Elizabeth Garver Jordan

“ My highest ambition had been to succeed Miss Anthony, for no one who knew her as I did could underestimate the honor of being chosen by her to carry on her work.
At the convention in Washington that year she formally refused the nomination for re-election, as we had all expected, and then, on being urged to choose her own successor, she stepped forward to do so. It was a difficult hour, for her fiery soul resented the limitations imposed by her worn-out body, and to such a worker the most poignant experience in life is to be forced to lay down one's work at the command of old age. ”

“ For a moment the two young things gazed at each other, in helplessness and irresolution on his side, in resentful questioning on hers. Even in the high tension of the moment Laurie subconsciously took in the picture she made as she stood there, defying him, with her back to the wall of life.
She was very lovely, more lovely than in the mirror; for now he was getting the full effect of her splendid coloring, set off by the gown she wore, a thing of rich but somber shades, lit up by a semi-barbaric necklace of amber and gold, that hung almost to her knees. ”

“ She had regained her self-control and her voice and glance were steady, if hurried.
"She was one of the most beautiful women I ever saw," began Miss Herrick, quietly, "and I have been told she was brilliant and charming as well. I had never met her before, and I had only a moment with her then as she was saying a last good-by to her friends. She was so calm and strong through the whole dreadful ordeal that my heart went out to her. It is horrible to see such a woman burying herself alive. She could have done so much in the world if she had been content to remain there. ”

“ The entire staff of the "Evening Globe" was still on duty, its members toiling in the city room with tense nerves and haggard faces. From the basement came the thunder of the presses as they ground out the extras containing the latest news.
Miss Van Dyke knew that with the single exception of herself every woman on the paper was hard at work. The reflection was not a pleasant one. She brooded over it as her sorrowful eyes looked at the surging throng below her. While she gazed abstractedly at it a great roar came from the packed mass of humanity across the street. ”

“ For three hours he had raced up and down the aisles of the theater, alternately yelping commands and taking flying leaps across the footlights to the stage to go through a scene himself. He had laughed, he had wept, he had pleaded, he had sworn, he had cooed, he had roared. He had been strangely gentle with the white-haired old man of the company, and wholly brutal to a young girl who was doing beautiful work. He had reduced every woman to tears and every man to smothered and stuttering profanity. ”

“ A light wind sang a droning lullaby in the grove of pines back of the Tuttle home, and a few belated birds twittered sleepily in near-by trees. Unconsciously Maria voiced the subtle charm of the hour when she spoke.
"I dunno, Henry," she said, lingeringly—"I dunno's I feel to go. Seems like we ought to be content to stay right here, where it's so quiet an' restful."
Her eyes roamed lovingly down the garden paths, lingering on trees and shrubs planted by Tuttle hands now a part of earth themselves. "I'm so glad you're comin' here," she sighed, happily. ”

“ She lifted the package from its resting-place and untied the string with listless ringers. As she tore off the wrapping-paper and raised the lid of the long box, she uttered a little exclamation of delight which made Randall, at the next desk, look up from his work with a sympathetic smile. Carefully tucked away under waxed paper, and resting on a bed of moss and ferns, were exquisite red roses, whose breath seemed like a greeting from the southern land to which her homesick soul had but now turned. The reporter buried her face in their dewy fragrance, while her eyes for a moment grew dim. ”

“ Every officer in our organization, every leader in our campaigns, every speaker, every worker in the ranks, however humble, has done her share.
I do not claim anything so fantastic and Utopian as universal harmony among us. We have had our troubles and our differences. I have had mine. At every annual convention since the one at Washington in 1910 there has been an effort to depose me from the presidency. There have been some splendid fighters among my opponents—fine and high-minded women who sincerely believe that at sixty-eight I am getting too old for my big job. ”

“ Its small window overlooked the garden of a German neighbor who had cultivated, in his ten by twelve expanse of ground, a riot of blooming sweet peas, scarlet geraniums, and sturdy vines that reached out over the adjoining walls in most friendly fashion. Busy bees had found the little honey mart in the heart of the big city, and their buzzing, as they worked among the flowers, added the final touch to the homely charm of the place. ”

“ Ruth Herrick was usually a cool, unemotional young person, but she was profoundly moved now. Many thoughts crowded into her mind. She recalled what she had read of Helen Brandow's past life,—the good she had done as a girl at school, her adoration of her mother, the hundreds of noble men and women who were her friends, and whose faith in her innocence was so steadfast. ”