ERNESTINE L. ROSE being introduced, said: Frances Wright was the
first woman in this country who spoke on the equality of the
sexes. She had indeed a hard task before her. The elements were
entirely unprepared. She had to break up the time-hardened soil
of conservatism, and her reward was sure--the same reward that is
always bestowed upon those who are in the vanguard of any great
movement. She was subjected to public odium, slander, and
persecution. But these were not the only things that she
received. Oh, she had her reward!--that reward of which no
enemies could deprive her, which no slanders could make less
precious--the eternal reward of knowing that she had done her
duty; the reward springing from the consciousness of right, of
endeavoring to benefit unborn generations. How delightful to see
the molding of the minds around you, the infusing of your
thoughts and aspirations into others, until one by one they stand
by your side, without knowing how they came there! That reward
she had. It has been her glory, it is the glory of her memory;
and the time will come when society will have outgrown its old
prejudices, and stepped with one foot, at least, upon the
elevated platform on which she took her position. But owing to
the fact that the elements were unprepared, she naturally could
not succeed to any great extent.

After her, in 1837, the subject of woman's rights was again taken
hold of--aye, taken hold of by woman; and the soil having been
already somewhat prepared, she began to sow the seeds for the
future growth, the fruits of which we now begin to enjoy.
Petitions were circulated and sent to our Legislature, and who
can tell the hardships that then met those who undertook that
great work! I went from house to house with a petition for
signatures simply asking our Legislature to allow married women
to hold real estate in their own name. What did I meet with? Why,
the very name exposed one to ridicule, if not to worse treatment.
The women said: "We have rights enough; we want no more"; and the
men, as a matter of course, echoed it, and said: "You have
rights' enough; nay, you have too many already." (Laughter). But
by perseverance in sending petitions to the Legislature, and, at
the same time, enlightening the public mind on the su