrendered. ^' Henceforth woman suffrage will be a x)erma- nent plank in the platform of the Prohibitionists. Success of the woman's temperance movement has made them a unit in favor of it. "With curiosity as to what the late liquor- sellers thought of the movement and its effects, I went to a billiard-room, said to be one of the finest in Southern Ohio, which, when I was here before, was crowded every night with young men who rank high in Mount Yemon society. The proprietor, an Irishman, with the physique of a trained prize-fighter, had told me that ' the thing will never work in Mount Vernon,' and that ' they ' (meaning the ladies) ' had better not try it on.' I now found him in a much more tranquil state of mind, as he stood dispensing lemonade and soda to old topers, who have now to be content with such mild substitutes for old-fashioned toddies and punches, while in his hall hung an elegantly 240 l^HE BtOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. framed inscription, ' God bless our noble women/ ' How do you feel after your surrender? ' I asked. ' Never better, never so well in my life,' was tlie prompt reply. ' I don't know anything about get- ting religion, but a fellow who has been converted must feel something like I have felt for the last week. I actually enjoy going to church. Some- how or other everything looks brighter. The best day's work I ever did was hanging out the white flag on my saloon.' ' But you will go into the old business again when this excitement dies out ? ' ' Not if I know myself. I wouldn't be able to hold my head up if I did ; I couldn't look a lady in the face. No, sir, I don't know what's come over me, but whiskey-selling don't appear to me now as it used to. Besides, everybody seems to look on me so different now. The very men that used to drink at my bar think more of me ; and as to the ladies — why, sir, some of the best ladies in town have been in my dining-room with their husbands to dinner since I closed out, and one or two looked on the other day at a game of billiards.' ' Has your business suffered by your stopping the sale of liquors? ' ' Not a bit, so far. Won't you have a cigar or a glass of lemonade? I can't offer you anything stronger.' I could hardly realize that I was talking to the same man who a few days ago had, with angry tone and defiant eye, wished the ladies to ' try it on,' and who, over this same TliE BIOG^RAPltY OF DlO LEWIS. 241 eoutiter, tried to induce me to take something in the way of cold- weather alcoholic drinks* "At the hotel I fjund the landlord actually bragging that he had been the first man to sur- render, while his wife was putting on her bonnet and shawl to attend the daily j)rayer-meeting. A commercial traveller was about leaving the hotel, with a bundle of samples under his arm, when the landlord exclaimed, ' You need not go out at this time of day, sir. You won't find a respectable store in town open now.' 'WlajV asked the as- tonished drummer, who had just finished a nine- o'clock breakfast. 'Because every day between nine and ten o'clock, everybody goes to prayer- meeting,' was the reply. Surprised myself, I went on the street and found that the shops were all closed at this hour, when merchants, mechanics, and housekeepers in country towns are generally busiest. There must be earnestness in the move- ment when the pocket-nerve, so hard to kill, is thus deadened. '' From the hotel I went to the Episcopal church. Few places of amusement are ever more crowded. Every seat was filled, and men and women stood in the aisles and thronged the vestibule. The in- closure within the altar-rail Avas occupied by clergymen, every denomination appearing to be represented. The meeting, to use a homely west- em expression, seemed to run itself. Nobody i6 242 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. presided. A man arose to speak. His message was the story of what had been accomplished in another town. A woman said, 'Let us pray,' and the congregation followed her with devout air in an impassioned appeal. As they arose from their knees some one began to sing, and all joined in familiar words which seemed to them now to have new meaning: " 'Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord : He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. Our God is marching on, Glory, glory, hallelujah, our God is marching on.' " During the exercises a young man suddenly entered the house and pushed his way through the crowded aisles to the iDulj^it. Here he arrested the attention of the congregation by an excited gesture. ' Ladies,' he said, ' I have come to tell you that I can't hold out any longer. I, too, give in. I shall not sell any more liquor, and I want to sign the pledge.' The thoughtless forgot that they were in the house of God, and clapped their hands in applause; the preachers uttered loud and hearty ' aniens ! ' and almost by one impulse the congregation arose and sang the only doxology which everybody can sing: " 'Praise God, from whom all blessings flow : ' Before the echo died away the sexton was in the The BiOGEAPHY OF DiO LEWIS. 243 tower of the church and the bell pealed forth the news of the surrender. The bells of other churches took up the tidings, and for an hour they chimed away until it seemed that everybody in Mount Yernon and vicinity must have been aroused. "This bell-ringing is a favorite feature of the movement, and has become in nearly every town a well-known signal of victory over a rum-seller. "The prayer-meeting over, the women sallied out of the church on the street, and dividing into two sections, each under an appointed leader, vis- ited the few liquor stores still holding out. " Snow several inches deep was on the ground, and it was intensely cold, but there was no shrink- ing from duty. "At night another union prayer-meeting was held; but while the brethren were praying and singing the sisters held a meeting in another place. Mrs. Wiant, wife of a clergyman, arose in this private meeting and called for volunteers for special duty. If twenty -five ladies would follow her, she proposed making a night attack upon a saloon which had been barred against their en- trance during the day. Thirty ladies arose and expressed their willingness to go anywhere their courageous leader might direct. Some inquired what was to be done, but Mrs. Wiant declined to tell, fearing the enemy should hear of the move- ment. The main column was ordered to move 244 ^HE BIOGEAPilY OF DiO LEWIS. down Mnlbeny Street to Front, down Front to Main, and up Main to a certain point, and there await a signal wliicli would be understood by the column commander. Meanwhile Mrs. Wiant and three other ladies quietly walked down Main Street and entered Irvine's saloon without opposi- tion, and to the great surj)rise of that proprietor and company of mortified tip]3lers. A few min- utes later the main column entered, nearly filling the room. A prayer-meeting was held for the benefit of Irvine and his guests, and the ladies then shook hands with the saloon-keeper and bade him a kind good-by. Irvine made no neAV pledges, but says : ' I have locked my door against the ladies for the last time. They can come in and pray whenever they are so disposed.' " THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 245 CHAPTER XXy. Feom the correspondent of the New York Tri- hune, Chicago, 111., February 25th, 1874. " First real work began to-day on the west side, where a number of saloon-keepers have had their eyes opened to the probability of a general engage- ment by the visits of a quiet lady, who has, since morning, been tramx^ing from saloon to saloon in Madison and Halsted streets. Her conduct has taken the enemy by ^torm on account of its mild- ness. She says, as she leans against the beer- stained counter: ' Dear sir, I am praying for you.' Then she steps back into the farther corner and kneels on the sawdust-covered floor, utters not a loud word, but prays in secret for an open answer to her prayer. In a moment after she has said 'good-by' and is gone. The saloon-keeper is amazed ; the woman has made no noise, and he has a vague idea that she was in earnest and has prayed for him. He has declared that he would kick the first woman who tried to pray with him into the street, but he hasn't. " These visits have already begun to work upon the saloons visited in causing an extra diligence 246 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. to be used in keeping the i)laces neat and orderly, and in some instances vile pictures have been re- moved surreptitiously. A general movement will begin to-morrow." With the street work came the obstacles and trials which inevitably beset workers in the great cities, types of which have already been depicted. These reached their climax in the scenes portrayed in the following pages. In March, 1874, the City Council determined to repeal the law requiring liquor-dealers to close their doors on Sunday. There Avere three thou- sand saloons in the city. At a crowded meeting called by the temperance women a committee of fifty ladies was appointed to present to the Common Council a petition against the repeal of the law. The signatures of sixteen thousand women Avere secured in a canvass of ten days. By going to the Council chamber three hours before the time for assembling, the ladies partially avoided the mob which soon gathered in the streets. The liquor-dealers stood treat to the dead-beats, Avhom they Avould ordinarily have re- jected from their saloons, on condition that they Avould swell the mob about the City Hall. The ladies were courteously received by the Council, and presented their petition in a feAv Avell- chosen Avords. This Avas read by the clerk of the THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 247 Council and placed on file. A short debate was held on the ordinance permitting the liquor- saloons to be open on Sunday, and by a vote of twenty -two to fourteen the obnoxious ordinance was adopted. The defeated ladies were then escorted from the Council chamber by armed policemen, who, with the utmost difficulty, held back the crowd which packed the corridors. Outside they encountered a yelling, howling, blasphemous mob of ^ve thou- sand men, the off-scourings of the city. Said the leader of the temperance band, the wife of a clergyman: "The moment I stepped out of the Council room an infuriated yell went up which fairly shook the building." It was said to be the most vile and disgraceful demonstration of the spirit of ruffianism ever wit- nessed in the city. The Chicago Times said: " The rage of the mob following the cart of Marie Antoinette to the guil- lotine was not more demoniac, and probably far more courteous. " The ladies were so terrified that some fainted, others covered their faces with their hands and hurried through the blasphemous throng as best they could to the church where their friends were awaiting them. Happily no one was seriously in- jured. " For much of this outrage the superintendent 2^:8 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. of police was responsible. He was in league with the rabble. The ladies called on him for protec- tion and he refused." The petition which had cost this exposure and peril having been thus promptly rejected by the Common Council, a committee of ladies waited upon Mayor Colvin to urge him to veto the ordi- nance. The mayor received the ladies kindly, but told them decidedly that he did not agree with them. He did not believe it would be better to close the saloons. He was elected by thirty thou- sand citizens to wdiom he stood pledged to sustain the questionable ordinance. The zeal of the women was not quenched even by the powerfully-organized resistance which they met, but they saw the necessity of long and persist- ent labor. They laid well-considered plans for reaching the " elbow-heathen " of the streets, and in the ensuing summer Frances Willard, as presi- dent of the Chicago Union, lent her power and enthusiasm to the work. The business judgment which went to their .:work appears in Mrs. Wittenmyer's " History of [the Crusade :^* "Humanly speaking, the elements of success .were dauntless determination ; thorough advertis- ing of meetings and persistently keeping the sub- ject before the public, by large placards of welcome hand-bills circulated on the streets and notice^ THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 249 of the press; accounts of occurrences at the meet- ing, as well as mere announcements; having the gatherings accessible — in heart of city, down- stairs, at level of street; good, lively music and excellent instrumental accompaniment; regularly- appointed leaders (assigned the week beforehand, so that they could prepare) ; going into reading- room of the Young Men's Christian Association, and daily inviting the loungers there, with utmost kindness, to attend." Cleveland, where the liquor stores numbered not less than fifteen hundred, renewed the story so often told of personal devotion, and the com- parative success only which followed the efforts in the largest cities. A writer of the time speaks of the response to the call in March, 1874, for a meeting of ladies to see whether they would take up the crusade work. She writes : " I can safely say that no lady who went to that meeting did so Avith the intention of visiting sa- loons. Yet that meeting adjourned to visit saloons. Women who had scarcely spoken even in a quiet prayer-meeting, rose in strength un- know^n before and said: 'We will go.' Some of the leaders had received the training which the Methodist church gives its members, but the ma- jority had not. Nor are they those who have been prominent in the suffrage movement. Most of them have opposed it. 250 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. " To one outside, the movement seems grotesque, ill-advised, illy-conceived, and futile; but once within the influence of the magic circle all is changed. No one can attend the prayer-meetings and listen to the reports of the ladies without feel- ing the tremendous power that is being exerted. "It matters not what one believes concerning prayer, it is simply impossible to listen unmoved to the exercises of these women. Men who will not give up their business, men who have counted the cost and decided, men of inflexible will and iron nerve turn pale and tremble at the sound of the women's prayers, at the strains of these women's songs. Their only safety is not to hear them. Women who never faced an audience be- fore in their lives address a church full as if it were their accustomed occupation. " It is really aristocratic to be a crusader. Euclid Avenue has turned out in force, and wicked little ' gamins ' see a close relation between a seal-skin cloak and a crusader. "One saloon-keeper said: 'AVhy, if I couldn't stand the singing and praying for half an hour, how do you suppose I shall stand it in heaven, where I shall hear it all the time? ' " The following account is abbreviated from a sketch of the crusade published by Mrs. Sarah K. Bolton, one of the " original crusaders." She was a leader in Noi^thex^n Ohio, where she accompanied THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 251 the praying bands in their saloon- visiting and spoke in meetings. Later she became favorably known as one of the editorial staff of the Boston Congregatlonalist, and by her interesting contri- butions to magazines, and by published volumes. On the third day of the street work in Cleve- land the whiskey and beer interest seemed to have awakened to the situation. A rough mob, headed by an organization of brewers, waited for and at- tacked the praying bands. The police were obliged to lock the women in a store for safety, and then dispersed the crowd. The next day, taking their lives in their hands, a larger company of women went out and some- what similar scenes were enacted. Meantime public meetings called in the churches were so crowded that standing room could not be found. Business men left their stores and shops, minis- ters their studies, and a thousand manly men went out to defend the praying women. The mili- tary companies were ordered to be in readiness, resting on their arms; the police force was in- creased, and the liquor interest was soon made to feel that the city was not under its control. The mob never again tried its power. For three months, with scarcely a day's exception, the pray- ing bands, sometimes with twenty in each, work- ing in various parts of the city, sometimes with five hundred, quietly and silently, two by two, 252 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. forming a procession over a quarter of a mile in length, followed by scores in carriages who could not bear the long walks, went from saloon to sa- loon, or to warehouses, holding services where the proprietors were willing, or in vacant lots near by when they were unwilling. Those were wonderful days, when a city was baptized by continuous prayer; when women, forgetting the ease and luxury of their homes, went down to these places of desolation to save those for whom Christ died. Men took off their hats as the procession went by. Little children gathered close to the singers, and, catching the words, sang them months after in their hovels. Haggard women bent their heads, as they mur- mured with unutterable sadness: "You've come too late to save my boy, or my husband." During these three months of crusade work three distilleries, eight breweries, thirty-one drug stores, thirty-five hotels, forty wdiolesale dealers, and eleven hundred saloons were visited, many of them again and again. Four hundred and fifty of these places often admitted the bands for ser- vice. There were seventy out-door meetings. Mass-meetings on the Sabbath, conducted by women, were held in wigwams in different wards as well as in churches, and were always crowded. The prominent men of the city were aroused to special activity on other lines of temperance work. 'THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. ^53 The good result of all these efforts appears in the reports of the Liquor-Dealers' and Brewers' Asso- ciation, which show for 1874 five thousand nine hundred and sixty-nine prosecutions, and for 1875 four thousand two hundred and seven prose- cutions. 254 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. CHAPTER XXYL In Pittsburg, upon the inauguration of the cru- sade, the Liquor- Sellers' Association voted not to permit ladies to enter places where liquors were sold. The crusade was, however, carried on for several weeks, the ladies, who were led by the wife of a United Presbyterian minister, being sub- jected to every indignity by a turbulent and blas- phemous mob. Cayenne pepper was scattered and brimstone was burned in the vaults beneath the gratings of the pavement. The experience of the devoted band was severe, but they suffered no interference from the police. A petition of wholesale and retail liquor-dealers was presented to the mayor to prevent praying bands in the street, on the ground that they hin- dered business and were common nuisances. The ladies were constantly notified by the mayor to de- sist from i:)raying upon the sidewalks. They did not heed this, and on May 21st a few were arrested. The mayor courteously reminded them that it was his duty to enforce the law, and bade them go and offend no more. They resumed usual cru- sade work on the next day, and one man and two THE BIOGHAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 255 ladies were arrested. A fine of twenty -five dol- lars was imposed on tlie former, one of twenty-five dollars each on the latter. Against their earnest protest this was j)aid by one who was believed to represent the liquor interest. On the third day, May 23d, a repetition of the offence led to the arrest of thirty -two women. An immense crowd gathered and threats against the liquor men were rife. Some of the women stepped upon boxes or whatever was at hand, and sought by gentle words to calm the people, entreating them not to resist the law. The policemen then marched their prisoners, two by two, to the sta- tion-house, where they were crowded into filthy quarters, with the refuse of the city, the very vic- tims of a depraved appetite whom they were try- ing to save. With words of prayer and of counsel to their wretched companions they strove to make precious the hours and the opportunity so rudely given them, but these were sometimes drowned in the turbulence of the mob which surged around the building. Suddenly the clear, sweet voices of women rose outside above the discord: " Rock of ages, cleft for me," sang the band which had made its way through the riotous streets to cheer their sisters; voices within the prison walls chimed in : "Let me hide myself in Thee," 266 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. AVhen the offenders were taken before the mayor he demanded security in thirty dollars each, but finding that he Avas not likely to get rid of his prisoners he reduced the bail to ten dollars each. A gentleman stepped forward and paid the requisite three hundred and thirty dollars, and they were released. This money was afterward refunded, as a writ had been obtained directing that the case j)ending be transmitted to the Court of Common Pleas. This r^ourt decided that " sing- ing and praying upon the streets are not disor- derly conduct." This being concurred in by the other judges, Judge Stowe decreed that the de- cision of the acting mayor should be set aside, that restitution be awarded, and that fines and costs be returned ; the city to pay the costs. Again the crusaders took up their work, herein as before acting in violation of the principles of Dr. Lewis, whose invariable counsel was, "never break a law. If you wish to pray in a saloon ask permission, and if refused retire. If you are warned not to obstruct the sidewalk, take some other place for praying." In but few cases was this disregarded, and in these the ladies soon learned the true method. Says Mrs. Wittenmyer in her " History of the Crusade :" " The drunkards, tramps, and hoodlums that gathered at the call of the saloon-keepers, to insult and silence the respectable Christian women THE BIOGRAPHY OF 1)10 LEWIS. 257 who dared publicly to protest against the liquor traffic by song and j)rayer, was largely of the same class as the howling mob that struck terror to the hearts of the x)eople of Pittsburg during the sub- sequent riot of July, 1877. Yet while the latter mob made the streets of Pittsburg red with hu- man blood, of the women who, going on God's errand and upheld by His strength, calmly faced that of 1874, not one was harmed." In the adjacent municipality of Alleghany, a separate organization was eifected and fine head- quarters were secured. The disastrous floods of July, 1874, led the temperance band to offer its services to the relief committee, and " Crusade Hall " became one of the most important relief headquarters. In the autumn, finding their prayer-meetings disturbed by boys of the lowest class, an evening each week was set apart for their instruction. A similar work for girls led to the establishment of a flourishing industrial school. The spirit of the movement now and then found expression in song: The Temperaxce Crusade. Song of the army of women. We're coining, Father Lewis, Three hundred thousand strong ; We're burnishing our weapons Of Faith and Prayer and Song. 17 258 THE BIOGRAPHY^ OF DIO LEWlB. We bear no martial banner, — We have no battle cry Except our loud hosannas, Which pierce the bending sky. We do not stop for scorning ; We do not stop for taunts ; But follow, night and morning, The rum fiend to his haunts. The demon flies before us, His high-priests join our ranks. While, with united chorus. We shout to Heaven our thanks. If e'er our steps should falter, We'll think upon the slain Who fell before Rum's altar, And we'll rally yet again. We have no mortal leader, We have no mortal foe ; In heaven our Interceder Smiles on our work below. Law makers in their blindness Could ne'er remove this stone ; The law of loving kindness Is competent alone. We're coming, Father Lewis, ; Six hundred thousand strong ; ! The enemy shall meet us — We fight with Prayer and Song, P. H. Myers, Auburn, N. Y. The story of devotion, of effort, of difficulties, and of varying success, as here told of Ohio and its immediate vicinity, was repeated in number- *in^ BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 259 less towns throughout States reaching to the Pacific Coast. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, California, and Oregon caught the en- thusiasm. In England the great London Times devoted columns to this movement. The distinguished press correspondent William F. Robinson, better known as "Warrington," wrote from London to the Boston Journal, March M, 1874: "No American topic seems worth considering by the English papers except Dr. Dio Lewis's cru- sade against the liquor-dealers in Ohio and else- where. This must seem very comical to the Eng- lish people, who, like most grave people, are a race of humorists, but they take it more seriously than I should suppose they would. It is not likely that they seriously fear any successful cru- sade of this sort within a hundred years, but the possibility of the path to the public house being obstructed by groups of praying women may well appal them." Meantime Mrs. Margaret E. Parker, of Dundee, Scotland, " a modest gentlewoman of an old Tory line, and reared with all the prejudices of aristo- cratic birth," says Miss Frances E. Willard, " mar- shalled ' the bonnets of bonny Dundee,' leading a procession of sixty of her townswomen to the headquarters of the magistrate, where they pre- ^60 THE EIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. sented a no-license petition, with nine thousand names of women. All this in the days of 'onr crusade ' and under its blessed inspiration. " An ' orthodox of the orthodox,' Mrs. Parker had worked for woman suffrage side by side with the party of John Stuart Mill; she had addressed the British Social Science Congress on the ques- tion of capital and labor, but, active as she had always been in reforms, the crusade movement stirred Margaret Parker's heart as nothing else had ever done. The presentation of her temperance petition to the authorities of Dundee struck the key-note for the United Kingdom, aroused Chris- tian women to a sense of their responsibility, and led to the formation of temperance unions in Dun- dee and many other towns, and finally to the organization of the British Women's Christian Temperance Union." Turning again to the United States, only a brief sketch can be given of the effort to inaugurate the Crusade movement in the cities on the Atlantic slope. While a measure of success has been at- tested by its fruit more than by any immediate responsiveness, the impression made bore no favor- able comparison to that made in the Ohio Yalley and westward. Dr. Lewis said in Sj)ringfield : " I do not find the soil here adapted to my method of warfare." THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 261 CHAPTER XXYII. Stirred by the accounts from Ohio, there had been a qnlckening of the life of the temperance societies in New York City and Brooklyn. The New York Tribune of February 25th, 1874, says: " Most quiet methods will be employed, in the way of direct appeals of ladies to landlords and liquor-sellers. Prayer-meetings will be held. The sentiment is not for going in a body to saloons, but to see laws strictly enforced. The laios, lioio- ever, liave been so sTcilfully framed that the ladies find it next to impossible to prove that the statutes have been violated. The city statis- tics show that in one ward in New York City there is a liquor store to every thirty-six men, women, and children, and the general average is one in every one hundred and twenty-six through- out the city." Here, on March 2d, 1874, the key-note of the ajD- X)roaching campaign was sounded at a great tem- perance rally. Dr. Dio Lewis being the speaker. From ail account given by Mrs, Helen F. Brown 262 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. and published in the " History of the Woman's Crusade," by Mrs. Wittenmyer, we extract the following: " ' It is useless for women to do anything here. New York is a walled city,' said a liquor-dealer to one of our visitors in the early days of the cru- sade. Its walls are, indeed, thick and high, and to all human force impregnable. First in the in- trenchments are the drunkards, men and women, standing shoulder to shoulder, not very erect and firm, it is true, but, supported and filled in by the moderate drinkers next behind them, every one is a brick well laid. Then come the domestic and social users and offerers of beer and wine, next the traffickers, then the j)roperty-holders, with their wealth and greed, and last, but not least, since they afford strength, finish, and adornment to the defences, stands the church in its cold in- difference. What a strong wall is this ! No won- der our opponents feel secure behind it; no wonder human sight discerns no way to over- throw it. " In April the Woman's Christian Temperance Union was organized. A committee was ai)pointed to visit the excise board and also the clergymen of the city. We found every denomination more or less apathetic, the ministry indifferent or faith- less, and in the membership a deplorable lack of principle. It was a sad revelation, but it taught THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 263 US that temperance work w^as needed in the church as well as out of it. " Sunday-evening meetings were commenced in the churches, a gospel temperance meeting was established, with wonderful results, in one of the most desi3erately- wicked localities in the city, where we were surrounded by dance-houses of the worst description, and wedged in between two of tTie yilest dens in the city. " On one occasion three of us went together to a corner shop of the most notorious character. About twenty women were huddled together in one corner, vile, dishgured, clad in filthy rags, and presenting an appearance to melt the hardest heart. We were almost overcome by the appal- ling sight; but we joined in a beautiful hymn. " We had not sung two lines before every head, one after another, was raised with a Avondering expression; then the big tears began to fall, and by the time we had finished the strain the sobs and groans were pitiful to hear. As we went out- side they followed us with staggering steps, and one poor, marred, wretched woman drew near, and asked, with trembling lips, ' Won't you sing " Whiter than snow? " ' Those words, seemingly so incongruous in that dark place, never seemed so precious, as we sang them with our hearts rest- ing on the promise, ' Though your sins be as scar- let, they shall be white as snow.' 264 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. " Several girls followed us that day to homes of safety which we were able to provide for them in institutions and refuges in the city." Says the ISTew York Trihune of February 23d, 1874: " The temperance movement of the West within the past two weeks has developed considerable strength in the immediate vicinity of New York City. " The most notable step yet taken is the deci- sion of the trustees of Trinity church, the largest religious corporation in the country, to lease no more of their buildings to liquor-dealers. It is said that the number of liquor saloons leased by Trinity is forty. None which expire on May 1st will be renewed. This action on the part of the Trinity trustees has been hastened by the urgent entreaty of the Avomen of the parish, although some of the trustees have long felt their position to be indefensible. " March 1st the movement assumed decided pro- portions, the most distinguished of the clergy holding meetings. Dr. Lewis said that on general princii)les he looked for the spread of the move- ment here, although the city was so large that he could not judge what course it was best to pursue. The women would soon have some inspiration on. the subject. ^' March 3d. — A meeting called and wholly man- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 265 aged by Avomen drew an assemblage such as is sel- dom seen except under fclie excitement of a politi- cal campaign. " At this meeting Miss Smiley briefly described the good results of the movement in the West. She had resolved not to speak in public except on the gospel of Christ, and she had at first re- fused to speak here, but it flashed across her mind that this was the gospel. "The ladies organized daily prayer-meetings, and at one of them received and accepted an in- vitation from a Mr. Myers to hold a Sabbath-even- ing meeting in his saloon. Fully three thousand men, mostly young, gathered. A spirit of solem- nity pervaded the meeting. Many signed the pledge and thirteen conversions resulted, and in a few days the liquor-dealer voluntarily j)laced the key of his saloon in the hands of the ladies, and it was afterward opened as a temperance restau- rant. " Cordial sympathy with the movement was ex- pressed by some of the most earnest men in New York." "Hon. Thurlow Weed, in a letter to the New 'YoTk.Tri'bune, April 8th, 1874, pointed out the in- adequacy of all movements for temperance hither- to undertaken, and adds : " Meantime, intemperance has made and is mak- ing hearts and households sad and desolate, sq 266 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. mucli so as to provoke a movement by the women of our country alike spontaneous, magnetic, and extraordinary. Of tliat movement, emanating from the highest and purest sympathies and emo- tions of the human heart, I can neither speak nor think but with profound and intense resi)ect and admiration." At the annual meeting of the National Temper- ance Society, in May, the .Hon. W. E. Dodge said: "We have gained during the last year more than any other year in our history. The move- ment carried on by the women of this country is something which is marvellous, and we can only account for it that it is from above; that these mothers, wives, and sisters have received a bap- tism from on high." Kev. Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler said : " We must not talk too complacently about the matter in regard to our own efforts, for after all I am inclined to think that the great move- ment came from God through womanhood. That aroused the nation, and the shot fired by Quaker gunners in Ohio was a second Sumter to awaken the nation." Said Rev. Dr. Duryea, in Brooklyn : " One of the grandest sights that a man can look upon is the human soul thoroughly aroused in all its pas- sion and its powers. What is it that is sending simultaneously a mighty impulse over whole THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 267 States, until men, women, and cliildren are lifted to demonstrations? Whence comes it but from the Being who is as broad as space? " Henry Ward Beecher, in Plymouth church lecture-room, February 21st, 1874, said: " We see in nature two modes of action — one the gradual, steadfast motion, the other a kind of climacteric motion; so we have nightly dews and gentle rain, and, on the other hand, mighty outbreaks and storms, both admirable. There seems something like this in human society. Be- yond all question the moderate is appointed to be the ordinary, and there is just as little question that at times come natural upliftings to a higher scale. " We have a remarkable instance now going on in the West in the effort to suppress drinking. I don't know that history can show its parallel in the past, and I don't know that anything is more needed than the suppression of dram-drinking. This is the scourge of the household, and it comes with special weight on women. It is a kind of evil that has defied legislation, and now, under the providence of God, there has arisen a moral cyclone, a perfect tempest of influence. It is one of the fruits of the agitation of the question of woman's rights. I never have troubled you much on this subject, though I am devoted, first, middle, and last, to the cause of raising woman, and she is 268 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. coming on a line of equality with men. People say, 'AVhat have you gained in this direction?' Why, this movement never could have taken place but for the agitation of this question. " I am not sure but we are going to have this whirlwind come here and change the creed of those who do not believe in woman's speaking. So much moral i^ower as belongs to a woman has a right to be heard even in other jDlaces than the household. It is true the place for the candle is in the candlestick, and the place to shed its light is in the room ; but if the AvindoAV be open shall the light not go out to gladden -^ome poor way- farer ? So woman's place first is in her family, but if she has no family is she to stand in ever- lasting Availing? Is she to be a gun forever loaded and never fired off? The first sphere we admit to be the household, and when in the household her domestic relations require her to be public, it is all Phariseeism to say she has Ubt a right to be so. " I tell you if Dante had li\*ed in our time, in inventing punishments for the damned he would have thought of a sensitive, i3roiid, high-strung woman, who, beguiled by the semblance of love into wedlock, sees her idol turn into clay and her- self obliged to spend her life with a fiend, week after week, month after month, year after year. I tell you there is no other hell needed. You can't The BioGEAPiiY of mo lewis. 269 imagine suffering greater than this. Have the victims no right to destroy the destroyer? " This plan of woman's temx)erance work came by inspiration. There never was a thing more noble than this. Everybody ought to pray that there shall be great good done. I observe that all great movements acting from enthusiasm die away. Now, it is a great pity that this powder could not be recognized and last a longer time. I think it much to be desired that such a movement should be united with great, permanent religious organi- zations — should be associated with churches." 270 tHE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER XXYIII. In one of his addresses in New York Dr. Lewis thus enforced his appeals : " Standing once at the foot of the Longstone light-house on the Fame Islands, oif the coast of England, I heard again the story of Grace Dar- ling. You remember how in the midst of a severe gale she saw, on one of the rocky crags, a wrecked vessel. The survivors were sure to be washed away by a returning tide. Her father said rescue was impossible in such a sea. ' If you will not go I'll try alone,' she replied, and was j)ushing her boat from shore when he joined her. They were half-way to the wreck when a great wave broke over the little boat, and the father insisted upon abandoning the hopeless attempt. But the noble girl, who thought only of the imperilled mariners, threw herself into the bow of the boat and said : *If you turn back I will throw myself into the sea and drown with those on the wreck.' Again they bent to the struggle and at length reached the rocks, and nine poor fellows, who had given themselves up for lost, were rescued and carried to shore. THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. ^71 " When tlie news spread, what shouts of joy went up over all the civilized world ! '' As I stood there by the light-house, one vision inspired another. I looked out upon the surging sea of intemperance, and saw not nine, but mil- lions of creatures struggling for life, and I said, ' Is there not, in God's providence, some Grace Dar- ling, who, forgetting self, will risk all to rescue them?' Dear friends, God has sent her to us. I have seen her in Ohio and slie has inspired a thousand to do likewise. Surely rescue is at hand! She will soon be found in every village through this rum-cursed land. God sent woman into this world to take us men into her arms and carry us to heaven. I believe she is just awaken- ing to the consciousness of her obligations and her destiny. I have seen it in every woman of wealth and influence kneeling on the sidewalk in the snow, praying to God to send His Spirit into the heart of the man who is selling his poison to their friends. God is not dead. He has not gone away, and He is ready to-day to carry us through this great struggle." A candid review of the crusade work appeared in the l^ew York Tribune of March 30th, 1874: ^' The temperance crusade is no longer the sen- sation of the day in the newspapers, but it con- tinues to appear a matter of absorbing importance to the women engaged in it, and of practical in- 272 THE BIOGRAPHY OF 1)10 LEWIS. terest to the men wliose business it so materially affects. There is no evidence that the women are weary in their well-doing. The number of saloons closed has increased from day to day until it noAv exceeds a thousand, and we look m vain for an instance in which the women after fairly begin- ning battle have fled the field. Their faith is of the kind that is said to remove mountains. It hesitates not to attack the enemy, whether he be strongly intrenched in three thousand grog-shops, as in Cincinnati, or supported by an angry rabble, as in Cleveland. An array of superior numbers in opposition serves only to call for more thorough organization and greater perseverance on the part of the crusaders. Persecution arouses the spirit of martyrdom, and elicits sympathy for the perse- cuted from unexpected quarters. A single vic- tory encourages a praying band to weeks of more earnest and devoted prayer and labor. But a speedy victory does not seem necessary to keep the fire of faith aglow. W eeks may pass without a surrender, yet the women keep on with a pa- tience which enlists the sympathy of the most careless spectator, and assures the harassed liquor- dealer that though the day of his capitulation may be distant, it must inevitably come. " Tliere is one weak point, however, in the line of advance. It is more and more apparent that this mode of warfare cannot be successful in large 5^HE BtoaHAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 27S cities without modifications not yet devised. Un- til then the reformers must be satisfied with the creation of a healthier public sentiment on the subject which weighs so heavily on their minds." In Brooklyn, IST. Y., February, 1874, renewed zeal was kindled in an old temperance society, and the ladies, aided by some of the clergy, pressed the work with so much energy that be- fore the end of March Dr. King said : '' We have closed three hundred saloons and have induced thirty thousand persons to sign the pledge." In one year twenty -five hundred saloon visits were made, and meetings were held weekly at the jail, the inebriate asylum, the naval chapel, the penitentiary, and at Fort Hamilton. The interest felt was manifested by the eager- ness of the people to hear the subject discussed. The press said of one meeting: a There has been no such assemblage inside of Plymouth church since the days of E. P. Ham- mond as there was on Sunday to listen to Dio Lewis on temperance. " The lecturer began on the hackneyed part of his subject, but he threw into it a wonderful power of illustration." A notable result of the crusade effort by women in Brooklyn was the conversion, in April, 1874, of Capt. Oliver Cotter, who kept four saloons in Brooklyn and one in JSTew York. He was the i8 27± THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. secretary of the Kings County Liquor Dealers' So- ciety, twenty-five hundred strong, with ten thou- sand dollars in the treasury, and carried great influ- ence. He said afterward: "Ten Christian w^omen marched, two and two, into my saloon, where the liquor-dealer was drinking with his customers. The w^hole of us were soundly converted. Ten visitors came and ten inebriates were reclaimed." Captain Cotter abandoned his profitable busi- ness, destroyed his liquors, valued at several thou- sands of dollars, and gave himself to the work of combatting the liquor business, at cost of persecu- tion from friends and foes, and entire loss of prop- erty. The liquor-dealers offered to restore to him his house, which cost nine thousand dollars, if he w^ould resume the business again. Instead he ac- ce]3ted humble employment for a livelihood, and organized reform leagues by his own methods of work in many States. His experience gave him especial power of achievement. Says the Christian Union of July 24th, 1874 : ' " Captain Cotter has reduced the liquor shops of Brooklyn one-third by his vigorous campaign." Later Captain Cotter wrote : " In 1874 there were in Brooklyn three thousand one hundred and ten saloons; now w^e have less than fifteen hundred." The arrests for drunkenness in 1875 were six THE :biography of dio lewis. ^75 thousand eight hundred and ten less than during the year 1874. Dr. Lewis visited Philadelphia in March, 1874, and " did yeoman's service." In March and April saloons were visited and hundreds of public meet- ings were held, including Sunday mass-meetings at Wood's Museum, which was crowded to its ut- most capacity and hundreds were unable to gain admittance. The proprietor had received several notices that there would be a mob, and that the museum would be burned down if he attempted to hold such a meeting. He was a staunch temper- ance man and determined that the meeting should be held at any hazard, but there was no mob and no disturbance. After ten days it was reported at a general meeting that one hundred and twelve meetings had been held, twenty -four thousand eight hundred and seventy names enrolled on the pledge-books, of whom one thousand six hundred and thirteen had been drunkards, sixty-one bar- keepers, and a number saloon-keepers. Thirty-eight church members who owned proj)- erty which was rented for saloons had given a pledge not to rent their buildings for such pur- poses in future. The depth of sympathy and earnestness of pur- pose of the women found exx)ression in the fitting up of comfortable lodging-houses for fifty men, with a well-lighted reading-room, at a small charge, 276 THE BIOGiiAPttY OF BlO LEWIS. and in tlie establishment of a temporary home f oi* reformed men who were homeless and without work. This was soon hlled and a larger building was secured, and still another was started in an- other part of the city. A home for old women was oi^ened in West Philadelphia by one of the leaders in the w^ork. The National Republican of Washington, D.C., March 24th, 1874, said: "The prince of the crusade against alcoholic drink is with us at the National Caj)ital. He came alone and unheralded, unostentatiously and unannounced. He appeared unexpectedly on Sunday, and joined in the temperance devotions of the Christian workers at Lincoln Hall. . . . " This Dio Lewis is a most singular man in man- ner and sx)eech. He is kind, gentle, confident. There is no bluster, bravado, swagger, or impor- tance about him. He does not apjDear like a Phar- isee, a Sadducee^ or a magician. He looks and acts like other people, and seems to be a judge of human nature. He is as cool as an iceberg, as gentle as a lamb, and seems to be sustained by an im- pregna]:)le faith in the efficacy of women's prayers for the success of the cause in which he is labor- ing. His faith is sublime. He says he has waited for this many years, and now he simply knows that the time has come. . . . " It is not easy to calculate the influence of such THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 277 a person and such a si^irit in Washington. But there seems to be a magnetism about him to which all the people in other places which he has visited have succumbed." A meeting to take action in regard to temper- ance work was attended by twenty-six of the city pastors. The Hon. M. D. Leggett, Commissioner of Patents, addressed the meeting. He said that he came from Zanesville, a town in Ohio of twenty thousand inhabitants. Last Christmas there were thirteen tippling-shops in that town. To-night there was not one. This great work was accom- plished by the ladies in two weeks. The temper- ance men had not done as much in two months, A stranger in the audience said that he had re- cently come from Iowa and had passed through Northern Ohio. The whole West was lighted up with intense interest on this subject. He had never witnessed such enthusiasm. Every man and woman seemed to be praying and singing. In the town of Grennell, Iowa, no liquor was drunk. A public demonstration long to be remembered followed on March 23d, at the Foundry church, the largest in Washington. Long before the ap- pointed hour both auditorium and galleries were crowded to repletion. The women organized for saloon and other work with beneficial results, 278 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER XXIX. The tidings of the work of the crusade in the West had stimulated many of the clergy of Wor- cester, Mass., to the preaching of sermons on the great revival, and led the religious women, es- pecially those of the order of Friends, to call meetings and to form an organization for prose- cuting, as might seem best, the work against the saloons. In correspondence with Dr. Cheever Dr. Lewis wrote the following letter: " Delaware, Ohio, February 23d, 1874. " To THE Rev. Heney T. Cheever, Woecester, Mass. "Dear Sir: — The world has seen nothing like this woman's temperance movement. Religious revivals are often characterized by wild extrava- gances. These saloon meetings are marked by all the quiet dignity and deep solemnity of the best family devotions. Everywhere weeping be- holders are amazed. Thousands unaccustomed to religious thought exclaim, ' This is of God ! ' It is sweeping over the country like a prairie lire, The THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 279 wholesale dealers of Cincinnati liave already- suffered immensely. More has been accomplished within the last ten days than during the previous fifty. The hour has struck. My heart beats fast fifty times a day. I thank God that I have lived to see this uprising of my countrywomen. The women of Ohio send greeting to their sisters of l^ew England and challenge them to the race set before them, looking ever to the Captain of our salvation. " In four days I turn my face eastward. May Grod heli3 us to be wise, patient and determined, while we inaugurate the work in New England. Now I am satisfied that Boston can cast off that incubus in less than two months, and Worcester in thirty days. Yours ever, ^'Dio Lewis." On March 2d, 1874, an attempt was made by Dr. Lewis to inaugurate the movement for temper- ance in Worcester, Mass. A large meeting was held, with clergy of all de- nominations on the platform. The meeting was at first cool, but by half-past ten o'clock got warmed up to Dr. Lewis and his methods. March 3d, ten o'clock a.m. — A woman's prayer- meeting was held. One lady asked Dr. Lewis if he thought women had any right to go into the saloons, 280 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. Br. Lewis said: "I think if women liave not a right to go to the ballot-box, they at least have a right to go to the place of their woes and plead in the name of God. " In Ohio about half the dealers were themselves converted. At any rate the moral atmosphere be- came too warm for them. In many places the Roman Catholics join wdth us, and I say to these Protestant friends, if you cannot put your arms around a Roman Catholic and say ' my brother,' you will not succeed." The only applause which broke the quiet of the meeting greeted this remark. The ladies organized under the leadership of Mrs. Susan Gilford, an honored member of the Society of Friends. A plan of work, as follows, was suggested by Dr. Lewis: "Appoint two committees of live persons each; these five to go to-day, not making any noise, but in the spirit of love, asking the rum-sellers if they may talk wdth them. They will all say ' come in.' Ask each to sign the pledge. If any one does not sign it, go again to-morrow and ask him again. If he does not sign it, then pray. There will be no noise and no disturbance, and there will be noth- ing unwomanly ; if the women were in heaven they could not be more womanly. In two weeks the result will astonish you. Men cannot put upon THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 281 women a greater insult than to advise tliem con- cerning propriety. If women have one esj^ecial sense it is tliat of propriety." Both the ladies and the clergy had some reluc- tance about the methods which had prevailed in the West. Dr. Lewis urged the ladies to form their own plans. After two days' sessions a modified plan was adopted. It embraced prayer and appeal to own- ers of buildings to sign a pledge not to rent to liquor-dealers, also the visiting of dealers at their homes, the movement to be private and no street work to be done. By March 5th the women reported themselves as '•' working with muffled oars," " with closed doors," *' in secret," and " few in favor of immediate ad- vance." By the middle of the month the movement had api^arently died out. On the morning of the 19th, however, to the general surprise four bands of women, of from ten to sixteen each, and rep- resenting all the churches but two or three, be- gan the work after the manner of their Ohio sis- ters. They visited ten saloons in the morning, and in only two was admission refused. With few exceptions they were received with courtesy, but appeals to saloon-keepers and to owners of liquor shops to pledge themselves were often futile. Worst of all was the indifference of men of prominence and even of church members, 282 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. The Watchman and Reflector of March 26th, 1874, furnishes the following retrospective view of the movement in Worcester: " A few weeks ago the most sanguine friends of temperance would hardly have anticipated the present moral uprising against the rum traffic in this staid, respectable, and conservative city. Dio Lewis did much good by his visit, although but few were prepared to adopt his measures. The churches and ministers looked a little askance on what seemed so radical an innovation upon New England customs and tastes. But, while not in- dorsing the so-called Ohio movement in all its features, a majority of the clergy of all denomina- tions, Catholic as well as Protestant, agreed in the desirableness of taking advantage of the pop- ular enthusiasm to attempt to do something in the much -needed work of temperance reform in the city. " The conditions seemed to render Worcester a peculiarly unfavorable place in which to make the experiment. But it has been tried and, in a meas- ure, has succeeded. Not many dram-shops have yet been closed, and not many pledges have been obtained from dealers. But public sentiment has been aroused, the consciences of many have been quickened, and many who have hitherto been apa- thetic have been incited to activity in the cause. Most of the ministers of the city have preached THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 283 on the subject, nearly every prayer -meeting takes this direction, and mass-meetings have been held in different churches night after night increasing steadily in attendance and enthusiasm. A busi- ness men's prayer-meeting is also held every morn- ing, and the women have been meeting for consul- tation and prayer for three weeks. A great deal of work has already been accomx)lished. " But comparatively few objectionable features have as yet presented themselves. The work has gone on, for the most part, steadily and noise- lessly, and with unlooked-for unanimity. The women certainly deserve great credit for their discretion, persistence and patience. They have developed a moral power among themselves w^hich will long be felt in widely-separated circles of society. " The religious element is kept ]3rominent in the work. It is more than a temperance reformation ; it is a moral and religious awakening, such as the city has perhaps never seen. "With all this for encouragement there is a darker side. Many of the dealers, while receiving the women with all courtesy, seem utterly oblivi- ous to the moral depth of the work and the earn- estness of those who are engaged in it. But worse than this is tlie apathy, if uot open opposition, of many leading citizens and even church members. But the cause is God's and must go on," 284: THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. Dr. Lewis believed that efforts would be futile if not spontaneous, and in New England he found much less of this spontaneity than he did in the West. This was illustrated in the movement under- taken in Worcester, and is indicated in a pub- lished report of an interview: . . . Reporter—" What, then, is your opinion of the movement in that city? " Dio Lewis — " I believe it in a quiet but healthy and vital condition. I think, however, precious time has been lost." Reporter—" In what way? " Dio Lewis — " If, immediately after the meeting in Mechanics' Hall, four weeks ago, forty commit- tees of five women each had quietly moved on the enemy, as soon as in their judgment it was wise, and had visited the more conspicuous X3laces in companies of fifty to one hundred, the work would have been finished before now. The number of volunteers 'for the service would have surprised everybody." Reporter — " What do you think of the recep- tion of the plan in Worcester? " Dio Lewis — " The meeting the morning after the great gathering in Mechanics' Hall, four weeks ago, was, I think, one of the most solemn and earnest I ever attended. Nothing can be clearer to my mind than that there were three hundred women in that THE BIOGRAPHY OF t)IO Li^WIS. 285 audience ready, tlien, to begin the work in some quiet and determined manner. But many earnest, Christian women had the matter in charge. Tliey decided to pursue a somewhat different course." Rei^orter — " And do you think they have acted in the wisest manner? " Dio Lewis — " It does not become me to criticise them. They tell me that these weeks have been devoted to reconciling differences between the churches, and to securing the co-operation of clergymen. All these and many other good results have been secured, elsewhere, by a single day's prayer and singing by companies of women, and I have no doubt would have followed in the wake of the first decided movement in Worcester." RejDorter — '' Can you say the results have been as satisfactory as you anticipated? " Dio Lewis — " If I answer your question I must say that I have been sorely disappointed thus far." Reporter — '' In what respect? " Dio Lewis — " The movement in Worcester so deeply interested me that I could scarcely sleep the night before or the night after the meeting. It seemed to me that the whole movement in New England would hinge upon Worcester. I cannot tell you with what eager, painful anxiety I watched the papers for news of progress there." Reporter — ''Do you think success will ulti- mately crown the movement? " 286 THE BlOGHAPilY OF DtO LEWIS. Dio Lewis — " Yes, I believe it will, tliougli tlie steps are being taken with such extreme caution that I have no concej^tion of the time required to obtain the victory." Reporter — " Wherein do you think weak points have been displayed?" Dio Lewis — "The part of the harness with which the hold-back is done is a very important part, but it should not be used when going up hill." Reporter — " Do you think that praying in the saloons is the best method that can be adopted in the work?" Dio Lewis — " The natural order is, first, to spend a few days in visiting the property-holders and dram-sellers in companies of two or three, at their homes, and pleading with them. Secondly, visit- ing the saloons in companies of from five to ten, for pleading and silent prayer. Lastly, visiting dram-shops for singing, vocal jjrayer and plead- ing, in large companies." Reporter — "Then you place the visiting of dram-shops last on the list? " Dio Lewis — " That method will not be adopted where the others can be made to succeed. I need hardly say that all this work is to be preceded and accompanied by secret and vestry prayer." Reporter — "How long, in your opinion, Dr. Lewis, will this prayer crusade continue? " THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 287 Dio Lewis — '' I trust tliat it will continue until the dram-sliops are closed." The interest in the crusade of the West led to the formation of twelve organizations in Massa- chusetts, during March and April of 1874 and the succeeding October. In October of this year a convention was held in Worcester, to which fifty-four towns sent three hundred delegates, and here was formed the " Woman's Christian TemjDerance Union, of Massa- chusetts." 288 THE SlOGtlAPHY Oi' DlO LJEWlS. CHAPTER XXX. On Dr. Lewis's return to Boston lie accepted an invitation from the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation to speak on temperance in Music Hall. " Such an audience gathered as perhaps never be- fore squeezed within its portals. The audience was not only interested, but inquisitive. It asked questions so sharply, and in such antagonistic spirit, that there was more than once promise of a serious disturbance." The Boston Globe of March 30th, 1874, said: " Many a public speaker would have been fright- ened at sight of the audience which assembled at Music Hall last night. There were the staunch thick-and-thin prohibitionists, the anti-x)rohibition temperance men, men who favored temperance but did not know exactly how to x)romote it, and, most numerous of all, those w^ho were present to see the fun which they anticipated. '' In introducing the speaker the chairman re- marked that Dr. Lewis's services were given with- out pay. This led Dr. Lewis to say that the chair- man had said this without his desire, but as the THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 289 newspapers were still busy with tlie story that lie received fifty dollars per day for his services, he would do what he had often refused to do, that was make a personal explanation. Here, at his home, he thought that he owed it to the public and himself. He then stated that during the last three months he had worked harder than ever be- fore in his life; that in return for his services he had received 8465, while the exjjenses of himself and secretary had been about $900. " He called on the audience to sing ' Nearer, my God, to Thee ' and then, after sketching rapidly the work of the women in the West in suppress- ing the sale of liquor, he invited questions. Be- ing asked the proportion of the towns in which the movement had proved a failure, Dr. Lewis said that it has not failed in a single town. By that he did not mean that all places where it had been tried are free from liquor-selling, but that it has not been given up in any case. He believed that seventeen thousand and seventy-five dram-shops had been closed in Ohio, and he challenged any one to find an instance in which a dealer had broken his pledge given to the women. " He said that prayer undoubtedly did the work, but success depended very much upon the charac- ter of the prayer and of those making it. " Some desultory questions were ruled out by the speaker. 19 ^90 THE BIOGllAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. " At length a prominent proliibitionist sliai-ply asked : " ' Are you opposed to legal prohibition? ' "Dr. Lewis said that he was associated with women in his work and depended on the exercise of love and patience. Women have nothing to do with making the laws, and he therefore declined to mix himself up in a question concerninp* which there is so much difference of opinion. " The question was still urged, and Dr. Lewis said he would not enter upon this phase of the subject now unless compelled, and then he would say the prohibitory law Avas a blunder. It could not be enforced in Boston because temperance men did not believe that selling rum was a crime, as stealing a horse was. Men do not look upon Harvey D. Parker as they do uj)on a horse-thief. '' Dr. Lewis was proceeding when the chairman, Mr. E. H. Sheafe, who evidently had been ill at ease for some time, came to the front of the platform. He said he was a prohibitionist and knew that prohibitionists looked upon the selling of a glass of beer or of cider as being worse than the stealing of a horse. He stated that he did not wish to be held responsible for any sentiments which might be expressed by the lecturer. "This speech was received with hisses, ap- plause, laughter, etc., according to the inclination of the persons who composed the audience, and ^HE BIOGRAPHY OF BIO LEWIS.- ^9i many sliowed that tliey were elated over the pros- pect of ' fun.' '' Dr. Lewis said that he did not want any one to be responsible for him or for Avhat he said. If the prohibitory people were vexed with what he had said, it was not his fault, for they had forced him into a statement. He was about to resume where he had left off when interrupted by Mr. Sheafe, but, turning to that gentleman, he asked him if he were willing that he should go on. " Mr. Sheafe hesitated a moment, and then said that if Dr. Lewis wished to make an argument against iDrohibition it was no more than right that he should be answered. " After some confusion. Dr. Lewis, who had pre- served his serenity meanwhile, continued his re- marks. The remainder of his lecture consisted of a statement of the potency of love." The lecture in the temperance course on the suc- ceeding Sunday was by Rev. Dr. Lorimer, who spoke with thrilling effect on "The Woman's Crusade." He said: " Since Christendom was aroused to rescue an empty sepulchre, and to lift the oppression of the Mussulmans from Judea, no grander crusade has taken place than this of the wives, mothers, and sisters who have reared again the sign of the cross and are moving forward to conquer. " It was not to rescue an empty grave, but be- 292 THE BIOGEAPHY OF 1)10 LEWIS. cause there were millions of graves crowded full of their husbands, brothers, and sons ; not to lift a curse from Judea, but to lift a curse from hu- manity. " The Western praying bands are the spontane- ous expression of a thought. If the women of Boston want to pursue the same course, well and good. They should not pump up enthusiasm ; if it comes spontaneously it will be a grand power, but if the movement is attempted as an imitation of others it will simx)ly be an absurdity. ^' The power of w^oman is to influence the civili- zation of the future as it has not influenced that of the x)ast. Woman's right is only limited by her capacity, the same as man's. Her right in this cause is founded upon her capacity and her wrongs. May it be hers to bear on to victory the white flag of purity on which appears the red cross of the crusade." April 12th, 1874: "Dr. Dio Lewis made more of a sensation to- day, when one was least expected, than he has created in Boston since his debut as the leader of the crusade against intemperance. The Rev. A. W. Haskell, who supplied the pulpit of the Music Hall society, spoke rather slightingly of Dr. Lewis, saying that the people did not believe in his reliance in prayer. Nor could they believe that he w^ould ever have embarked in this move- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 293 ment, wMdi was purely accidental, had it not been for tlie remuneration. The woman's crusade he characterized as an entire misconception of prayer. " Dr. Lewis, who was in the house, at the close of the address rose in his seat and asked to be heard. One of the committee told him that he could not be allowed to speak. The benediction was then x3ronounced, and amid loud cries of ' take the x^latf orm ! ' Dr. Lewis stepx^ed upon one of the seats and was ]3roceeding to speak amid great confusion, when the committeeman again called on him to stop. Hisses and continuous cries of ' take the platform ! ' ' speak, doctor ! ' The com- mitteeman called out, ' If you will hire the hall, Mr. Lewis, we shall be very glad to hear you.' Colonel Ward well said: 'Brothers and sisters, this isn't the sj)irit of the Master.' The organ here drowned his voice, and the meeting disx)ersed." In a spirit quite unlike that which greeted Dr. Lewis from some of these so-called temperance workers in Boston, many meetings were held in the vicinity of the city, in which able ministers and laymen and laywomen indorsed the West- ern work. At Hyde Park, Mass., a discussion was arranged between Dr. Lewis and the distinguished advocate of prohibition. Dr. A. A. Miner, of Boston. Here Dr. Lewis felt free to express his opinion on this 29-i THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. topic, which, he had considered untimely at the meeting in Music Hall. Says a newspaper report: — In the town hall in Hyde Park, Mass., a discussion was held between Dr. Lewis and Rev. Dr. A. A. Miner, the cham- pion of prohibition in Massachusetts. Many came from Boston to hear. The speak- ers were limited to twelve minutes each. Dr. Lewis opened the debate, which was main- tained most gallantly throughout by both the gen- tlemen. The opening argument laid the founda- tion for the evening's debate. He gave some facts relating to his early life, then mentioned an inci- dent that occurred in Lincoln Hall, Washington, a few evenings since, in order to show how he re- garded moral suasion versus prohibition. "At the third meeting," said he, " there were about twenty Congressmen present, among them a Judge Law- rence, of Ohio. The judge was asked to come on the platform and defend the prohibitory law. He sprang to his feet, and in an instant declared from the platform, ' I am in favor of prohibitory law. If a man comes into my house and gives my son drink until his body goes staggering in shame through the streets, and his soul goes shrieking into eternity, in delirium tremens, that man has committed a crime a thousand-fold greater than to have stolen my horse, and should receive a punishment a thousand times more severe.' I interrupted him with — THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 295 " If you say, Judge Lawrence, tliat the loss of your son under sucli circumstances is a thousand- fold greater calamity or misfortune than the loss of your horse; or if the rum-seller comes into your house, seizes your son and binds him hand and foot, and then pours the poison into his mouth until all these dreadful consequences come to pass, then I agree with you that he has com- mitted a crime a thousand-fold greater than steal- ing a horse, and should receive a thousand-fold greater punishment. " But if your son is compos mentis — if he has a free mind, with a right to think, speak, choose, and act for himself like other men, and he goes to the rum-seller and asks for drink knowing just what he will get, and the liquor-dealer under such circumstances sells him drink, then if you say that the liquor-dealer has committed a crime at all in the sense that stealing a horse is a crime, I do not agree with you ; and if you do not make a distinction between vices and crimes, the former of which are to be cured by moral suasion, and the latter to be treated with legal suasion, then you cannot understand why it is that in Boston, the most law-abiding of all large cities, we cannot enforce the prohibitory law. Boston is powerless." Dr. Miner's opinion of the law was that it was a piece of heaven put into the hand of man to use and to use rightly, and if men who formed legis- 296 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. latiires had lialf the desire for carrying out the grand principles contained in the laws, especially in the prohibitory law now under discussion, that they had for votes, Boston would not to-day be called i3owerless. The chief of police needed but the word from those in authority, and his six hun- dred men would soon show whether Boston was strong or weak. It was not the law that was at fault. The law was grand. It was the men to whom we confided the applying of the laws. They were the weakness in the bones of the com- monwealth. Upon rising the second time Dr. Lewis said: " The precious jewel of life is personal liberty. A man has a perfect right, so far as Ms fellow-men are concerned, to drink, eat, chew, smoke, or in- dulge in any score of vices at his pleasure. Until he becomes insane or interferes with his neigh- bor, no man has any right to interfere with him. Trench upon this sacred right, and you enter the path that leads to all tyranny. It was to be free from tyranny that our fathers fought." Dr. Miner defined the War of the Revolution to have been " one in which our fathers fought for the right to build up a noble Christian govern- ment." " Tliey fought for nothing of the kind," said Dr. Lewis. " They fought for freedom and for noth- ing else. The use of tobacco, wearing of corsets, THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 297 and twenty other vices are sapping the life from the community, breaking down strong constitu- tions and destroying lives, and law does not cure them. No man of common sense proj)oses legisla- tion against them. Law cannot reach them. They must be left now and ever to reason and persua- sion." Dr. Miner wanted to know if his opponent would not have a law against the sale of tainted meats and adulterated foods. Dr. Lewis replied that if dealers cheated it was within the province of law to punish, but if the buyer wanted to buy adulterated food and knew just what he was buying, there was no government on the planet that had the right to interfere. As the minutes began to approach the hour w^hen the return train to the city was due, the ex- citement began to wax warm. Both gentlemen were standing side by side at the front when Dr. Lewis asked the following question: " Do you think you have a right to say to the hundreds of men and women in this hall to-night that they shall not drink what they please? " Dr. Miner quickly replied : '' If it can be shown that the habit of drink leads to enormous crimes and destruction of all the best interests of society, the Legislature has a right to prohibit the sale of all intoxicating drinks." Dr, Lewis warmly replied: 298 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. " Don't you see that you have entered a path that logically leads to the control of every man's religious views? " " I accept it," cried Dr. Miner, " I accept it. If any views are entertained in society which, in the judgment of the Legislature, tend to produce as much harm as rum does, it is the bounden duty of the Legislature to prohibit such views." " Intense excitement pervaded the audience. Dr. Lewis sprang forward with — " Dr. Miner, I challenge yOu to put that state- ment on record. I never heard an opinion which so astonished me. Here are the re^Dorters. Put that on record." Dr. Miner cried out with the same warmth : " I welcome the reporters — let them put it on record." Dr. Lewis (amid cries of "go on," "go on "): " It will amaze everybody, though I believe it to be the logical outcome of the prohibitory law." THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 299 CHAPTER XXXI. Dr. Lewis lectured at this period on the ab- sorbing theme in the principal cities of Maine, Rhode Island, and Eastern jN'ew York, and the women organized for Avork in nearly every city which he visited, but the method which he favored never had the hold npon the 'New England and Eastern States that it had npon the Western States, where its movement, till it touched, in Oregon and California, the Western limit of the continent, was aptly described by Miss Frances E. Willard in this rare pen picture: "The crusaders came with the suddenness of the power of Pentecost; bringing also, like it, a baptism of the Holy Ghost, and thousands felt the movings of the spirit. " I was reared on a Western prairie, and often have helped to kindle the great fires for which the West used to be so famous. A match and a wisp of dry grass were all we needed, and behold the magnificent spectacle of a prairie on fire, sweeping across the landscape swift as a thousand untrained steeds and no more to be captured than a hurri- 800 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. cane! Just so it was with tlie crusade. . . . When God lets loose an idea upon this planet, we vainly set limits to its progress." Noting the diflference Avhich characterized the work in the two sections of the country, Dr. Lewis said: " The woman's crusade in Ohio astonished the world. IN'ow the people Avonder that the women's movement in New England should accomplish so little. People have said to me, ' The way doesn't seem to work so well here.' " The Ohio Avay Avould work just as well here as it did in Ohio. The secret is that the New Eng- land way is not at all like the Ohio way. It would be difficult to imagine two w-ays more widely different. I have urged here and there, again and again, in New England, the employ- ment of the Ohio tactics. The reply has generally been that the means ada^^ted to Ohio are not adapted to the refined tastes of New England. This is an entire misapprehension of the case. " Let me illustrate. I have recently held two mass temperance meetings in a neighboring city, and explained the methods which were so trium- phantly successful in the West. After the second meeting, in an interview with the president of the Woman's Prayer League, I urged immediate ac- tion. Her reply was : " * We are holding weekly prayer-meetings and THE BiOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 801 praying God to close the dram-sliops of this city. He will close them if He sees fit.' ^' I said, Sni^pose to-morrow morning you rise, and, gathering your family, yon ]3ray ' Give ns this day our daily bread.' Rising from your knees you look at the table and find that the bread has not come. " The children cry, ' Mother, I am hungry.' " You say, ' Let us pray again,' and you repeat, with still more fervor, ' Lord, give us this day our daily bread.' " Rising from your knees you agaia examine the table, and still it is bare. No one denies that God could give you the bread if He chose; but you may go on repeating the j^rayer until you starve; not a crumb will appear. '' The women of Ohio prayed no more earnestly than you do, but they worked as well as prayed, and that was the secret of their wonderful success. You pray, ' Give us this day our daily bread,' and wait for the bread to come. The women in Ohio ut- tered the same prayer, and then went to work and made the bread. That is the difference between the woman's temperance movement in Ohio and the woman's temperance movement in New Eng- land. " That the women of Ohio are quite as refined as those of New England needs no proof or illustra- tion with those who are familiar with society in 802 THE BIOGRAPHY Of DiO LEWIS. both sections; and to say that the most refined ladies of that great and noble State, the wives of judges, Congressmen, clergymen, the wives of the richest citizens, ladies who stand highest in society, were the leaders in the woman's move- ment in Ohio, is to repeat what is already familiar to the public. " No ; it is not that the methods employed in Ohio are not adapted to New England ; but the explanation is this : New England is given to es- says, sj)eeches, the ' evolution of ideas ; ' while the West combines with thought, action ! action ! ac- tion ! " There is not a locality in the country where the tactics employed by the Ohio women would fail. "Again, there is a general idea in New England that the temperance revolution is to be achieved through public meetings. The rum-seller and the drunkard are away over there, a mile off. The rum-seller is on one side of the bar, the drunkard is on the other. The evil work goes on. We long to put a stop to it; it is the aim and object of the temperance movement. We gather in a church, sing, pray and preach about the horrors of intemperance, and the beauties of temperance, and, when the meeting is over, and w^e are walk- ing past the rum-shop, we hear them singing, ' We who drink are jolly good fellows.' " But to go back to the meeting. The good man, THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 86^ in his prayer, asks God to bless tlie truths which are spoken, to send them home to the hearts of every rum-seller in the land, etc. " Riding through Kansas recently, I saw, here and there, prairie-chickens Hying in the distance. If a man had loaded his rifle, put the breech against his breast, and pointing it upward had shut his eyes and pulled, no matter though he were starving, his prayers that God would direct the shot to the bird would probably not be an- swered. If he would have his prayer answered he must get up close to the game and take good aim at the bird's heart. And if at the temperance meeting the sjpeakers fire off their temperance plat- itudes into the air, no matter how earnestly they may pray God to direct the shot so as to hit the rum-seller a mile away, it will probably not hit him. If they would have their prayer answered, they must get close to the man and take aim straight at his heart. "Nothing could be more pitiful than the pres- ent management of the woman's temperance move- ment in some parts of 'New England. I have in mind a small city which has three hundred and forty known grog-shops. The good women of that city have organized a prayer league, and about a dozen of them meet once a week to pray God to close the dram-shops. The newspapers of the town report now and then that ' the ladies of 304 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. the prayer league are busy and hopeful.' Exactly what they are doing is to meet once a week to pray. They do not propose to do anything else. When you urge them to move on the works of the enemy, they stop all discussion by asking if you think God could not remove the curse if He chose ; if you think His arm is shortened. " I never argue this, but always admit that God could close all the dram-shops if He chose ; though I did venture the other day to ask one of these ladies why, if she trusted the closing of dram-shops exclusively to prayer, she did not leave the con- version of the heathen with God. Why send mis- sionaries? Why not confine their efforts to prayer? And I asked her if she had ever heard of conversions among the heathen except through missionaries and other similar means. "A IS; ew York clergyman said he did not be- lieve in the women's kneeling in the snow and dirt. Neither do I. Less than two per cent, of the movement has been of this sort. The women do not habitually get down on their knees in the street; this only occasionally through necessity. They do not style themselves 'praying-bands.' These are newspaper falsehoods. On going to the saloons they find that the men who keep them are not ogres, but people like themselves. No New Englander has the faintest conception of what the movement is ; nor of the patience, gentleness and THE SIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 805 love which women show in their prayer-meetings. There are two features to this woman's temper- ance movement : the first is the obtaining of this spirit; the second, its application. " The greatest danger menacing the temperance movement in New England is that we shall bury it in meetings. As large meetings are often the graves of temperance feeling, so j)rayer-mee tings alone will often kill it. ' Faith without works is dead.' " ' The Washingtonian Movement/ as it came to be called, a movement which threw the arms of love around tTie rum-drinker^ was the only thing ever done in this country until last Christ- mas which really helped forward the temperance cause. " Then a few Western women made another dis- covery, viz., that if we would end the liquor busi- ness we must follow tTte rum- seller with the Washington method. The arms of love must be thrown around him too." 20 306 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER XXXII. The rapidity of action which marked the cru- sade, and which was naturally characteristic of Dr. Lewis, led those not on the spot to think that it was merely an emotional movement and that it was pressed along the lines of excitement. To one who revieAvs the daily reports as tele- grai)hed at the time, to the great newspapers of the country, which, like the 'New York Tribune^ Cincinnati Commercial^ etc., kept their corre- spondents in the field of crusade effort, Dr. Lewis appears, while urging action, to have deprecated rather than stimulated excitement. While re- joicing in zeal, he cautioned prudence in move- ment, and respect for personal rights was a cardi- nal principle with him. He always insisted on the central idea that " the cure of the vice must be through the hearts of the jieople." While having in his mind a definite plan of temperance work, especially involving womanly gifts, upon Avhich he had pondered through twenty-one years of service in the cause, it was always offered suggestively, never dogmatically, I^HE BIOGRAPHY OF DiO LEWIS. 307 and with ready deference to what he regarded as the superior intuitions of woman. The misapprehensions to which the crusade movement was subject from those outside its line of progress, were not to be wondered at. Unique in its conception, elevated in its spirit, rapid in its movement, phenomenal in its manifes- tations, surprising in its results, it was, naturally, variously interpreted, according to the standpoint of the observer. The marvel is that by those who took up the work, under the inspiration and leadership of one who had so long carried it in heart and mind, its deep significance was so readily apprehended, that its sacrifices were so courageously met, and that its failures and its triumphs were borne with equal meekness of spirit. It is scarcely less im- pressive that those who watched it apart, over- looking its merely superficial and unaccustomed aspects, regarded it with something little short of reverence. No word could express the respectful admira- tion which Dr. Lewis felt for the noble women who took part in the crusade. Their names were legion. From the very multiplicity of them it has been necessary to omit them here, except as the narrative includes them. The reverence for woman which had been inspired in Dr. Lewis from his childhood by the character of his mother, and S08 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DiO LEWIS. wliich deepened, as years went on, until it gave bent to his life-work, was only intensified by his experience in the crusade work. Wherever tliat was inaugurated, whether in hamlet, town, or city, he saw women accustomed only to the seclusion of their homes and social circles, — alto- gether inexperienced in the world's ways, — step forth, in utter self-forgetfulness, at the call of duty, and manifest, in marvellous degree, not de- votion alone, but courage, perseverance, wisdom and self-control. For historical sketches of those Avho came to be most widely known, — and many found in the cru- sade the insx)iration which has made their lives a nation-wide, or even a Avorld-wide benefaction, — we refer our readers to '' Women and Temperance " in which Frances E. Willard, with generous hand and sisterly tenderness, has embalmed their noble deeds. The story of the crusade has been told here with some detail both as a significant part of the his- tory of temperance reform, and because it pecu- liarly illustrates the power of the spirit of Chris- tianity as an aggressive agent against sin. In how many of the beneficent movements since Christ has the all-sufficient power of love been trusted, without recourse to other measures in any emergency? Herein lies the distinctive quality of the work THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 809 of the crusade. In dealing with men's vices — not some men's, but all men's — not some vices, but all vices, — Dr. Lewis trusted to the moral power to the end. There was no doubled fist clenched behind his back to take the place of the smiling face and the warm grasp of the hand if patience were too long or too sorely tried. It was in response to this spirit that there came the descent of power to win men from their sins, upon those who, with him, put serene, unquestion- ing faith in the universal forces, in siTni^athy, in love, in persuasion, in jDrayer. May it not be a forecast of the spirit and method of service which shall guide all efforts for reform in the better future? 810 -THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER XXXIII. To this fragmentary history of the crusade, as currently recorded with flying pen in the daily and weekly press, it is of interest to add from the pages of Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer's "History of the Crusade," a statement of the conditions which may be said to have compelled its inauguration, and a vivid sketch of the movement, in which one may feel its very j^ulse-beat; also Miss Frances E. Willard's answer to the question, '' What has the crusade done?" Mrs. Wittenmyer says: " In 1873, the beginning of the crusade, accord- ing to the estimate of Dr. Young, Chief of the Bureau of Statistics, our annual drink-bill reached the sum of $600,000,000. This was an annual tax of over fifteen dollars per capita for every man, woman and child in the country. " The whole land was filled with beggary and crime. Millions Avho ought to have been pro- ducers and bread-winners became consumers, tramps, and criminals. It was with us as it was with the Egyptians — there was one dead in almost every house, THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 811 '' But the liquor-dealers were so intrenched be- hind law, so sheltered in politics, so guarded and sustained by the government, national. State, and municipal, that they were an oligarchy that could dictate to statesmen, and control legislatures, and defy public sentiment. Restrictive laws in most of the States were weak and inoperative. There was no redress anywhere. " The church in the presence of these evils was criminally silent and inactive, and many of the watchmen on the walls of Zion were dumb, and gave no warning voice on the approach of the enemy. "No pen can portray the utter hojDelessness of the women into whose homes the drink curse had come. Nor were their more fortunate sisters free from care. The gulf of ruin was near each door, and an undefined dread, an awful foreboding, was in the heart of every thoughtful wife and mother, lest all she loved should be swallowed up in its black depths. " Countless unspoken prayers went up to God. Women, weeping and praying through the long night-watches, appealed their cause, lost in so many of the courts of earth, to the Supreme Court of Heaven. " Suddenly the world was startled by a flash of heavenly light. Hands of faith had touched the hem of power, and a mighty spiritual swirl came down upon the people. Christian women, many 812 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. of whom liad never spoken or prayed in their churches, under this Pentecostal baptism went into the streets and saloons, preaching the gospel of Christ, and tlie people gathered by thousands to listen to the truths that fell from their lips. " The whole nation was stirred. Never before had men so trembled under the power of prayer. Never before had society been so shaken by a moral earthquake. " The women who kept step with God in His grand, onward marcliings, were calm and serene. To them the thunder and lightning Avere but the roll and rumble of God's artillery turned against their enemies, and the earthquake was the tread of their Caj^tain and his mighty hosts. " Delicately-nurtured women, who had not felt the awful evil in their own homes, and who had passed by on the other side, marched boldly into the saloons and preached to the spirits in prison there. Men who walked among the tombs heard through them the voice of the Master and were delivered. ^'Public attention was directed to the liquor traffic as never before. A calcium light had been turned upon it, and the mass of the people were horrified at what they saw and heard. " When Mrs. Thompson and the seventy women who followed her, went out of the Presbyteriai} church at Hillsboro, Ohio, singing. THE BIOGKAPIIY OF DIO LEWIS. 318 " 'Give to the winds your fears ! Hope, and be undismayed 1 God hears thy sighs, and counts thy tears ; God will lift up thy head 1 ' they heralded a new dispensation in the temx^er- ance work, a nnion of the moral forces of earth with the invincible forces of heaven, and victory was assured." Says Frances E. Willard: "Concerning that spiritual prairie-fire in the West immortalized by fifty days of prayer, per- suasion and victory, and called ' The Woman's Crusade,' hoAv often in Ohio have I said to some temperance woman : ' IN'ow talk to me of the cru- sade,' and how significantly uniform was the re- ply : ' Oh, that was something only to be felt and lived ; to be wept and prayed over ; it was not to be told.' " ' What did the crusade do ? ' It was the great iconoclast, that wonderful crusade ! It broke down sectarian barriers ; it taught women how to trans- act business, to mould public opinion by public utterance, to influence the decisions of voters, and it opened the eyes of scores and hundreds to the need of the republic for the suffrage of women, and made them willing to take up for their homes' and country's sake the burdens of citizenship. '* Take an illustration of the way in which sec- tarian prejudice gave way before it. 814 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. " In front of a saloon that had refused them en- trance knelt a crusading group. Their leader was the most prominent Methodist lady of the commu- nity. Her head was crowned with the glory of gray hairs; her hands were clasped, her gentle voice was lifted up in prayer. Around her knelt the flower of all the churches of that city — Con- gregationalists, Baptists, Presbyterians — many of whom had never worked outside of their own de- nominations until now. At the close an Ex)iscopal lady offered the Lord's Prayer, in which joined Unitarians, Swedenborgians, and Universalists, and when they had finished a dear old lady in the dove-colored garb of the Friends' Society was moved to pray, while all the time on the curb- stone's edge knelt Bridget with her beads and her ^Ave Maria.' " ' Going out on the street ' signified a good deal when one comes to think about it. First of all it meant stepping outside the denominational fence, which, proj)eiiy enough, surrounds one's home. " Best of all, going out on the street brought women face to face with the world's misery and sin. " Never can I forget the day on which I met the great unwashed, untaught, ungospelled multitude for the first time. Need I say that it was the crusade that opened before me, as before ten thousand other women, this wide, effectual door? THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 315 " It was in Pittsburg, tlie summer after tlie cru- sade. Greatly liad I wished to have a i3art in it, but this one experience was my first and last of ' going out with a band.' A young teacher from the public schools, whose custom it was to give an hour twice each week to crusading, walked arm-in-arm with me. Two schoolma'ams together, we fell into the procession behind the experienced campaigners. On Market Street we entered a saloon; the proprietor, pointing to several men who were fighting in the next room, begged us to leave, and we did so at once, amid the curses of the bacchanalian gi'oup. Forming in line on the curbstone's edge in front of this saloon we knelt, while an old lady to vrhose son that place had proved the gate of death, offered a prayer of ten- derness and faith, asking God to open the eyes of those who, just behind that screen, were selling liquid fire and breathing curses on His name. We rose, and what a scene was there ! The sidewalk was lined by men with faces written all over and interlined with the record of their sin and shame. Soiled, tattered, dishevelled, there was not a sneer- ing look or a rude word or action from any of them. Most of them had their hats off; many looked sorrowful ; some were in tears ; and stand- ing there in the roar and tumult of that dingy street, with that strange crowd looking into our faceSj with a heart stirred as never until now by 816 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. human sin and shame, I joined in the sweet gos- pel song: " ' Jesus the water of life will give, Freely, freely, freely.' *'Just such an epoch as that was in my life has the crusade proved to a mighty army of women all over this land. Does anybody think that, hav- ing -learned the blessedness of carrying Christ's gospel to those who never come to hear the mes- sage we are all commanded to ' Go, tell,' we shall ever lay down this work? Not until the genius of 'The Arabian Nights' crowds himself back into the fabulous kettle whence he escaped by 'ex- panding his pinions in nedulous bars,' — not until then. To-day and every day they go forth on their beautiful errands, the 'Protestant nuns,' who, a few years ago, were among the ' anxious and aimless' of our crowded population, or who be- longed to trades and professions over-full, and with them go the women fresh from the sacred home-hearth and cradle-side, wearing the halo of these loving ministries. If you would find them go not alone to the costhf churches; go to the ' North End ' in Boston, and to Water Street in New York; go to 'Friendly Inns,' to women's temperance rooms; go wherever the perishing gather, and you will find the glad tidings declared by the new ' apostolic succesion,' dating from the Pentecost of the crusade. THE BIOGHIAPPIY OF DIO LEWIS. Sl7 " It lias come and it lias gone, — this whirlwind of the Lord — but it has set forces in motion which each day become more potent, and will sweep on nntil the rum power in America is overthrown. There was but one Pentecost; doubtless history will record but one ' temperance crusade.' "A j)lienomenon no less remarkable has suc- ceeded that wonderful uprising — •indeed, is aptly termed 'its sober second thought.' This is the phenomenon of organization. The women who went forth by an impulse, sudden, irresistible, di- vine, to pray in the saloons, became convinced, as weeks and months passed by, that theirs was to be no easily- won victory. The enemy was rich beyond their power to comprehend. He had upon his side the majesty of law, the trickery of poli- tics, and the strength of that almost invincible pair, appetite and avarice. He was persistent, too, as fate. He had determined to fight it out on that line to the last dollar of his enormous treas- ure-house and to the last ounce of his power. . . . And so it came about that though they had gone forth only as skirmishers, they soon fell into line of battle; though they had innocently hoped to overcome the enemy by a sudden assault, they buckled on the armor for the long campaign. The ' woman's praying bands,' earnest, impetu- ous, inspired, became the ' Woman's Temperance Unions,' firm, patient, persevering." 818 l^HE BioaRAl^HY OF DtO LEWt^. As the Woman's Cliristian Temperance Union is the child of the crusade, it is fitting to include here the story of its birth in the words of one who assisted on that occasion. Although this child, in true nineteenth-century fashion, has departed from its ancestral faith — so far as the originator and inspirer of the work may be held to embody it — making the stone of prohibition, which he rejected, the head of the corner of its structure, mindful of their common aim, he would, like a wise and lov- ing parent, rejoice in the lofty ]3urpose and grand achievements which have marked its illustrious career. Says Miss Willard: "At Chautauqua Lake, N. Y., August 15th, 1874, good and gifted women gathered, fresh from the crusade Pentecost, and prayed and planned into permanent organic form the work which has since sent hundreds of temperance Esthers and Miriams to the platform and the polls." Mrs. Mary E. Ingham, of Cleveland, Ohio, writes : " The handful of corn upon the tops of the moun- tains grew apace after its wonderful planting in Ohio during the winter and spring of 1873-74. The fruit shook like Lebanon throughout the Mid- dle and Western States, and in August of that year many of the seed-sowers had gathered upon the shore of Lake Chautauqua for a fortnight in the woods. In primitive fashion we dwelt in THE BlOOHAPHl^ OF DlO LEWIS. 819 tents, or sat in the open air about the watch-fires kindled at the first national Sunday-school as- sembly. Women who had drawn near to God in saloon prayer- meetings felt their hearts aflame again as they recounted the wonders of the great uprising. " One bright day a very few ladies were in con- versation upon the subject that filled their hearts, inspiring the thought that the temperance cause needed the united eifort of all the women of the country. The suggestion came from Mrs. Mattie McClellan Brown, of Ohio. Upon consultation it was decided to call a meeting. "At the hour appointed, August ISth, 1874, a large audience gathered. An organization was formed which issued a circular-letter asking the woman's temperance leagues everywhere to hold conventions for the x^urpose of electing one woman from each Congressional district as delegate to an organizing convention, to be held in Cleveland, Ohio, JS'ovember 18th, 19th, and 20th, 1874." State conventions were held and delegates ap- pointed, and on the morning of November 18th, " they were with one accord in one place." " Red-letter days," Miss Willard calls the three which followed. She says : " This was a repre- sentative gathering, not only geographically, but in respect to character and achievement. " We had a lady lawyer, a lady physician, three S^O TllE BiOGilAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. or four editors, any number of teachers, two col- lege professors, Quaker ministers looking out with dove-colored eyes from their dove-colored bonnets, three licensed preachers of the Methodist persuasion, business women not a few, and gray- haired matrons from scores of homes all up and down the land. "An association was formed to be known as 'The Woman's National Christian Temperance Union.' " President, Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer. " Corresponding secretary, Frances E. Willard." The spirit which had inspired and animated the crusade found complete and noble expression in a resolution offered by Miss AVillard at the first convention of the AV Oman's Christian Tem- perance Union, November, 1874: " Resolution : Realizing that our cause is com- batted by mighty and relentless forces, Ave A\ill go forward in the strength of Him who is the Prince of Peace, meeting argument with argument, mis- judgment with patience, and all our difficulties and dangers with prayer." "A resolution," says one, "which, springing from the inspirations and aspirations of the hour, has proved to be in its spirit a glory and a de- fence." THE BIOGRAPHY OF L>10 LEWIS. 821 CHAPTER XXXlV. EvEKY event of tlie crusade had confirmed Dr. Lewis in his belief that the cure of intemperance can come only through the hearts of the people, and his careful and painful study of the workings of the coercive method, diametrically opposed to this, led him to prepare and to publish in the spring of 1875 a volume entitled " Prohibition a Failure." Some extracts are here given from this volume, and from subsequent lectures and public discus- sions with prohibitionists on the subject, and from a contribution to the NortTi American Remeio of August, 1884. In the latter the Hon. ISTeal Dow presented the claims of prohibition, and Dr. Lewis argued its impotence to control liquor- drinking on the ground that vices are beyond the domain of legislation. Dr. Lewis writes: "After forty years' service in behalf of temper- ance, I venture the opinion that our enemy, the drink curse, can be conquered only by social and moral weapons, and that to call attention away from these agencies and fix it upon the constable is a fatal blunder. 21 322 TilE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. " In tlie struggle with intemj)erance we find on one side virtue, intelligence, and hope; on the other, vice, cunning, and despair. Good men can- not hesitate on which side to stand. The only doubt lies in the choice of weapons. " Washingtonianism, the Woman's Crusade, and other social, moral, and religious movements com- mand our united approval; but some of us hesi- tate to summon jihysical force. Some of us believe that its employment is suicidal. It is the aim of civilization to eliminate vices through moral agen- cies, as it is its duty to punish crimes with physi- cal force. With schools, social attractions, and religious appeals we win votaries of vice; with IDrisons and chains w^e punish the perpetrators of crime. " Prohibitory liquor laws are indisx)ensable to the triumph of the temperance cause. But they must be ax)plied to the crimes of the liquor traffic, not to its vices. The failure to make this distinc- tion threatens the ruin of the grandest revolution in human history. • *' In the discussion of prohibition the distinction between vice and crime is x^ivotal. A vice is a harm I do to myself in the j)ursuit of pleasure. Gluttony and drunkenness are vices. A crime is a harm I do to another with malice prepense. Forgery and murder are crimes. "Although vices do more harm in a day than THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWI^; ^23 crimes do in a year, althougli all crimes originate in vices, man cannot punish until vices take form in actions inspired by malice prepense. It is clear to my mind that the real sources of nine-tenths of our ignorance, bad health, bad morals and crimes are as far beyond the reach of the constable as are our thoughts or our dreams. "A man may be tilled with hypocrisy, envy, hatred, avarice, gluttony, indolence and a score of other vices. For these the Almighty punishes him every hour of his life, but his fellow-man cannot punish him until he is guilty of a crime. 'No act however harmful, can be a crime unless inspired by a criminal purpose. The intent is the very essence of a crime. As malice prepense can never exist in a vice, so a vice can never be a crime. It is a fallacy, therefore, to talk of making a vice a crime by the vote of a majority, however large. When hate shows itself in a personal assault man steps in to punish. But the hate which is the tap-root of the crime, man cannot punish, God will. " In the nature of things, if we punish one vice by law, we must punish all vices by law ; and if that were done, the last man would have to reach out through his cell-door and lock himself in, for we are all guilty of vices. " The distinction between a moral and a legal right, which is as well defined as that between a 324 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. vice and a crime, lias been ridiculed by proMbi- tionists. A man lias a legal riglit to do a thousand tilings that are morally wrong. He has a legal right to doubt the existence of God or the bind- ing force of the decalogue ; to believe in free love and piracy or to hate his mother. " It is only when his belief in piracy or his ha- tred of his mother is embodied in crindnal action that he may be punished by law. The Puritan forefathers denied these differences between vices and crimes, and between moral and legal rights; but the civilization of to-day finds its highest dis- tinction in the liberty left to be and to do what- ever we please until we assault with criminal pur- pose or through criminal carelessness the right of other people to be and to do what they please. " It is a legal axiom that ' to the willing there is no offence.' This is but a logical corollary of the doctrine of personal liberty. Of ten glasses of strong drink, nine are drank by men who have just as good a right to drink whiskey as I have to drink coffee. I may think rum is bad for them, as they think coffee is bad for me ; but both of us must have the liberty of choice. A large part of the life of an average man is made up of blunders. The whole world is at liberty to reason, exhort, and plead with him, but if we shout at him, ' You shall not,' he either defies us and goes on his own way, or if we contrive to take away from him his THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 325 personal freedom, liis right of choice, he is no longer a free man, but a slave. " If the rumseller should slyly approach men in the street, seize them and force them into his den, and compel them to swallow his poison, it would be a very grave crime. But he does none of these things. He lights and warms his saloon, fur- nishes music and a hearty welcome. The people who go in and drink are legally sane and go in voluntarily. If you doubt their sanity and should challenge it before a court, and it were asked, ' Is this man competent to vote? Is he capable of making a contract or a will? ' and experts should answer 'yes,' your charge of insanity would be dismissed with a reprimand. The men who go into this saloon are legally sane until they are shown to be non compos mentis. They have a right to enter that street, a legal right to enter the sa- loon, and as perfect a legal light to drink whis- key as you and I have to drink coffee. " If we propose to use the word ' crime ' in the dictionary -authorized sense, we must say that the rumseller has committed no crime. He is acces- sory to a wretched vice which does more harm in the world than all crimes put together, but which, like other vices or sins, must be treated by social, moral and religious agencies. We rejoice over this because we know that these forces are infi- nitely stronger than the constable. 82G THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. u ( But,' say proliibitionists, ' we have never pro- posed to treat drinking as a crime — the sale is the crime.' '* To admit tliat a man has a legal right to drink, and then stand between him and the opportunity, is to- add insult to tyranny. To say that a man has a legal right to use patent medicine, and send an officer to stand between him and the drug store, would be a like absurdity. The right to drink includes the right to buy. " ' But may we not sui)press a nuisance? ' " Our right to suppress a nuisance is as clear as our right to defend ourselves against any other personal assault. A legal nuisance is any offen- sive smell, noise, or sight, or anything which in- jures health. A loud noise in a grog-shop, nudity at its windows, or, as the dictionary phrases it, ' any annoyance to the community in general,' is a nuisance and may be sui^pressed. But if sane adults compromise their health, usefulness, and character in a grog-shop, it does not make the place a legal nuisance, any more than it would make a hotel such if its visitors ate too much or imi)roi)er food, or indulged in any other vice there. "A moral nuisance is not necessarily a legal nuisance. Colonel Ingersoll may preach infidel- ity, and lead a million young men from the churches into infidel ways ; it is not a legal nui- sance. If you were to bring an action against him THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 827 under tlie nuisance act you would be laughed out of court. But if Colonel IngersoU were to be con- verted to Christianity, and were to gather a crowd in the jDublic street to hear him plead the claims of Christ, such a crowd, if it interrupted public traffic, would be a nuisance, and could be sup- pressed under the common law. " If my own beloved clergyman should preach so loud as to disturb the neighborhood it would be a nuisance and might be abated. But if the large grog-shop round the corner sells ten thou- sand drinks a day, in a quiet and unobtrusive manner, to adult ]3€irsons, legally sane, it is not a nuisance. The fact that my minister preaches the most j)recious truths, and that the grog-shoj) is doing infinite harm, is not pertinent. " Good x)eox3le seem to forget that a bad man, full of avarice, bitterness, gluttony and drink has the same legal rights and the same claim to pro- tection as the best man in the world. When, in the field of human conduct, the law has punished crime its work is done. Public opinion, infinitely more potent than the civil law, must control in all other departments of human life. ''A prohibitionist with whom I had a newspaper discussion some years ago rested his case upon the affirmation that ' The public good is the only object and limit of the law-making power.' " In this matter of human rights there is, strictly 828 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. speaking, no siicli creature as the public. Per- sons wlio talk so flippantly of the rights of society should be asked to find society. Let them go down street, turn to the right, to the left, every- where; they will find a man, a woman, a child; another man, another woman, another child. Each of these men, each of the women, each of the chil- dren has rights. No human being has any rights whatever excei^t as an individual. And when a million of men act together in what is called a government, not one of them obtains any rights thereby except as an individual. "Another prohibitionist speaks of an old maxim : 'The public good is the supreme law.' I have never heard of such a maxim ; but I have heard that ' The public safety is the supreme law.' " The Avhole difference between the vieAvs I am advocating and the views of the extreme prohibi- tionist is found in the difference between the words ' good ' and ' safety^ ' The public safety' is endan- gered by an armed invasion, by a conflagration or contagion, and in their presence the riglits of in- dividuals must give Avay. " ' The public good ' is endangered by false relig- ious and political theories, by errors in dress, sleep, food, drinks, etc. To these vices nothing but reason and persuasion can be addressed. '' If the Central Park reservoir should give way, the man who saw it Avpuld be Justified in seizing THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 329 his neighbor's liorse and rushing down-town, shont- iag, ' The waters are coining! run for your lives! ' " But if some zealous temperance man were to seize another's horse and tear down Broadway, shouting, 'Turn out! turn out! for God's sake, turn out ! Jim Biles is selling Pete Smith a glass of whiskey,' the chances are that the temperance man would have to ask some friend to bail him out of jail. "Instead of its being an aphorism that 'the public good is the supreme laAv,' it is one of the wisest of maxims that ' a wrong done by the gov- ernment to the humblest individual,' — that is, the violation of any one of his rights of person or X)roperty, — ' is a wrong done to the whole people.' And this is not only true but vital; because if one man's personal rights may be violated with imi)unity then the rights of all the people may be so violated. The greatest public good of which any government is capable is to secure to each and every individual the full and free enjoyment of all his natural rights of person and property. "All ]Drogress and happiness begin and end in personal liberty. " Prohibitionists say : ' We rejoice in the utmost liberty if people will only do right.' " The Inquisition believed in the liberty of all men to be Catholics, but if they found a man with other notions they put a thumb-screw on him, 830 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. '' Our Puritan forefathers were stout advocates of personal liberty. They left their homes, crossed a stormy ocean, and braved a thousand dangers, that they might be free to think and to say what they j)leased. And they were perfectly willing that all who came after them should be free to think and to speak, unless, as sometimes happened, the new men uttered opinions which conflicted with what the fathers held. Sometimes they came across a Quaker with wrong views and hung him. "All men are believers in personal liberty for themselves ; few men are willing to grant liberty to others. " Perhaj)s no man on earth believes in personal liberty so intensely as the Czar of Russia, but it is liberty for himself. Kings and princes every- where cherish the doctrine of i:)ersonal liberty — for themselves. The aristocracies in all lands be- lieve in personal liberty — for themselves. The slaveholders believed in personal liberty more strongly than any other men on this continent, but it was only for themselves. " That is no true doctrine of personal liberty which does not include all adult, sane, non-crimi- nal x)ersons. "A government which protects only the liberty of the czar, the king, the aristocrat, the white man, the intelligent man or tlie good man is not a true government, Kich men, intelligent men, THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 881 strong men take care of themselves. The worse the government the better the chance for them. " It is the glory of a true government that it jealously guards the rights of the ignorant, the weak and the vicious, while it vigorously pun- ishes criminals of all classes. " Personal liberty is the source of all progress, the lever of all conquests, the inspiration of all achievements, the precious jewel of the ages, and yet it is the source of many vices. Liberty is ex- pensive and troublesome. If you let a man go free he may get into mischief. Chain him to the floor and take him only such things as are best for him and he will be guilty of no excesses. The measure of liberty for the individual is everywhere the measure of liberty in society. " I would rather inaugurate a temperance refor- mation with ten reformed drunkards free to drink at pleasure, than with a hundred total abstainers kept sober by the constable. That kind of tem- perance is strong, this kind is weak. That kind is a living princijjle, this kind is a lifeless sub- mission. " Whenever in our country personal liberty is violated, except in the presence of a great and im- mediate danger, the intruder, if a person, is sure to receive rough treatment; if a law, it is sure to be dodged or defied. " Some of us think we were horn to control 832 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. others. We ask what A. B. onght to do, and if he will not act in accordance with our judgment we consider how to compel him. " We come to such a course in this way: ^^ Resolved^ That the Almighty has given the government of the w^orld into the hands of His saints. '^Resolved, That we are His saints. " ' But is it not just to make a law against the sale of certain poisonous drugs, against the sale of gunpowder, and against the circulation of ob- scene literature? If so, why is not the law against the sale of alcoholic drink just? It does vastly more harm than any one of the others.' " What is the basis of the law against the sale of dangerous drugs? It is the danger of a fatal accident to people ignorant of their nature. The Legislature, therefore, forbids their sale except un- der the guidance of an exx)ert. This is wise and just. It is the railing and the warning light about an open sewer, while the j^rohibitory law is a fence across a street running down to the sea, where, by wading far out, many persons have been drowned. Such a fence would be an insult. If there were danger that lager beer might suddenly kill then it would be right for the Legislature to forbid the sale of lager beer except under X\\q guidance of an expert. "Prohibitionists remind us that there is infi- Me jBiOGiiAPHY OF r>io lewis. 883 nitely more danger in strong drink tlian in gun- powder. True ! But it would be diificult to im- agine two perils more unlike. " We enter a store wliere a barrel of gunpowder is kept. We do not know it and cannot protect ourselves. By the dealer's carelessness we may be blown into eternity. It is right that tke Legislature should protect us against sack a catas- trophe. " We enter another store where the merchant keeps a barrel of whiskey. It is the very thing we desire. Our legal right to drink it is absolute. We are legally sane and choose to drink whiskey. We take the responsibility. We ask for it, drink, pay, and depart, ^o man capable of logical thought will find the two dangers parallel. " The case of obscene literature seems, at first sight, to be j)ertinent. Whoever reads the speeches made on the j^assage by Congress of the law against the circulation of obscene literature, will recall that it was put on one distinct ground, the only one on which it can rest, namely, that forty- nine-fiftieths of it is circulated among children. This is a grave crime, as it is to sell them strong drink. " Some time since I had occasion, in prex)aring a volume, to pick up books on this class of sub- jects. 'No man committed a crime by selling them to me. If this class of literature, like strong drink, 334 . THK BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. were in great part sold to adults, the only just law would be one wliicli forbade its sale to children. " Of the success of prohibition in the State of Massachusetts, I was a constant and attentive ob- server for twenty years. At first i)ublic sentiment in its favor was very strong. Earnest temperance men wrote the law. The Legislature passed it without changing a word. Soon it was discovered that it did not cover every case, and it was amended. Several times it was amended, until the cunning of the Evil One could find no iDossible escape from its provisions. " This prohibitory law was not allowed to take its chances with other laws, but a large number of selected men, known as State constables, with headquarters in Boston, were for years on the qui mve for transgressions of prohibition. They were sworn to enforce that law. " Our tax-payers knew that a large percentage of their taxes sprang from the rum traffic, Ave knew that nearly all crimes originated in strong drink, every father knew that his son's success and his daughter's liai)piness were imi)erilled by the traf- fic, and we all knew that the success of our repub- lican institutions was endangered by strong drink. "Under all these overwhelming convictions, sustained by an immense force of State constables, at the end of twenty -four years of prohibition there were, in Boston, including wifch the saloons THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 835 those drug stores where drinks could be purchased without difficulty, groceries, many of which sold by the drink and all of which sold by the bottle, almost five thousand places where intoxicating drinks could be purchased without let or hin- drance. And this in the most law-abiding large city in our country. All the considerations, all the conceivable motives that could inspire an in- telligent, brave community, were concentrated in Boston. Does not this suggest to thoughtful men and women that prohibition is not the medicine for this patient? " The sale to a child, to a man who is drunk, to a sot, or to a person known to be dangerous when under the influence of drink, is a crime. The sale to a man who is insane, or non compos mentis^ is a crime. A determined prosecution of these offences would overwhelm the whole horde of liquor-sellers. " But prohibitionists miss their great opportu- nity in not prosecuting adulterations. An adultera- tion is a frauds and a fraud is always a crime. Ofl&cers can go anywhere in search of a fraud, and in this movement the drinkers themselves would cheer on the attack. A vigorous prosecu- tion of adulterations would paralyze the whole trade. " We are the first people at liberty to make laws at pleasure, and we are nearly crazy over it. 336 THE BlOGRAt>HY OF DlO LEWiS. '' Extravagant notions obtain of the importance of our law-makers. People think that the gov- ernor is the commander-in-chief of the State, Avhile he is only the chief of police. To crimi- nals he is a great man, but to respectable citizens he is a policeman without bright buttons, whose principal duty it is to watch the streets while people sleep. Men of the highest class can serve better by wielding those social and moral forces which mould society and govern the world. '^ THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 337 CHAPTER XXXY. The following pen-picture of Dr. Lewis will vividly recall him to those who have listened to his addresses, and portray him to such readers as have not done so. From the Phrenological Journal and Life Illustrated of June, 1874: "Here is an original character. Nobody will ever mistake Dr. Dio Lewis for Dr. somebody else. His large, rotund body and well-formed head make him at once a striking and consiDicuous figure. He stands nearly six feet high and weighs over two hundred jjounds. His complexion is fair, eyes blue, hair formerly auburn, now white. His skin is fresh, with a peachy hue. His brain is very large, measuring twenty-four inches in cir- cumference, and is both long and high. His na- ture is peculiarly sympathetic. Though the in- tellectual organs are large the moral sentiments are still larger, and he exxDeriences the most ex- alted and rapturous emotions. He is overflowing with good feeling, affection, charity, aspiration and adoration. His brain is also broad through the region of constructiveness, and he is inventive. 22 838 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. He is not belligerent and would rather avoid than seek controversy. His destructiveness is moder- ate and he cannot be cruel. All his fighting will be done with tongue and pen, save in defence." " What of his religion? " " Look again at the portrait. See how high the head is from the ear upward to the top. See how long the head is from the ear forward. This clearly indicates a moral and a religious tendency. If it were asked us to what particular church he may belong, or to what creed he subscribes, our an- swer would be, ' we do not know ; ' and yet we be- lieve that he will be found working as heartily with those of one Christian church as with those of another. When he worships God it is with little regard to creeds, forms or ceremonies. His prayer would include all mankind." " Has he business capabilities? " " Yes, but he could never become absorbed in mere money -making. If he seeks money it is for the purpose of usefulness, that he may carry out some reformatory enterj)rise, and not for the love of lucre. " He is a very active man, a hard worker, though he works easily. He is, in brief, a live, original, energetic, enthusiastic, sympathetic, emotional gentleman. He is emphatically Dr. Dio Lewis." A Rouse's Point (N. Y.) paper says: " Dr. Lewis has a jolly, well-fed look, and an THE SlOGHAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. SS9 inimitable delivery. His diction is pure, lie speaks not at all in a hurry, but with a zest that dwells on the words and makes every sentence tell. His actions, illustrations^ and anecdotes are all felici- tous and well-sustained. He doesn't drag. You listen in spite of yourself, and follow his speech without effort. It is, in fact, like an animated par- lor conversation between the speaker and the au- dience, conducted by one thoroughly at home with himself and at ease with all the world. ISTo stilts, puffery, or airing of medical terms, but a cozy talk on common-sense subjects." The Bangor (Me.) WJiig of May 11th, 1874, says: " Dr. Lewis tells the story of this Western tem- perance campaign in a quiet manner, with no out- burst of enthusiasm, in no flighty, rhetorical lan- guage, but with an impressiveness of manner and speech that thrills his audience. " People used to say : ' Dr. Lewis, how is it that you hold the children so? My little boys will not stay away from your lectures.' " 'Let them come,' was the reply: * when I can- not speak so that the children can understand me I will stop lecturing.' " 840 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. CHAPTER XXX n. Under the combined strain of labors in the lec- tnre-field, the school, the gymnasium, with the pen and in the conduct of business affairs in Boston, and finally in crusade work, into each of which Dr. Lewis threw himself with his characteristic zeal and industry, warnings came to him of an overwrought nervous system and of the imperative need of rest. To gain this, feeling that he must " burn his ships behind him," he sold his family hotel, " The Bellevue," in 1875, and with Mrs. Lewis went to California for out-of-doors life. Here they remained three years, their stay being inter- rupted only by a return to the East in the Cen- tennial year to visit the Exposition. During these years they enjoyed all the pleas- ures which gypsy-life and congenial companion- ship could afford, in a climate incapable of sur- prises, where days, weeks and months could be made one long picnic, and where, with no appoint- ments to meet, time seemed to have lost signifi- cance. During their first winter in San Francisco, a young Norwegian in the emjDloyment of a relative THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 841 of Dr. Lewis failing in health came under the doctor's care, and inspired a warm interest in him and in Mrs. Lewis. A summer camping -party was planned, with " Joe " for major-campo. His rare good qualities made the summer one alto- gether free from care. There were rest and health in the long days of sunshine on horseback, and in the nights of balm spent beneath the spreading trees or the overhanging, star-lit sky, or, if need were, sheltered by the canvas roof; in the evening tale of some chance acquaintance— a " forty-niner," a pony-express -rider turned guide, a famous " whip," a ranchman, sheep-herder, or proprietor of the land, — as they gathered around the blazing camp-fires, now of logs from ten to twenty feet long, now of the curiously-twisted, rosewood-hued branches of the manzanita, or of odorous bay- tree ; now of the monster cones of the pines, whose shafts, rising from two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet high, caught the light of the flames, which opened to view long forest aisles. There was inspiration in the towering mountain walls and precipitous gorges, between which, on narrow and curving, but well-made roads — mere scratches they seemed on the mountain side — the cavalcade and baggage-wagon wound their way ; within the cathedral-like walls of Yosemite there was wor- ship. There was cheer in the hospitality which the land-ow^er and his family were always ready to 3-12 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. extend to those who courteously asked to occupy a portion of his land, Avhich was heartily granted for a night, or a week, or a month. Everywhere, too, in humble cottage and in statelier home, there was the possible surprise of cordial recognition of one whose name had become, through his books, a household word, and perliaps there was added the grateful tribute of tears. One day Jack, the dog, had lost himself, and search was made. After a while the doctor came back to camp with the dog at his heels, and shouted as he came: "I've found Jack, Nellie, and I've found iriends. I don't know them, but they know me and will have us to dinner, so tie on your hat and come ! " Another day the j^arty met one of the long, white, duck-covered wagons known as "prairie- schooners," into which were packed father, mother, and a bevy of children. They were migrating to "other parts." The friendly salutation, w^hich was always ready, was acknowledged, and was fol- lowed by question and answer till, at the doctor's announcement of his name, the emigrant dropped his reins, and wife as Avell as husband climbed down from the wagon to greet him, exclaiming: " Why, all our children have been brought up ac- cording to your books, but we reckoned we'd never see you with our own eyes." It was i)lain that wherever Dr. Lewis's books THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 343 miglit not have gone tliey had found their way into the liomes of the people along the Pacific slope. But perhaps the keenest enjoyment of Dr. Lewis in this novel life came from the close rela- tion into which it brought him with his pet ani- mals. There was his own beautiful gray horse, and the sleek, black Indian pony of Mrs. Lewis, which was so tame that he was not hobbled for the night, though the rest were, until one day some wild mustangs drew near camp, at sight of which Dick felt the native instinct for freedom stir in his veins, paused a moment, tossed his head in air, snorted, threw up his heels and was off with the herd. Ah happy Dick! During the night, however, he came home for his oats, and had to pay the penalty of being treated with distrust and hobbled like che rest. Even the great mules which drew the baggage wagon were friendly, for Joe treated them as Sir Walter Scott is said to have treated his dogs, " like a gentleman," and soon handled their heels as freely as he did those of the horses, while the mem-- bers of the party fed them with bread whenever Lung Sing, the cook, missed his usual good luck, and sometimes with choicest grapes, which were lavishly contributed from vineyards through which the party rode and by those among whom their temporary lot was cast, 844 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. There was Jack, the dog, so confiding that when an irritating seed-vessel, popularly called a " fox- tail," became imbedded in his foot, he laid his paw trustingly in the doctor's hand, and plead with his eyes for the surgical treatment from which he did not shrink. All these, in their freedom and closeness of re- lation, were a delight to one with whom kindness to animals was an instinct as well as a creed. Never from the day when little Dio's mother, finding a toad in the cellar which she supj)osed her boys had brought in for sj)ort, called them to- gether to receive her severest reproof because she thought they had cruelly cut off its tail, and was told, with shouts of convulsive laughter, that ^' toads don't have tails," had any one charged him with lack of tenderness to any creature that lived. Being entertained at one time by a deacon of the severer type, where the dogs belonging to the family were sharply forbidden to cross the threshold of the house. Dr. and Mrs. Lewis went to the stable to pet them. As they drove away from the house the doctor said, reflectively, " If I should have occasion to come here again it is the dogs I should think most of meeting." He evi- dently sj)oke his mind Avlien he said : " The best part of a man is the dog that is in him." After two summers in saddle and camp the doctor's health was so far i^estored that a winter THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 345 of enjoyment and pioderate activity Avas passed in beautiful Oakland. While liere Dr. Lewis served as president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and co-operated with others in ojoeiiing a free library and reading-room to which he con- tributed by public lectures and donations of books. It was his pleasure to take the newsboys for out- ings into the country, in a sort of stage which he owned. His sym]3athies were wide enough to reach all people, without question of race, color, sex or condition. He never sought favor of rank, wealth or talent. "To do some good in the world," was his single aim, steadily pursued, with apparently never a question whether the world favored or frowned. If honors came to him they came unsought, as did the degree of A.M. con- ferred on him by Amherst College in 1864, of which he first learned through the public press. When, at one time, Mrs. Lewis tried to persuade him not to resume the cares of business, he re- plied with pathos in his voice: "Nellie, when I can no longer be doing something for somebody, I want to die and let some decent dog have my food." That every good chance should be for every- body was the desire of his heart. Visiting the famous Royal Albert Hall, near Hyde Park, London, he wrote; 84:6 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. " I have seen notliing in Europe which so deex)ly interested me. My bump of reverence for what is merely old is not, I fear, up to the i)rescribed level; for if you can believe me, this 'Albert Hall,' with its modern freshness and beauty, with its comfortable sittings for thousands of tJie peo- ple, so arranged as to bring ten or twelve thou- sand persons within hearing of a single voice, im- pressed me more than Westminster Abbey, with all its sacred chaj)els, filled with the awfully sacred remains of a lot of old kings and queens, whose lives, for the most part, w^ere cheap and vulgar and mean to the last degree. "Ah ! I wish the great American cities would build such halls. Think of halls so large that the very highest class of concerts and operas may be offered to the public for ten cents ! I heard Cam- panini when he first came out, Parepa, and several other great artists, including Sims Reeves, all in one grand concert in Albert Hall, for four cents." Dr. Lewis was greatly opposed to vivisection, and when he had A^tten an article on the sub- ject for publication, reversing his usual custom he begged Mrs. Lewis not to read it, for he said it would be sure to keep her awake at night. He was himself so prostrated by the nervous strain of reviewing facts in preparing it that at night he was sleepless, and Mrs. Lewis rose and read to him something pleasant to divert his mind, THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 847 In tlie spring following his winter in Oakland Dr. Lewis planned another summer's gyjjsy-life, and made arrangements for a large party. In the midst of preparations, however, he fell in the street from an attack of paralysis, and for four weeks could not be removed from the small hotel into which he was taken. He shortly rallied so far as to go quietly, with a few gentlemen, into the Sierras. In August he felt quite recuperated, and with Mrs. Lewis returned to 'New England. During his three years in California he had been entirely free from the malady of hay-fever, with which previously he had been afflicted, but he had scarcely crossed the E-ocky Mountains when it returned with great violence. After six months of comparative freedom from business care in New England his unconquera- ble love of work mastered him, and he bought a large hotel property at Arlington Heights, seven miles from Boston, Mass., and soon converted it into a finely-appointed sanitarium, which he con- ducted for three years, when renewed symptoms of overwork led him to sell it. Among the services done to suffering humanity in the Arlington Heights Sanitariiim no case was more noteworthy than that of a prominent physi- cian of Williamsburg, Mass. — Dr. Palmer, who suffered from general paralysis. Tlie most skilled physicians had pronounced him beyond cure, and 348 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. Dr. Lewis regarded tlie case as a severe test of the possibilities of liis methods and skill. A communication from Dr. Lewis to a Williams- burg pai)er states the case and the method of treatment, which, in view of its success, seems worth chronicling. " Boston-, March 25th, 1881. "Editor Hampshire Gazette: " Permit me to say a word through your jour- nal of Dr. Dudley Palmer's remarkable recovery. When he came to my sanitarium he was taking a large dose of morj^hine every five hours; he was also taking strychnine and quinine in large quan- tities. He was in a profound paralysis, extending to almost every muscle except those of respiration and circulation ; his muscles were reduced to mere threads from lack of exercise; mind seriously compromised — altogether in a very wretched con- dition. He was six feet tall and formerly of noble bearing; he was reduced to indescribable emacia- tion, helplessness and agon^^ To-day, ten months after his coming, he leaves the sanitarium to re- turn to his professional labors, a well man. From the hour he came until now he has not taken a particle of any narcotics or any substitute for narcotics. His treatment has consisted of Turk- ish baths, an immense amount of hand-rubbing, a frequent use of a large fifty-cell electrical battery, THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 849 and from 12,000 to 25,000 daily blows upon vari- ous portions of Ms body with susjoended rubber balls. I liave been trying to induce Dr. Palmer to remain in an annex of my sanitarium and take charge of the victims of opium and drink ; but the impulse to out-door activities and to the resump- tion of his surgical practice is too strong at ]Dresent. I trust he may return to us at some future time. Dr. Palmer is in perfect health, without the slight- est desire for narcotics ; his skin is singularly clear, eyes bright, breadth sweet, digestion excellent, and his slee^D is better than for the last twenty years. His entire condition is natural and satisfactory. I am very happy to have been the means of restor- ing one whom we have learned to love and resjDect, and who will carry back to his i^rof essional labors in your midst a restored body, a clear head, and a strong purpose to fill the full measure of a large professional usefulness. " I am, my dear sir, yours very truly, " Dio Lewis." A communication to the Hampshire County Journal of Northampton, Mass., from the Hon. Oliver Warner, formerly Secretary of State of Massachusetts, who had watched the case with in- terest, pays tribute to the devotion of Dr. Lewis, from which we make extracts : "... Those who were familiar with this case 850 THE BIOGRAPHY OP DIO LEWIS. will never forget the self-sacrifice and utter devo- tion to liis patient which characterized Dr. Lewis's treatment of the case. With a patience and kind- ness more than paternal he watched and worked over him day and night, giving x^ersonal attention to the case to the neglect of his other interests, until he could safely leave him to the care of others in the establishment. ... At last the pa- tient's strength and powerful use of his good right arm and hand were a marvel to behold. On the day he left I saw Dr. Palmer take hold of two rings suspended from the ceiling of the cooling- room, and swing himself so as to touch with his feet the plastering abov^e. If Dr. Lewis had never before benefitted a poor, suffering fellow-creature, this instance of marvellous cure ought to establish his reputation." Dr. Palmer wrote to Mrs. Lewis on November 3d, 1887: "7^ would he an utter impossibility for me to take a dose of morphine since leaving the sani- tarium. ... I weigh two hundred pounds. I shall always regard your dear husband as the best friend I ever had, to whom I owe more than life." THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 351 CHAPTER XXXyil. Dr. Lewis's marvellons activity of mind and body came under the observation of the writer of this sketch at this period. In addition to the personal conduct of the sani- tarium he was writing the story of his camp-life in California, entitled " Gypsies," he was issuing Dio Lewises Monthly for Jolly FoTks^ he was publishing miniature volumes containing the gist of his views on vital topics, known as the " Gem Health Series," a.nd was publishing an illustrated Bible. It was his habit to retire early, by nine and a half o'clock when possible, and he was an early riser. Having visited such patients as required his personal attention he went to Boston at usual bus- iness hours. There his office was a hive of indus- try, w^here, almost without pause, he counselled with callers, directed, through his manager, the work of printers, engravers and type-writers, dic- tated to his amanuensis, or seized his pen and dashed off copy with speed, and, promptly, as the hour for return home came, he shut down the 852 ^HE BlOGRAiPilY 01^ biO LEWIS. gates of business and was off to the railway sta- tion, usually without having broken fast since the early morning meal. In the railway car he met his neighbors like a man fresh from sleep, not from work. Seven miles travel brought him to Arling- ton Heights, where, leaving the carriage to others, he climbed on foot the steep hill, nearly a mile long, to the sanitarium, which he entered with the cheer and spirit of one who had been storing up vitality all day, not expending it. He ate his supper with relish, but never criticised, rarely commented upon what was set before him. Then he was ready for — rest ? Oh, no ! While others lingered he visited the patients who were confined to their rooms, observed the workings of the machinery of the establishment, correcting any imperfection in its movement, but never with grumbling or a disposition to find fault. The oil to remove friction was, for him, a kindly word to the workers, and the implied as- surance that faithfulness in his absence met due appreciation. This consideration for the humblest of his employees appeared in many ways. It was gratifying to see them summoned to such lectures or entertainments as were likely to appeal to them, and to see the big carriage which served the patrons and guests of the house for picnic or jaunting-car, carry, at another time, these tireless workers, on whom, to such a degree, the health THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 858 and comfort of all dejoended, to the churcli of their choosing, whether Catholic or Protestant, or again to some merry-making, or just for an outing. By the time the household had gathered in the music-room, in leisurely way, the doctor was there to start story-telling, for which he had a rare gift, and of stories he had an eyer-increasing store. Then came reading of some amusing or tender sort, games, gymnastics and music in spirited succes- sion, with all of which mingled fun and laughter, till the invalids seemed a group of hajDpy well people on a good time. However hilarious the fun, on the stroke of the clock at nine all separated for the night. The rax^idity with which Dr. Lewis thus went from one interest to another was almost bewilder- ing to observers, not at all so to himself. With all his speed there was no flurry, not even appar- ent haste, but there was marvellous directness of movement. He appeared to be made up for rapid work. By temx^erament he seemed, as comx)ared with others, like a clock set to beat seconds while others beat minutes. He never said " to-morrow " of anything which could be included in to-day. " Life is too short to x>ut anything off,'' he would say; ''we are not sure of to-morrow and the work must be done." His voice, while very strong, was low and gentle ; his speech was so deliberate as to 23 854 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWlg. appear measured. He seemed devoid of botli mental and physical inertia, and so produced on casual observers an impression of acting on tlie sp Lir of tlie moment — of rushing affairs. His sense of the relative importance of movements was, how- ever, very quick, and into actions which seemed impulsive there usually went a degree of judgment which comes to most people only through long and careful consideration. Mr. Theodore D. Weld, than whom no abler an- alyst could be found, and who knew Dr. Lewis through years of associated work in their school at Lexington, Mass., said to the writer, during the loreparation of this memoir: " Dr. Lewis's schemes and ventures looked like reckless ground-and-lof ty tumbling, but so often turned out well that they came to seem like inspi- ration, rather. " He had unlimited confidence in himself and in his power of accomplishment, and nine times out of ten he carried his project through; but show him a flaw in his project and he acknowledged it and dropped the plan altogether." It would seem that his own quick decision and unusual powers of accomplishment might have made him an over-stimulating guide to others, especially to the young and the delicately organ- ized, who mainly composed his school. Mr. Weld said: 'rJHE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 855 " I was often consulted privately, when at Lex- ington, by parents wlio, observing the doctor's en- thusiasm and his temperament, feared lest their daughters should be overpressed and so broken down. "" I therefore observed with great care, and can say that I never knew an instance, during the years I was there, of any gymnastic exercise that was overdone or harmful. One lady, Miss I , from Clinton, 111., was brought on a stretcher. She improved, returned home, got sick, and came again. It was doubtful whether she could live. But she was cured, studied medicine, walked the hospitals for a year, established herself as a phy- sician, and conducted a large practice. . . . " I made up my mind long ago that the doctor's books are of great value. . . . " Whatever failings the doctor had, he never blinded himself to them. His imagination, which was not the poetic imagination, sometimes played him false, and when stimulated, blurred the lines of his perceptions. When I taxed him with it he saw and owned it. I recall a long, long ride with him through woods and towns, when he talked of his shortcomings with the simplicity and frank- ness of a child, and begged me to be frank with him, and when I was so, he said I had been his truest friend and he wished he could have had such all his life." 856 THE BIOGRAPHY OF t)IO LEWIS. ]S"otliing is more apparent on careful study of Dr. Lewis's life tlian that, while he naturally conveyed to the casual observer the impression of acting from impulse, he was governed by car- dinal princix3les to which he adhered through severe tests, through lack of sympathy, through sneer and obloquy, through misrepresentation, the more j^ainful that it came from some whose com- munity of aim seemed only to make them the more intolerant of honest difference of method. That his views on medicine and on reform mat- ters often cut him olf from symj^athetic affiliation with his professional brethren, and especially from the workers for temperance, was a source of ten- der regret to him. He repeatedly said " nothing is so sweet to me as the love and confidence of my fellow-men," but it seems never to have warx)ed his judgment, nor to have led him beyond resist- ance into temptation to modify his action or to compromise his convictions. He wrote: " It costs me a great and painful struggle to make my effort against jirohibition. Years ago, when I published my volume discussing the func- tion of civil law in human society, it produced such painful conflict with my best friends that I resolved to go not one step farther. But seeing the subject as I do, believing that we can do noth- ing more for temperance until prohibition is re- THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 857 moved from our path, there is nothing left me but to enter the arena again. No one knows so well as I how much it costs me in patronage, bus- iness, and friends, and no one can realize so well as I how inflexible is my determination to con- tinue the struggle as long as I live, if need be ; but I hope this prohibition mania will soon pass away." The element of combattiveness, so often a part of the mental constitution of the reformer, was almost wanting in Dr. Lewis. He even avoided argument, unless urged to it in defence of princi- ples, and he would rather run than wrangle. Whatever form opj)osition took his x^atience was unfailing, and to all he maintained unvarying courtesy. Indeed, toward those who most sorely wounded him he cherished no unkindly feeling, and he never lost his sweetness and composure of spirit. Sometimes when Mrs. Lewis would say to him, " It is hard to meet such opposition," he would an- swer quietly, " It will all come right in time." When some one spoke rudely to him, Mrs. Lewis said: " Why did you not resent it'^ " " Oh, that would not have been the best way," he replied. "Now he will think over what he has said and be sorry for it, and perhaps come to me and tell me so." That the right would pre- vail was an abiding trust with him. As the present writer was one of the party 358 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LE\YIS. which, in 1876, enjoyed, under the leadership of Dr. Lewis, six months of out-of-door life in a gypsy trip through California, it is pleasant to her to add to the story of a life whose character- istics have been told as far as possible in events, a few imj^ressions of those traits which best ap- peared in the freedom of long personal intercourse, and which are put to test by the varied experi- ences of travel. As we were always sitting under vine and fig- tree not our own, it was gratifying to see that Dr. Lewis's principle of non-intrusion was as plainly exemplified in his daily life as in his theories as to methods of reform. He had the happy gift of establishing, at once, pleasant relations with i)eop]e of all types. To meet him was, on the part of these most hospita- ble Californians, to give to him and to his party cordial welcome to the use of their lands, and often to their vineyards, their orchards, and their homes ; his liberal spirit was frequently taxed to keep pace with the generosity of our hosts. Though Dr. Lewis was suffering from nervous prostration, and bore the resjDonsibility of choos- ing routes and camping-places and of i)roviding supplies, I think no one ever heard him utter a word of complaint or regret over any mischance of travel. If Joe brought any unfavorable report of the situation, his one invariable response was a THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWLS. 859 clieery " good ! " and the trouble was at once rem- edied or apparently never tliouglit of again. We knew when the day's trip had been over- long for him, and had brought suffering from headache or exhaustion, only by his asking Joe to please to put up his cot-bed first, and by his ap- peal to " Nellie " (his wife) to sit by him, and hold his hand and, perhaps, to quietly read to him. His sufferings were never allowed to tax even the sym- pathy of others. Our enjoyments were always without discount, so far as the doctor's influence went. He was alw^ays genial and considerate of others, never calculated what '^ might have hapi^ened ^," and never Avished for the unattainable. Yesterday was buried for him. To-morrow seemed to cast no shadows before it. He loved to make noio haj^py. I read in his life before I saw that he had put it in words. "If you did but know it, my dear friends, speaking pleasantly and lovingly to those near- est you is the straight road to a pleasant temper in yourself. You can't make things outside of yourself go to suit you." As he exemplified it the word " promptness " seemed to have quickened its meaning. It was, of course, his province to decide ways and move- ments, and if he was left to his own plans, when we were to move forward he was sure to have tents 860 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. struck and the party in the saddle or carriage bright and early, but if Mrs. Lewis said, "Why, I don't see why we need to start so early," he changed his plans in an instant. '^ No reason in the world," would be the reply, " at eight o'clock, nine o'clock, afternoon, to-morrow or next week, whenever you will ; " and the change of plan seemed as satisfac- tory to him as its fulfilment. On one occasion the ladies were urgent, alto- gether against his judgment, to make a trip north- ward along the coast from Santa Cruz to a pebble- beach at Pascadero. He deferred to their wishes, and for nearly a day they journeyed through deep sand and in face of a high, rasping Avind, which they were at length told was peculiar to the sea- son and Avould last for days. Dr. Lewis made no comx)laint, and Avhen at length the ladies resolved that further progress would be intolerable, he said, '' Very Avell," and turning his horse the retinue followed. He alone hastened forward — backward, rather — to choose a camping-place for the night. We soon saw him on his horse, stox)ping the way and waving liis hand as a signal to us to follow him. He had found a fine dairy establishment of three hundred cows,where the party wei*e refreshed with cool milk ; then on the doctor sped upon his errand, as evening was already approaching. That night we had the one poor camping-place of the trip. Our Chinese cook. Lung Sing, found it Ji^r^^j THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 861 from the resources at command, to kindle the fire for supper, and when it was at length ready Joe announced that the horses had stampeded. So. the doctor went through tangle and swamps to help hunt for them, and it was an hour or two before they were recovered. The morning re- vealed still more clearly the dismalness of our surroundings, but nobody comj)lained, and a few hours later the doctor returned from a search^ rejoicing like a very Columbus, to say that he had found a fine live-oak grove, and that the family o^vning it, whose cottage was near by, were natives of New England and were waiting to give us cor- dial welcome. So rapidly broke all the light-gathering clouds which beset us in our novel ex^Derience under Cah ifornia skies. So dropped into our life, for bless, ing, the memory of one who made light of all mis. haps, who never regretted, who never foreboded evil, and who never said " I told you so." 362 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. CHAPTER XXXYIII. From this record it will be plain to all tliat while devotedly considering the health of others, Dr. Lewis was unmindful that prostration was as inevitable a consequence of overwork for himself as for them. From states of nervous exhaustion, consequent upon this lavish outlay of vital force, he rallied with marvellous facility, though beyond doubt failing each time to regain the former health standard, and he seemed unmindful of the need of self-restraint in his varied activities. He did not appear to know the meaning of the word rest. Work was his normal condition — an inheri- tance directly from his mother. A fresh reminder of waning power caused the sale of the Arlington Heights property in 1881, but vacations, when taken in time, seemed only to insjpire him with fresh plans of work. As he still controlled the only excellent Turkish baths in Boston, he planned to make them the largest and finest in the country, to which end he bought val- uable prox)erty, centrally situated, and was push- ing the work rapidly, when again his health gave THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 863 way and a change of climate became necessary. At heavy loss he disposed of the property and re- moved to jN'ew York City. Cut off from active work for the next year and a half, he found interest in daily study of micro- scopy. In 1883, at the request of the president of one of the IN'ew England colleges that he should publish a volume of suggestions to college stu- dents on topics of vital importance to them, and make it so small as to secure a very large sale, he issued '* In a Nutshell." It immediately drew from scores of college presidents and other edu- cators of distinction the wamiest expressions of commendation and gratitude. In August of this year he commenced the pub- lication of Dio Leiois's MontTily, which imme- diately reached an enormous sale. Lacking the necessary vigor to conduct so large a business, he employed as publisher a man who soon proved himself fraudulent, thus causing great mental strain and pecuniary loss to Dr. Lewis. Under the advice of specialists in brain diseases Dr. Lewis yielded to the necessity of giving up the exacting work of publishing to take entire rest. To secure this, in the spring of 1884 he bought a farm remote from the city, at Smith- town, Long Island, N. Y. Here he built, at a cost of more than two thousand dollars, a large hen- nery, to be heated by steam, and tried to concen- 36-i THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. trate liis attention on cliickens. But with the first indication of returning health, in the succeed- ing July, he was induced to give a course of lec- tures, with gymnastic training, at the Martha's Vineyard Summer Institute, founded by Prof. Agassiz. This so greatly interested him that he hoped to be able to continue it for successive years. By the succeeding winter the doctor and Mrs. Lewis were again at work at his office of publica- tion in the city, though it involved rising at four and a half o'clock a.m., a drive of two and a half miles to the station, and forty -nine miles by rail- road to the city, with return in the afternoon. Though both were considerably past sixty years, Avith their usual optimism they each spoke of this as ''a pleasant variety." They were enjoying, at least, what their married life had furnished them in unusual degree, asso- ciated activities. Having no children, it had been possible, except for a feAV years of special home cares, for Mrs. Lewis to accompany her husband even on his lecture trips, and with his business interests she was always closely associated. The doctrine of personal freedom, which was so forcibly enunciated by Dr. Lewis as bearing on methods of temjjerance work, he respected within as well as without the pale of marriage. " I could jiot respect my wife," he said, " if she did not have THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 365 Opinions of lier own, and the largest right of ex- pressing tliem." His very instincts revolted from the cnstoniary, and, so far as the law holds sway, com]3ulsory, dependence of the wife, i3ecuniarily, upon the husband. During the earliest days of their mar- riage he adopted a device to spare his wife the humiliation of asking for money, Avhich he held that no woman could do without com^Dromising self-respect. This method he had many occasions to commend in cases, such as were often appealed to him, where the symptoms indicated neither drugs, diet, nor gymnastics, but rather a quicken- ing of the sense of justice and of the infinite po- tency of love. He purchased a nice mahogany bureau for the use of his wife and himself. Into one small drawer money received was to be placed. To this he pro- vided two keys, and passing one to Mrs. Lewis he said : " This is a key to the drawer which holds our money. I have another, so that each may take from it what is needed without question or account." Upon this freedom he never infringed, and the bureau is to-day a treasured reminder of an equal union in which mutual love deex3ened for thirty-seven years. In witness of this union it may be jDermitted to open the record of private relation so far as to copy, with other tributes, one i^encilled in 1875 B66 THE BIOGRAPHY OF BtO LEWIS. on tlie fly-leaf of a copy of the volume on " ProM- bition," then just issued. " To my precious wife, the regulator and com- fort and honor of my life, my companion and real partner, I present this little volume which has already deeply interested her while I was writing it. Dig Lewis." Here is a note written at his office desk, on an anniversary of their marriage: "Bible House, New York, July Uth, 1884. "My Darling Wife: " It was a happy day for me thirty -five years ago this day. You have been a wise adviser, a sincere friend, a loving wife, my precious other half. I have no words to adequately express my gratitude and love. " Ever most lovingly your own, " Dio." The sincerity of the doctor's convictions as to individual independence found still fuller demon- stration in his treatment of differences in religious opinions. Dr. Lewis was brought up in the belief of the sect known as " Disciples," whose creed is " the simple word of God." Mrs. Lewis was educated, religiously, in the Episcopal Church. Before his THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LJEWI^. S67 marriage with Miss Clarke, Dr. Lewis said to her: " I will never interfere with yonr religions views, and I hojDe yon may not with mine." Mrs. Lewis was visiting Madam Lewis the doc- tor's mother, some years after. A " Christian " minister, also a gnest, tried to convince her that she shonld join her husband's chnrch. On learn- ing this Dr. Lewis confronted the minister with nn wonted warmth of feeling. He said : "I have no right, and shonld not presume to interfere with my wife's religions views, and I do not hold that it is yonr privilege." When living in Buffalo, where there was then no " Disciples' " church, Dr. Lewis attended the Episcopal church with Mrs. Lewis. At one time when a visit from the bishop was anticipated, the rector strove to impress upon Mrs. Lewis that it was her duty to urge her husband to be confirmed, Mrs. Lewis proved as resistant to the suggestion of intrusion as her husband had been. Though of a deeply religious nature, or, rather, because of it. Dr. Lewis was unusually devoid of sectarian prejudices, and sincerely grieved over the antagonisms which grev/ out of so-called relig- ious bias and intolerance. When his wife held, as she did, beliefs which he could not accept, he respected them absolutely, and often expressed to her his joy that she found comfort in what he always spoke of to her as "your beautiful faith." B6S I'HE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. Referring to lier belief in communication with the spirit- world, which he did not share, he wrote to her one day, as he not infrequently did while sitting in the same office: " Monday, January 19th, 1885. "My Precious One: " I am thinking of you to-day a good deal, and I must tell you so. You are my all. I cannot think of your death without a sinking at my heart. " You see, if you were to die before I do I should have very little of the great comfort which would support you. It would be dreadfully blank to me. But if I were to die you could see through the darkness away up to the brightness beyond. Darling, I am yours ever, Dio." To be compared only with Dr. Lewis' love for his wife was his love for his mother. The aifection and confidence between them, which was so marked in Dio's youth, deepened and grew tenderer if pos- sible with the i)assing years, until at his farm at Smithtown, tended by her daughter, Mrs. Handy, and by Dr. Lewis's wife, whom she loved as a daughter, at the age of eighty-six she passed away. " Happily for her," said Judge Lewis a year later, " for I do not think she could have lived to bear the loss of Dio." She was, indeed, a woman to win love and to command the reverence of her children. These THll BloaRAPKY OF DIO LEWIS. 869 Were no empty words wliicli were sx)oken by lier pastor, Rev. J. M. Tribble, at her funeral in Buf- falo, N. Y: " Piety in the morning of life makes peace in the evening, and as this woman\s life of service was begun early, so was it faithful and dutiful throughout. That first of all duties, the plain and imperative duty of work, was well learned and well performed. . . . Her life was spent in the atmosi^here of prayer. Hence the spiritual world seemed very real and very near. Her whole life was saturated with the spirit of obedience and service. It was marked also by singular in- telligence. Strong and vigorous in all faculties of her mind by natural endowment, she added to this the work of a sound and generous culture. So she kept herself in sympathy with the world's progress. So her heart kex3t young when her head was gray." •The tribute this noble mother paid in her latest years to the unfailing tenderness and devotion of her children from youth to age may well have stood to them as a rich inheritance. To her early influence may, naturally, be largely due the ex- alted resjDect for her sex which Dr. Lewis always felt. He reverenced woman's natural endow- ments. He believed in her right to freedom and to every opportunity for culture and for the prac- tical use of her powers. He claimed for her, in 24 870 TfiE BIOGilAI^HY OF DlO LEWIS. private and in public speecli, the full exercise of the franchise. With true chivalry he was even patient with her inherited weaknesses. Though he had devoted his life to securing to her the conditions of physical health and freedom, Mrs. Lewis says that after walking, as long as he could endure it, behind some woman who had artifi- cially made herself wasp-waisted, his severest ex- pression would be, " Let us x)ass her, Nellie ; I can't bear it another minute. I can see too plainly the distorted and diseased condition of every organ in her body." Yet he never sneered at her or her sex, nor became unmindful of her possibilities. It was a recognition as well-deserved as it was cordial and graceful which was paid him by his honored countrywoman in the following letter: "Philadelphia, December 4th, 1883. "Dr. Dio Lewis — ''Dear Sir: As one of the great enslaved class, I beg to offer you my devout thanks for the brotherly stand you have always taken for our liberties, and never more ably than in the Decem- ber Norili American Remem. " To have been the prime mover, under God, in the crusade, and to fight the battle of dress- reform, is a twofold achievement such as an archangel might envy. " Yours sincerely, "Frances E. Willard." 'THfi BIOGKAt'HY OF DIO LEWIS. 871 CHAPTER XXXIX. Dr. Lewis's literary style was the outcome of his sincere purpose to say what he thought should be known by all, so simply that a child could un- derstand it. Hence his studious use of short, Anglo-Saxon words, and his crisp sentences, which made so easy reading that they seemed the result of easy writing. But that success came to him, as to others, only by hard work, is shown by a reviewer in The Sanitary Era who had observed Dr. Lewis at his desk. He says: "The art of concealing art was never more perfect. It was surprising how many times he would revise every- thing he wrote, vehemently driving his pen through words and clauses that nobody else would have thought superfluous, altering and shortening, until it seemed as if the composition would never be done." A sheet in hand bears witness to this habit. Although prepared with apparent care by Dr. Lewis, and then copied by his type-writer, it is marked all over with erasures and interlinings and transpositions in fche doctor's handwriting. B72 THE BIOGRAPHY OP BIO LEWIS. The sentences which seemed direct and simple are pruned to greater directness and simplicity and are often divided. Words already short are made shorter, and the number of them is reduced by one-eighth. The titles of his books are models of brevity: "Chats" (reduced from "Five-Minute Chats"); "In a mitshell;" "Chastity;" "Our Girls;" "Gypsies;" "Our Digestion;" "New Gymnas- tics;" " The Treasury ; " "Nuggets." While it was, in a sense, the business of his life to preach health and morals, he had the gift not to preach dryly nor too long. He stated his thought briefly, illustrated it with a spirited and pointed an- ecdote, incident, or personal sketch, and stopped. Stopping was a part of his genius in literary work as it was in business and in x)leasure. Both instinct and experience taught him what was expressed by M. Yessiot, the Academic In- spector of Schools at Marseilles, France, "That moral lesson which is announced risks being lost." A few quotations from Dr. Lewis's writings will serve to illustrate what has been said. "Our Brains and Nerves. " If you prick a tree it keeps very still ; no cry and no wincing. But if you prick a dog it yelps and jumps. The tree has no nerves ; the dog has Q'TQ THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 6(6 nerves. This explains wliy the tree keeps so still and why the clog makes such a fuss. "A nerve is a white thread running between two different parts of the body. Its business is to carry messages. You pinch the end of a dog's tail. There are white threads running from the end of a dog's tail to his brain. The message sent over these is the following: 'To headquarters in the skull: There is an awful pinching here. Tipendoftail.' When this message reaches the brain and is recorded and considered there the brain sends back at once the following message : ' Tipendoftail, Esq. : Jerk away from the pinch, quick I Commander-in-chief. Headquarters ! ' The tail is jerked away and everything is lovely again. It is not the same white thread which conveys the pinching message that brings back the jerk- ing message. They look alike but they are not alike. The one that carries the message from the end of the tail to the brain is called a nerve of feeling, and the w^hite thread which brings back the message from the brain to the tail, command- ing it to jerk, is called a nerve of motion. '• You will say that these messages pass between a dog's tail and his head instantaneously — 'as quick as lightning'; that there is no time for framing formal messages. You are mistaken. '' The nature of the nerve-force used in convey- ing messages is not understood. Since the dis- 874 THE BIOGEAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. covery of electricity some physiologists have held that the nerve-fluid is electricity, and that the nerves or white threads are simply conductors of electricity. But no one has yet been able to discover electricity in the nervous system. " Besides, experiments have proved that electric- ity moves at the rate of 445,000 miles in a second, while the velocity of the nerve-fluid is not more than eighty-eight feet in a second. It would take the nerve-fluid more than two hundred days to pass through the distance which electricity tra- verses in one second. So the supi^osition that the two are identical seems absurd. " If a dog were a thousand miles long it would take sixteen hours for a message to go from the end of his tail to his head and back again. You might cut off his tail and carry it from New York to Cleveland before the ncAvs could get to the dog's head and the order ' jerk ! ' could come back. And when the message arrived there would be no tail there to jerk. . . . " When the message from the dog's tail arrives in his brain it is there subject to weighty consid- eration before the command to jerk is ready to be sent back. The brain not only feels, but it thinks, it judges, it contrives, it wills. It takes a mar- vellous thing to do that. In all God's universe the brain alone can perform these feats," THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 875 From Dio Lewises Monthly^ October, 1883. Ex- tracts from : "Our E-ich Me^. "AVe hear bitter complaints of our ricli men. Tliey are denounced as monopolists and monsters who rob the poor and sit down hard upon labor- ing men. " There are several ways by which we may rid ourselves of a rich man. One is to kill him. This simple remedy has not been generally ad- vocated. . . . "A still wiser measure would be a monster peti- tion to the Creator, praying that all such big- brained, keen-eyed, ingenious, plucky chaps be prevented altogether. If they are allowed to ap- pear among us they are almost sure to make trouble. Some of them will turn out Vanderbilts and Goulds. 'An ounce of prevention is worth a ' ton ' of cure.' " Then there are several legislative schemes much discussed. One is to forbid rich men leaving their wealth by will to their children. . . . "A legislative scheme much liked is to tax large estates down to reasonable proportions. By the simplest arithmetic any one can see that in this way we should soon have Mr. Yanderbilt where we could manage him. " During the late war graduated taxation wa§ 376 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. instituted as a war measure and practically borne for a brief time ; but if such laws were admissible in times of peace, then clearly we could take all fortunes and distribute them at pleasure. . . . " Many people seem to think that in a country where the majority rules, we can make laws to compass any desired end. Law is a science, and can no more be made than the science of chemis- try. "When a man gets a million dollars through legal methods tl e money is his. He may violate moral laws ; he may, in the course of his money- getting, foreclose mortgages on the homes of the poor; but the money he thus obtains is legally his, and until we resolve to throw all laws over- board, we must resx3ect and defend his legal rights. " But how can we bear an existence, which, mea- sured by Yanderbilt's, is a pitiful failure? Are you sure, my friend, that his life is a magnificent success? If a man were happy in proportion to his possessions, which is really the popular no- tion, then indeed money would be the great good. Here is a gardener worth a hundred dollars. He sings while about his work, enjoys and digests his dinner, watches his children as they play among the flowers, and seems contented. Sup- pose Mr. Vanderbilt with his $200,000,000 were as happy in proportion to his wealth? He would THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 8 1 I climb to the to^) of Trinity steex)le, face Wall Street, shriek Ms tumultuous emotions, and, in the madness of his joy, leaj) into eternity. ''May there not be some mistake about the power of a large fortune to make a man happy? May it not be true that carrying $200,000,000 or even $5,000,000 for board and clothes is doing a great deal of hard work for very small pay? "If a man's eating could keep pace with his wealth, if Mr. Yanderbilt could swallow a cord of tenderloin and a ton of slapjacks for breakfast, and a gross of turkeys and an ocean of champagne for dinner, then his great wealth would amount to something; but he does not enjoy his rich dinner half as much as one of his humblest workingmen enjoys a crust. Mr. Yanderbilt probably consumes with indifference four inches of sausage, followed by heartburn and a balloon full of gas, w^hile his 130orest railroad-digger surrounds with eager joy sixteen inches of sausage, and secretly wishes sausage were cheaper. The digger eats four times the length and enjoys it ten times as much. Mul- tiply four by ten and you have forty. This poor digger is forty times as well off at the table as the richest man in the world. And in the luxuries of life the table occupies a very prominent place. " When Mr. Grould reaches home and his rubber has spent an hour in trying to rub life into him he goes to the table. Just as he begins to pick a 378 THE BIOGRAPHY O^ DIO LEWIS. little and sip a little, all at once the skeleton of some wretched stock speculation darts before him, and even that little appetite is gone. And yet his gardener, wdio enjoys with keenest relish every mouthful of plain food, mourns that he cannot take Mr. Gould's place; not to secure food, for he has enough of that; not to secure clothing and bed, for he has these; but to be envied by his neighbors, and, sweeter than all else, to have the street point at him with the exclamation, ' That's him! That's him! ' If this silly gardener knows what he is wishing for and still goes on wishing, he is a fit subject for the insane asylum. " If Mr. As tor could wear a thousand coats at once, with as many breeches, a pyramid of hats reaching the sky, and unnumbered boots; if he could be accompanied by a procession of exj^ress wagons crammed and flutteaing with richest hand- kerchiefs, loaded with choicest perfumes; if he could wear shirt collars of finest Irish linen, so wide that they Avould turn over and drag on the very ground, or if he could wear golden garments covered with diamonds, then his great fortune would signify. But Mr. Astor probably wears but one suit of clothes at a time. He may indulge in silk underwear, but it is not as good as the workingman's flannel; he may wear fine boots, but the skin was probably taken from the back of an untitled calf, and^ if examined, would bQ THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 379 found very like that worn by tlie janitor of one of Ms twelve hundred houses. '' If Mr. Mackay could get out of one regal bed and into another more regal every thirty seconds all night long, his enormous wealth would tell. But he occupies a single bed, after the poor man's fashion, and his snoring is probably quite as bar- barous as it was when he was working in the mines at four dollars a day. " I have watched the faces of rich men when they were entering church on a pleasant Sabbath morn- ing, and again as they left, and have thought that unless these people are consummate actors, as- suming the expression of discontent and dissatis- faction which they wear, they are not happy people. I have talked with some of these rich men, asking them frankly if their money made them happy. Their answers confirm the testi- mony of their faces. Their load of care and end- less round of social dissij)ations bear heavily upon them. " I have known a great many workingmen, such as carpenters and blacksmiths. They are gener- ally interested in their little homes, are well ac- quainted with their wives, watch with loving in- terest the progress of their little ones in our free schools, earn an honest living, are envied by no one, are free from vexing cares, enjoy good health, and with it all the sweet and natural blessings of 880 THE BIOGKAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. life. I have studied their faces and have talked with them, and unless they also are consummate actors and hypocrites, they are fivefold happier and therefore fivefold better off than the rich. " You will ask me, ' But would you not like $10,000,000 yourself?' If I would, unless for some j)hilanthropic use, it proves only that I am as silly as some other j)eople. . . . " Supx^ose a rich man were to show you in his large warehouse a million pairs of boots, all fitted to himself, and should pause to hear your congrat- ulations. You should ask him of what possible use that vast collection could be to him. He would probably say that a man can't have too many boots, and that the extra ones are for a rainy day. You would politely keep silence, but go away thinking him a fool. What essential difference is there between this man and that other one who keeps laid away a thousand times as many dollars as he can use? " ' Yes,' says a rich man, ' all this is very well so far as I am personally concerned. I don't care for money for myself; it is for my children. They shall not toil as I have done.' "Ask him what he thinks of his neighbor who is laying by a large fortune for his sons, and he will tell you that the man is an idiot; that he will spoil every one of them. " This rich man thinks about his neighbor's sons tHE BIOGHAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 88l exactly what Ms neighbor thinks of his sons, and exactly what observation of American life leads ns all to think of the chances of young men who begin with fortunes. Even if they retain their money and do not become idle and dissipated, they fail to develop a vital, sturdy manhood. " I have never met a man, even one of the small- headed variety, who, if this point were raised, was not confident that he could take ten millions and use them most wisely. And yet we have not had a rich man in ISTew York City, with the exception of Peter Cooper, of blessed memory, and in a less degree two or three others, who could use wisely even one million. It takes very rare ca- pacity to use a large fortune wisely. Of the rich men in this country a great majority, after a long life-struggle, involving generally much wrong to the poor, can do nothing better with their dollars than to leave them to emasculate and demoralize their children. "AYe all seek happiness. On waking in the morning we begin the search, and keep it up till we lie down at night. It is the constant aim of human life. Most persons being without wealth fondly dream of the perfect happiness they would secure with a fortune. Almost any one can sit up with a sick friend, do a kindness to a needy per- son, speak tenderly to a weeping child, or do any other of a thousand kind acts without making a 88^ THE iBlOGRAPar OP DiO LfiWlS. mistake. But give a million dollars to each of the first ten men you meet in the street, and the chances are ninety-nine in a hundred that not only will you fail to make them happier in the long run, but they will fail to make others hap- pier. So to all the true uses and enjoyments of life you will surely wreck every one of the ten men. '' Happiness comes of health and the harmonious play of our faculties. It comes almost entirely from within, in very small degree from without." THi] BIoaHAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 383 CHAPTER XL. "How Girls Should Walk." From *' Onr Girls." " I oi^CE read a book about walking. It was a Frenck book and contained a kundred and twenty pages. In it we were told wkat part of tke foot to bring down first ; just wkat angle must be main- tained between tke feet ; tke style of movement in tke ankle; tke management of the knees, tke kips, tke skoulders, tke kead, tke arms, etc., etc. " I am sure I can write a better book on walking and mine skall contain only four words. Let us see. We must kave two leaves, and eack leaf must be as large as your tkumb-nail. We kave four pages. We now proceed to print tkis book. " On tke first page we print one word, ' ckin,' on tke second a single word, ' close,' on tke tkird page, 'to;' now we approack tke end of tke volume; turn over, and on tke last page we print tke word ' neck.' " Tke volume is complete. lN"o explanatory notes need be given, not anotker word need be said. S84 ME BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWlg. Whoever carries the ' chin close to neck ' is all right from top to toe and will walk well. " Girls, do you wish to secure this upright^ queen- ly 230sition as soon as possible? Then, in addition to walking as I have described, for half an hour morning and evening, carry on the head a sheep- skin bag containing fifteen or twenty pounds of sand. " In some countries the laborer carries burdens upon his head. All such laborers can be easily recognized at a glance by their bearing, no mat- ter what their age. The water-carriers in Italy and in the suburbs of the German cities are all queens in their carriage." "Vital Facts." From Montlily for Jolly Folks, *'The majority of mankind need no caution against overwork. Where overwork kills one the want of work kills ten, the fires of passion consume twenty, aiid sinful indulgence destroys fifty. In cases where work seems to undermine health, it is not so often that the labor is excessive as that the spirit in which it is performed is at fault. Labor to be long endured must be healthy ; that is, it must be adapted to the mental and physical ca- pacities of the worker, and, especially if it be brain labor, it must be pleasing. fHE BlOG^HAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 385 " The liealtliiest men we know are those who do not work the hardest, but those who do the most work. There is no paradox about this. Every business man sees among his employees men who work hard yet accomplish little, and others who easily accomplish much. " How is this to be explained? Much may be at- tributed to want of system on the part of the in- efficient, more to want of the proper spirit. Ner- vous irritability is the great weakness of American character. It is the sharp grit which aggravates friction and cuts out the bearing of the entire human machine. Nine out of every ten men we meet are in a chronic state of annoyance. The least untoward thing sets them in a state of fer- ment. Impatience is the poison that heats the blood and ruins the stomach much oftener than excess of pepper and mustard. "When the machinist finds his machinery squeaking he applies the oil ; if the bearings have become so hot as to endanger the works he stops and allows them to cool. The human machine should be treated in like manner. It should be kept well oiled and cool. " What is the oil that will stop the squeaking — the lubricator that will keep the machinery from heating? Dickens has given us the formula in the words of his inimitable Mark Tapley: "Keep jolly." 25 886 THi: BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. "A very curious and interesting table might be made by a tliouglitful physiologist and liygienist, showing each person where his strength goes. " Suppose we rej^resent the full working force of a strong, healthy man by 100, and the entire absence of force, leaving him lying flat on his back, helpless, by 0. "Now let us see how many a man's account would stand. " Spent in digesting a big dinner, which the body did not need, 50. " Spent in hesitation, doubt, and uncertainty, 20. Total, 70. " Left for x)ractical and useful purposes, only 30 — less than one-third of the working force. " Sometimes, to meet demand, there would be a draft on the original caj)ital, so that there would not remain enough to keep the body warm, the food well digested, the muscles plump and full, the hearing acute, the eyes keen and bright, or the brain thoughtful and active. " Very often a single debauch would use up the entire available power of the whole system for a week or a month. Then the account would stand somewhat as follows: " Spent in getting rid of several drinks of wine and brandy, 40. " Spent in smoking six cigars, 20. " Spent in keei*)ing awake all night at a spree, 45. THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. 387 " Spent in breathing bad air, 35. " Spent in cheating a neighbor out of thirty dol- lars in a business transaction, 20. " Spent in reading worthless books and new^s- papers, 15. "Here is a balance on the wrong side of the account, you see, and capital is fast going." "Chats with Lovers." From "Chats." " The separation system of the French is fatal to true love and marriage, i^lready it has obtained a footing among us. A girl sees her future hus- band in a drawing-room. The ambitious mother, who is in attendance as stage manager, has arranged the programme. After three performances the engagement is announced, and in due time the ceremony is solemnized by the Church. The couple are driven to their home, and then, for the iirst time, the mask being removed, they get a peep at each other. That both of them should soon set about a search for more agreeable partners is only the natural result of such a union. " Without perfect freedom of choice, a true and happy marriage is exceedingly improhable. There can he no such freedom without intimate acquaintance. Our separate schools have con- tributed much to the loall between the sexes. 888 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. " Some years ago I had the supervision of a school for young men and young women. The desks were double — each one accommodated two persons. I placed a young man and a young woman at each. Permission was given the pupils to render such assistance to their desk-mates as they thought profitable, keeping the noise within bounds. But we did not often check the hum and buzz ; for as these young people were being trained for life, and as in actual life there is a hundred times as much chance of noise as of silence, I should hardly have felt at liberty to train their faculties in silence for use in noise. I only said, " Don't be too noisy." What I wish to bring before you is the strik- ing influence of this system upon the love passion. When Thomas and Lucy first sat down together, they looked and acted just as a young man and a young woman are likely to do when they first meet. I need not describe it. You have seen how they look and act. This soon began to wear off, and in a month the young people acted toward each other like brother and sister. All that pecu- liar expression and manner which you often see among lovers, and which you recognize at the dis- tance of three blocks, soon disappeared. With the new arrangement in our school there was more or less of this through the room, but, as already stated, it soon gave place to a social atmosphere THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 389 which seemed identical with that of a home among brothers and sisters. '' Still f urtlier, they were j)ermitted to change partners at pleasure on the lirst Monday of each month. This renewed the " lovers " exhibition a little at first, but after three months even thi^ change of companions evoked no visible disturb ance of the school-work. ' But what good came of it ? ' " It is just that question I wish to answer. " 1st. From the day this system was introducec! the school required no government. It was like a company of ladies and gentlemen in a drawing- room. There was no necessity for rules in the one case more than in the other. " 2d. The average progress in the studies was strikingly enhanced. Stupid, coarse fellows who in a company of men alone would loaf, and growl, and chew, became bright, gentlemanly, and studi- ous, and girls of light, frivolous composition be- came earnest. The average progress was greatly increased. " 3d. The young men came to regard women not as charming creatures to be toyed with and to be talked down to, but as brave, hard-working com- panions, competitors and equals. They ceased to think of their bodies, and thought only of the quality of their minds. The young women no longer looked up to the young men as chivalrous 390 THE BIOGRAPUY OF DIO LEWIS. lieroes seeking opportunity to die for their lady- loves, but as fair, honorable companions whom it was a pleasure to know and sometimes to con- quer. In a few months they came to feel toward men as those girls do who have been reared in a large family of boys, and who are rarely wrong in the choice of husbands. The girls who are edu- cated in a separate school are like the ' only child,' who is almost sure, if she has been brought up in seclusion, to fall into some trap. The young men after a year in such school compan- ionship, are like the young man with half a dozen sisters, who is equally sure to be wise in the selec- tion of a wife. " In its bearing upon the most important inter- ests of our earthly life there is no part of our ed- ucation so vital as an early, large, intimate ac- quaintance with many persons of the opposite sex. . . . " Nothing hut unrestrained^ unaffected inter- course detween the sexes can assure an average of wise and happy marriages. This can never he secured until looman is elevated to a legal and financial equality with man. " The Little Shepherd Dogs.'' From '' G-ypsies." " The best of these dogs are worth two hundred dollars, or even more. THE BIOGKAPIIY OF DIO LEWIS. 391 "One herder, wliom we met at Cold Spring ranch, showed us a very pretty one that he said he would not sell for five hundred dollars. She had at that time four young pux3pies. On the night we arrived we visited his camp, and were greatly interested in the little mother and her nursino; babies. Amid those wild, vast mountains, this little nest of motherly devotion and baby trust was very beautiful. While we were admiring it the assistant herder came to say that there were more than twenty sheep missing. Two male dogs, both larger than the little mother, were standing about with their hands in their breeches, doing nothing. But the herder said that neither Tom nor Dick would find them : Flora must go. n "It was urged by the assistant that her foot was sore, she, had been hard at work all day, was nearly worn out, and must suckle her puppies. " The boss insisted that she must go. The sun was setting. There was no time to lose. " Flora was called and told to hunt for lost sheep, while her master pointed to a great forest, through the edge of which they had passed on their way up. She raised her head, but seemed very loath to leave her babies. The boss called sharply to her. She rose, looked tired and low-spirited, with head and tail down, and trotted wearily off to- ward the forest. " I said, ' That is too bad,' 892 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. " Oh, she'll be right back. She's lightning on stray sheep." " The next morning I went over to learn Avhether Flora found the strays. While we were speaking the sheep were returning, driven by the little dog, who did not raise her head nor wag her tail, even when spoken to, but crawled to her puppies and lay down by them, offering the little empty breasts. She had been out all night, and while her hungry babies were tugging away she fell asleep. I have never seen anything so touching. So far as I was concerned ' there was not a dry eye in the house.' " How often that scene comes back to me ! The vast, gloomy forest, and that little creature with the sore foot and her heart crying for her babies, limping and creeping about in the wild canons all through the long, dark hours, finding and gathering in the lost sheep. " I wondered if any preacher of the Gospel ever searched for lost sheep under circumstances so hard, and with such painful sacrifices. But then we must not expect too much from men. It is the dog that stands for fidelity and sacrifice. The best part of man is the dog that is in him, THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 393 CHAPTER XLI. It was the desire of Dr. Lewis to prepare a "Cyclopedia of Sanitary Science and Hygiene," and upon it lie spent many months of labor with the assistance of Professor N. B. Webster, an experienced educator and writer of IS'orfolk, Ya. At the same time he compiled from his own writ- ings, with additions, a volume afterward published as '' Dio Lewis's Treasury." The resumption of literary work made it neces- sary to live nearer the city, and in Se^Dtember, 1885, a home was made in Yonkers-on-the-Hudson, N. Y. On the fine and picturesque roads in the vicinity the doctor found recreation in the saddle. He was a skilled horseman, but riding his spirited animal one day he met a lady driv- ing whose horse had become unmanageable. The carriage struck Dr. Lewis's horse, and a sudden spring of the startled animal unseated the rider. In his violent fall one leg was injured. This wound never healed. The doctor could not, however^ regard himself 894 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. as an invalid. He still made trips to the city, and occasionally took long walks. Ke was greatly interested in the noble project inaugurated by Miss Mary B. Butler, of Yonkers, to establish a " Free Public Library for Self- Sup- porting Working Women," and had lectured to its patrons. He attended, one evening in May, 1886, a lecture given in its interest by Prof. N. B. Webster, and spoke at its close Avith much cheer and spirit. This proved to be his last public utterance, and this last word, like his first, given in a lecture in Virginia in 1853, was inspired by his interest in woman. This was no chance coincidence of thought. If, at any time in the years between, the word on his lips had proved to be the final one, it would surely have been spoken for humanity, almost certainly directly in behalf of woman, for whom his venera- tion was so great that he believed that when she shall be freed from the repressive influence of cus- tom and tradition she will prove the most effective lever for the uplifting of the race. On the day of the lecture above referred to over- walking exhausted Dr. Lewis, and erysipelas soon developed in his injured limb. Observing this he said to his wife: " This is my last sickness. Well, it is a comfort to feel that my life has not been entirely in vain. I am willing to go, I hope I THE BIOGRAPHY OF DIO LEWIS. 895 shall find your beautiful faitli true, and tliat I may be permitted to visit you often." One of liis latest expressions was, " Use is still my word." His only solicitude was that a beloved niece of Mrs. Lewis should succeed to the sweet care and companionship which he had known so long and so happily and must now surrender. Calling an amanuensis, he dictated these direc- tions, with his customary calm seK-possession: "Although I am averse to the somewhat un- pleasant notoriety which, as yet, cremation in- volves, my very strong conviction is that it is the right disposition of the dead. I leave directions, with the full sym]pathy of my wife, that my body shall be cremated, and that the ashes shall not be placed in an urn, but in the earth, over which my wife will lovingly plant forget-me-nots, and when she may move the forget-me-nots and the ashes may be removed to her new place of residence. " I direct also, with my dear wife's assent, that all funeral parade and expense shall be avoided, and that my remains be placed in a plain pine casket for removal to the crematory. " I desire also that no flowers shall be sent by my friends. Dig Lewis." Dr. Lewis had often said to his wife: "I have 896 THE BIOGRAPHY OF ])10 LEWIS. tried to do what good I could to all living things with which I have come in relation. I should be sorry that the humblest animal that breathes should be liarmed by my body after I have left it." After nine days of great suffering, during which he was fully conscious, Dr. Lewis passed from this life on May 21st, 1886. He had reached only his sixty-fourth year, but nature could not be cheated of her dues, and the life of this ardent apostle of temperance in food and drink and all personal indulgence was a sac- rifice to intemperance in work. It would be difficult to choose from the many tributes of friends which were gratefully received after Dr. Lewis's death. A single one from a stranger may be inserted here, as it was one of a kind that always gave him great satisfaction, for it assured him that his work had been widely heli^ful. It appeared in the Yonkers Gazette of May 29th, 1886: "A lady friend, writing us from Macon, Ga., under date of May 23d, 1886, says: 'I was much shocked yesterday when I read, in the telegrams, of the death of Dio Lewis. Tliough I never met him, yet I had formed a very clear idea of him from his writings, and I feel that the country has sustained a great loss in his death. Any voice The biography of dio lewis. 397 whicli lias been raised in the cause of humanity against wrong-doing must be missed when its tones are stilled. It is easy — too easy— =to fill the place of a blatant politician or a charlatan of any kind, but the disciples of right are so few and the evils of life are so many that when God stills one voice among tlie feio, there is silence which can- not pass unnoticed by the thoughtful listeners on life's highway. "Dr. Dio Lewis, author and re- former." Thus the telegram was worded. For every word he has written and for every one he has spoken to lessen the vices of the world, there will spring up some sweet flower of remembrance in the hearts of those who knew and loved him, and the Master's promise will be kept concerning " the good seed " which he has sown in His earthly vineyard. . . . God rest the soul of Dio Lewis, and may He perjjetuate the good which His ser- vant hath done.' " Rev. James Haughton, of St. John's Episcopal Church, conducted appropriate funeral services at the late home of Dr. Lewis on the Sunday after- noon which followed his death. Dr. Lewis's request that there should be no pa- rade or display of any kind at his funeral services was strictly and most willingly carried out by Mrs. LeAvis, as also one, made in the early days of their married life, that she should never i)ut on gloomy mourning for him. B98 THE BIOGRAPHY OF DlO LEWIS. A day later, in the rosy glow of the furnace at Mount Olivet, Long Island, N. Y., untouched by the repellent processes of slow decay, the dust re- turned to the dust as it was because the spirit had already returned to the God who gave it. *' What is excellent, As God lives, is permanent, Hearts are dust, hearts' loves remain ; Heart's love will meet us again." WORKS BY DIO LEWIS, A. M., M. D. NEW GYMNASTICS. The New Gymnastics for Men, Women a2^d ChtldrEx^. With three hundred illustrations. New edition, revised and enlarged. By Dio Lewis, M. D. 1 vol., 12nio., $1.50. Prop. Moses Coit Ttxek, of Cornell University, in an address on ''Dio Lewis's Gymnastics " before the College of Preceptors in London, England^ said : " Dr. Lewis's system is fitted for both sexes. He has devised movements for every muscle. Tlie result is a beautiful, harmonious, and complete cultiva- tion 01 the enrire body." ''This book treats of physical education, and presents a system far in advance of any one heretofore recommended." — Taunton Gazette. "■ Dr. Lewis's condensed and pithy style brings to mind the nervous accu- racy of the gymnasium itself, and is as refreshing to the mind as one of his lessons is to the newly invigorated body." — American Pvebyterian. "We cannot imagine anything more important to the rising generation than the careful study of this vohmie. It is WTitten with such vivacity of style, such ardor and sincerity, that if generally perused, its lessons cannot fail to im- prove the physical capabilities of our men and women. It is the clearest, most sensible, and most practical effort yet made to reduce gymnastics co a popular and useful form."— Philadelphia Enquirer. "It teaches how all parts of the body may be exercised and developed by vei-y simple forms of gymnastics, many of which are as practicable at home as in a buildinix appropriated for the purpose. It is a capital book for parents, show- iuy: them liow to furaish a variety of amusements for their children which may l«^f health and can testify to their benign effi- cacy. I am just entering on n.y seventy-eighth year with a .sense of Tigijr rare with me forty years ago. . . . Whoever begins to read his lit- tle book will not be apt to stop short of the end. Please let me know the price sinjjiy and bj' the dozen."— Pres. T}iompson,Theological Institute (Hartford, Conn.) " The more I read it the more I ara convinced that it ought to be circu- lated bj^ the hundred thousand."— Pres. Hooper, Rust University (Miss.) " Admire its comprehensiveness and completeness. . . . Worthy of universal circulation. "—Pro/.£fai/es, Bates College (Lewiston, Me.) " Most heartily endorse its style and matter."— Prin,. Bannister, Rock- land College (Nyack-on-the Hudson, N. Y.) " Contains in a nutshell invaluable information."— JV'tJS. Smith, North- western College (111.) " You put many things well in your ' Nutshell.' The points are just in a form to arrest attention and do good."— Pres. Herrick, Pacific Uni- versity (Oregon.) "Wish it could be placed in the hands of all students. . . . All who read would surely be benefited."- Pres. Weston, Female College {Deef ing, Maine.) " Excellent . . . best thing of the kind J. ever saw. What can they be purchased for by the hundred?"— Pres. Howe, Talladega College (Ala.) " Have read ' In a Nutshell' wit> great interest, and have rarely seen more nutritious food stored in so small a shell." — Prin. Davidson, Collegiate Institute (Salem, N. J.) "One hardly knows what to ad- mire most, the perfect English, or the strikhig presentation of the sub- ject by this the most eminent sanlta- i-ian in the United States. "—Pro/. Young (Hartford, Conn.) "Dr. Lewis is a philanthropist. His methods, style, and matter are singularly attractive. I trust the .sale will be immense."— P>'in. AUyn, Southern Illinois Noitnal University (111.) " Full of practical good s'^nse put pithily. . . . Fitted to seize the atten- tion of -tudents and guard them against abuses. Dr. Lewis has done a real service to the colleges of the country by preparing it, and by making it so short and terse."— Pres. Magoun, Iowa College (Iowa.) " I have read thousands of pagee of medical works in search of the very information here given ' In a Nutshell' without being benefited as I have by this work. It Is a gem." —Ben. Livingston Smith (Utah.) HOME EXERCISER. THIS IS IN EVERY WAY THE BEST APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL' CULTURE EVER DEVISED. 1. It takes up but six inches square of Hoot room. 2. It is not unsightly. 3. It is noiseless. 4. It can not get out of order. 5. Can be adapted instantly to the use of any one over four years of age. 6. No other apparatus is necessary. 7. The work on the " Exerciser " is the most fas, cinating form of exercise ever devised. 8. Especially adapted to bring about the cure of biliousness, dyspepsia, constipation, and, above all else, weak lungs, or even the first stages of con- sumption. 9. By its means one can strengthen any part of the body at will, and then, having brought up the weak parts, can go on with a harmonious develop, ment of the body. The " Exerciser " is accompanied with a book of instructions, entitled "Phj'sical Culture for Home and School, Scientific and Practical," 322 12mo. pages, 80 illustrations, by Prof. D. L. Dowd, giving the most scientific and interesting method of Physical Culture ever devised. If the " Exerciser " be attached to the window- casing it can be covered from sight by the curtair when not in use. The change from one attach ment to another /S almost instaneous. There are over 30 different movements given for the " Ex srciser." The weight used can be varied according to the strength of the user from 3^ lbs. to 15 or more. Valuable as is the "Exerciser " in itself, its value is increased ten-fold by the metnou given for its use. This method teaches how to develop every muscle in the body. Terms for "Exerciser " and book, S3.00. Nickle-Plated, $12.00. Address all orders to yowler eader may be sure of this, he is no agent for a drugstore. The doctor is a high aposLle gospel ot hygiene, and gives the mild blue pill and other alteratives fits at every opportunity, and often forces the op- HOW TO BE WELL, Or, Common-Sense Medical Hygiene. A book for the people, giving directions for the treatment and cure of acute diseases without the use of drug medicines, also general hintson health. By M.Augusta Fairchild, M-D. i2mo, cloth, $1.00. We have here a new v/ork on Hygiene containing the results of the author's expe- rience for many years in the treatment of acute and chronic diseases with Hygienic agencies, and it wil save an incalculable amount of pain and suffering, as well as doctors' bills, in every family where its simple directions are followed. DIGESTION and DYSPEPSIA, A Complete Explanation of the Digestive Processes, with the Symptoms and Treatment of Dyspepsia and other disorders of the Digestive Organs. Illus- trated. By R. T. Trail, M.D. $1.00. The latest and best work on the subject. With fifty illustration showing with all possible fullness every process of digestion, and giving all the causes, and directions for treatment of Dyspepsia. The author gives the summary of the data which he collected during an extensive practice of more than twenty-five years, largely with patxer who were suffering from diseases caused b , Dyspepsia ai\d an impaired Digestion. THE MOTHERS HYGIENIC HANDBOOK, for the Normal Development and Trai Treatment of their diseases with Hygie The great experience and ability of the author enabled him to give just that advice which mothers need so often all through their lives. It covers the whole ground, and if it be carefully read, will go far towards giving us an "Enlightend Motherhood." The work should be read by every wife and Sent by mail, post-paid, to any address on receipt of price. Agents wanted. Address Fowler & Wells Co., Publishers, 775 Broadway, N. Y. ning of Women and Children, and the nic agencies. By the same author. $1.00. every woman who contemplates marriae^e. Mothers may place it in the hands of their daui^hters with words of commendation^ and feel assured they will be the better pre- pared for the responsibilities and duues or married life and motherhood. Brain and Mind, GrENERAIi PRINCIPLES. The Temperaments. Structure of the Brain and Skull. Classification of the Faculties. The Selfish Organs. The Intellect. The Semi-Intellectual FACULTiaB. The Organs of the Social Functions. The Selfish Sentiments. The Moral and Religious Sentiments OR, MENTAL SCIENCE CONSIDERED II ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRIN!^IPLES 01 PHRENOLOGY AND IN RELATION TC MODERN PHILOSOPHY. ByH. S. Drayton, A.M., M.D.. and Jame.!! McNeill, A.B. Illustrated with over One Hundi-ed Portraits and Diagrams. gl,.50. The authors state in their preface : "In pre- paring this volume it has oeen the aim to meet an existmg- want, viz : that of a treatise whichnot only gives the reader a complete view of the system of mental science known as Phrenology, but also exhibits its relation to Anatomy and Physiology, as those sciences are represented to- day by standard authority." The following, from the Table of Contents, shows the scope and character of the work : How to Examine Heads. How Character is Manifested. The Action of the Faculties. The Relation of Phrenology to Meta- physics AND Education. Vziue of Phrenology as an Art. Fhhenology and Physiology. Objections and Confirmations by thb Physiologists. Phrenology in General Literature. lsrot3±oes o± "tlxe :Pz?ess_ objections on the side of Faith by those admitted as existing on the side of Sight, will avail as well in one case as in the other. We will only add, the above work is, without doubt, the best popular presentation of the science which has yet been made. It confines itself strictly to facts, and is not writ- ten in the interest of any pet " theory." It is made very interesting by its copious illustrations, pictorial and nar- rative, and the whole is brought down to the latest information on this curi- ous and suggestive department ot knowledge. — Christian Intelligencer. As far as a comprehensive view of ths teachings of Combe can be embodied into a system that the popular mind can understand, this book is as satis- factory an exposition of its kind as has yet been published. The definition sar< clear, exhaustive, and spirited. — Phila- delphia Enquirer. In style and treatment it is adapted to 'the general reader, abounds witB valuable instruction expressed in clear, practical terms, and the work constitutes by far the best Text-book on Phrenology published, and is adapted to both privat€ and class study. Theillustrationsof the Special Organs and Faculties are for the most pari from portraits of men and women whose characters are known, and great pains have been taken to exemplify with accuracy the significance of the text in each case. For the student of human nature and character the work is of the highesi "**.Vue. It is printed on fine paper, and substantially bound in extra cloth, by roail, posjtoaid. on receiot of price. $1..^0. Address. MLBR & f ELtS^CO, PiMersJIS Broadway, New Tort Phrenology is no longer a thing laugh- ed at. The scientific researches of the last twenty years have demonstrated the fearful and wonderful complication of matter, not only with mind, but with what we call moral qualities. Thereby, we believe, the divine origin of "our frame" has been newly illustrated, and the Scriptural psychology confirmed ; and ia the Phrenological Chart we are disposed to find a species of " urim and thummim," revealing, if not the Crea- tor's will concerning us, at least His revelation of essential character. One thing is certain, that the discoveries of physical science must ere long force all men to the single alternative of Cal- Ivinism or Atheism. When they see 'that God has writteAHimself sovereign, absolute, and predestinating, on the records of His creation, they will be teady to find His writing as clearly in the Word; and the analogical argu- ment, meeting the difficulties and the Men and Women Differ in Character. No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. [Portraits from Life in " Heads and Faces."] James Parton. No. 5. Emperor Paul of Russia. No. 9. A. M. Rice. No. 6. George Eliot. No. 10. Wm. 31. Evarts. No. 7. King: Frederick the Strong. No. 11. General Wisewell. No. 8. Prof . George Bush. General Napier. Otho the Great. African. IF YOU WANT SOMETHING that will interest you more than anything you have ever read and enable you to understand all the differences in people at a glance, by the " Signs OF Character," send for a copy of HEADS MD FACES ; How to Study Them. A new Manual of Character Reading for the people, by Prof. Nelson Sizer, the Examiner in the phrenological office of Fowler & Wells Co., New York, and H. S. Drayton, M.D., Editor of the Phrenological Journal. The authors know what they are writing about, Prof. Sizer having devoted nearly fifty years almost exclusively to the reading of character and he here lays" down the rules employed by him in his pro- fe.ssional work. It will show you how to read people as you would a book, and to see if they are inclined to be good, upright, honest, true, kind, charitable, loving, joyous, happy and trustworthy people, such as you would lilve to know. A knowledge of Human Nature would save many disappointments in social and business life. Tins is the most comprehensive and popular work ever published for the price, 25,000 copies having been sold the first year. Contains 200 large octavo pages and 250 portraits. Send for it and studj"- the people you see and your own character. If you are not satisfied after examining the book, you may return it, in good condition, and money will be re- turned to you. We will send it carefully by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price, 40 cents. in paper, or $1 in cloth binding. Agents wanted. Address FOWLER & WELLS CO., Publishers, 775 Broadway, Hew YorL ^ •\,^ -*■ T>i I nmiijm||f[^|n» ^^. ^^ '""N PERSONAL RESERVE SHELF