a personal favor to a friend, without any strong convictions as to the
merits of what I considered a purely sentimental measure."

We attended the meeting called to rejoice over the passage of the
Married Women's Property Bill, which gave to the women of England, in
1882, what we had enjoyed in many States in this country since 1848.
Mrs. Jacob Bright, Mrs. Scatcherd, Mrs. Elmy, and several members of
Parliament made short speeches of congratulation to those who had been
instrumental in carrying the measure. It was generally conceded that to
the tact and persistence of Mrs. Jacob Bright, more than to any other
person, belonged the credit of that achievement. Jacob Bright was at the
time a member of Parliament, and fully in sympathy with the bill; and,
while Mrs. Bright exerted all her social influence to make it popular
with the members, her husband, thoroughly versed in Parliamentary
tactics, availed himself of every technicality to push the bill through
the House of Commons. Mrs. Bright's chief object in securing this bill,
aside from establishing the right that every human being has to his own
property, was to place married women on an even plane with widows and
spinsters, thereby making them qualified voters.

The next day we went out to Barn Elms to visit Mr. and Mrs. Charles
McLaren. He was a member of Parliament, a Quaker by birth and education,
and had sustained, to his uttermost ability, the suffrage movement. His
charming wife, the daughter of Mrs. Pochin, is worthy of the noble
mother who was among the earliest leaders on that question--speaking and
writing with ability, on all phases of the subject. Barn Elms is a grand
old estate, a few miles out of London. It was the dairy farm of Queen
Elizabeth, and was presented by her to Sir Francis Walsingham. Since
then it has been inhabited by many persons of note. It has existed as an
estate since the time of the early Saxon kings, and the record of the
sale of Barn Elms in the time of King Athelstane is still extant. What
with its well-kept lawns, fine old trees, glimpses here and there of the
Thames winding round its borders, and its wealth of old associations, it
is, indeed, a charming spot. Our memory of those days will not go back
to Saxon kings, but remain with the liberal host and hostess, the
beautiful children, and the many charming acquaintances we met at that
fireside. I doubt whether any of the ancient lords and ladies who
dispensed their hospitalities