第67章 XI(5)

Again and again in our work we had occasion to marvel over men's lack of understanding of the views of women, even of those nearest and dearest to them; and we had an especially striking illustra- t ion of this at one of our hearings in Washington.

A certain distinguished gentleman (we will call him Mr. H----) was chairman of the Judiciary, and after we had said what we wished to say, he remarked:

``Your arguments are logical. Your cause is just.

The trouble is that women don't want suffrage.

My wife doesn't want it. I don't know a single woman who does want it.''

As it happened for this unfortunate gentleman, his wife was present at the hearing and sitting beside Miss Anthony. She listened to his words with sur- p rise, and then whispered to ``Aunt Susan'':

``How CAN he say that? _I_ want suffrage, and I've told him so a hundred times in the last twenty years.''

``Tell him again NOW,'' urged Miss Anthony.

``Here's your chance to impress it on his memory.''

``Here!'' gasped the wife. ``Oh, I wouldn't dare.''

``Then may I tell him?''

``Why--yes! He can think what he pleases, but he has no right to publicly misrepresent me.''

The assent, hesitatingly begun, finished on a sud- d en note of firmness. Miss Anthony stood up.

``It may interest Mr. H----,'' she said, ``to know that his wife DOES wish to vote, and that for twenty years she has wished to vote, and has often told him so, though he has evidently forgotten it. She is here beside me, and has just made this explana- t ion.''

Mr. H---- stammered and hesitated, and finally decided to laugh. But there was no mirth in the sound he made, and I am afraid his wife had a bad quarter of an hour when they met a little later in the privacy of their home.

Among other duties that fell to my lot at this period were numerous suffrage debates with promi- n ent opponents of the Cause. I have already re- f erred to the debate in Kansas with Senator Ingalls.

Equaling this in importance was a bout with Dr.

Buckley, the distinguished Methodist debater, which had been arranged for us at Chautauqua by Bishop Vincent of the Methodist Church. The bishop was not a believer in suffrage, nor was he one of my admirers. I had once aroused his ire by replying to a sermon he had delivered on ``God's Women,'' a nd by proving, to my own satisfaction at least, that the women he thought were God's women had done very little, whereas the work of the world had been done by those he believed were not ``God's Women.'' There was considerable interest, there- f ore, in the Buckley-Shaw debate he had arranged; w e all knew he expected Dr. Buckley to wipe out that old score, and I was determined to make it as difficult as possible for the distinguished gentleman to do so. We held the debate on two succeeding days, I speaking one afternoon and Dr. Buckley replying the following day. On the evening before I spoke, however, Dr. Buckley made an indiscreet remark, which, blown about Chautauqua on the light breeze of gossip, was generally regarded as both unchivalrous and unfair.