Christine: Or Woman's Trials and Triumphs

32. The Convention

278 ch a p ter thir t y- t wo The Convention A bright and beautiful morning ushered in the day on which the Woman’s Rights Convention, which had been for some time announced in the papers as to take place in New York, was to hold its session. From different parts of the country the leaders of the movement had come, and assembled in the Tabernacle, to take counsel together, and to cheer each other with reports of progress in their respective sections, as well as to set forth their views to the multitude. The house was crowded with a respectable and attentive audience; even the galleries were filled with the smiling faces of ladies, who fluttered their fans, and whispered comments to the gentlemen who sat by their side. Upon the platform sat a group of ladies, the well-known leaders of the movement, young and middle-aged, dressed with neatness and simplicity. Most of them wore the ordinary costume, though among them might be seen the simple and quaint garb of the Quakeress, and even the Bloomer, though that was worn by but few. One or two gentlemen, who were sympathizers in the cause, completed the group. All was decorous in the extreme.   Christine 279 A quiet dignity characterized the business proceedings of the officers of the Convention, and the speeches that were made, were received with respectful attention. The speakers could but contrast the present orderly and attentive audience, with the noisy, tumultuous throng, who, a few years before, in that very house, had received them with hoots, hisses, and yells of derision. Many of them spoke of the change, as a marked step in advance, and with enthusiasm congratulated each other on the progress already made, and urged the friends of the cause to go on with renewed and untiring efforts to advance it still further. Christine sat among her friends, to whom she was united by a common bond of sympathy, and listened to the remarks made; but one who knew, and could read that expressive countenance well, would have seen that she did not share in the general enthusiasm of her fellow-laborers. Her eyes were downcast , her hands folded listlessly, and borne away in the train of thought which the speaker had suggested, she was hardly conscious of the words that fell on her ear, or of the curious eyes of the multitude, who gazed upon her with no little curiosity, whispering together, and pointing her out to each other, for none among that band of talented women could surpass, and few could equal, Christine Elliot. Her genius and eloquence were admitted by all, even by those who had the least sympathy with her labors and aims; and whenever she was to speak she was sure of crowded audiences , who, drawn together by her fame and enchained by her eloquence, joined in the universal acknowledgment of her extraordinary powers as an orator; for this gift, unlike many others, never fails to be appreciated by all who come under its influence. If Christine had labored only for fame, she might have been well content with the meed she had obtained, but she had far higher ends in view. She was human, and not insensible to the appreciation of her powers, but at times she felt Christine 280 really humbled that, with her acknowledged talents, she had yet accomplished so little. Now, sitting on this platform, she reviewed the past and contrasted it with the present. She thought of all that cheered her sisters, and sighed. True, they had large and attentive audiences , but the American people were like those of Athens, always ready to hear and to tell some new thing, and this did not so much encourage her. There was less uproar and disturbance at their public meetings, less untruthful and ludicrous reports in the public prints, but did the calm which had succeeded betoken a change of feeling, or mere indifference? What signs were there of change? What new laws had been enacted? What progress had been made in her darling project, which she deemed at the root of all other demands, the granting of universal suffrage? What new laborers from her own sex had joined the band? There were the same earnest spirits, none of them had failed, but they must pass away; where were those who would fill their places when they should put off their...