ck
up "Jesus, Lover of My Soul." Then he led the march down to the door,
while the big audience swung into line and followed him, joining in the
song. I remained on the chair, beating time and talking to the people
as they went; but when the last of them had left the building I almost
collapsed; for the flames had begun to eat through the wooden walls and
the clang of the fire-engines was heard outside.

As soon as I was sure every one was safe, however, I experienced the
most intense anger I had yet known. My indignation against the men who
had risked hundreds of lives by setting fire to a crowded building made
me "see red"; it was clear that they must be taught a lesson then and
there. As soon as I was outside the rink I called a meeting, and the
Congregational minister, who was in the crowd, lent us his church
and led the way to it. Most of the audience followed us, and we had a
wonderful meeting, during which we were able at last to make clear to
the people of that town the character of the liquor interests we were
fighting. That episode did the temperance cause more good than a hundred
ordinary meetings. Men who had been indifferent before became our
friends and supporters, and at the following election we carried the
town for prohibition by a big majority.

There have been other occasions when our opponents have not fought us
fairly. Once, in an Ohio town, a group of politicians, hearing that I
was to lecture on temperance in the court-house on a certain night,
took possession of the building early in the evening, on the pretense of
holding a meeting, and held it against us. When, escorted by a committee
of leading women, I reached the building and tried to enter, we found
that the men had locked us out. Our audience was gathering and filling
the street, and we finally sent a courteous message to the men, assuming
that they had forgotten us and reminding them of our position. The
messenger reported that the men would leave "about eight," but that the
room was "black with smoke and filthy with tobacco-juice." We waited
patiently until eight o'clock, holding little outside meetings in
groups, as our audience waited with us. At eight we again sent our
messenger into the hall, and he brought back word that the men were "not
through, didn't know when they would be through, and had told the women
not to wait."

Naturally, the waiting townswomen were deeply chagrined by this. So were
many men in the outside crowd. We