the Presbyterian minister (Dr. McSurely), who had up to this time occupied the chair, called upon the chairmanelect to come forward to the " post of honor," but I could not; my limbs refused to bear me. So Dr. McSurely remarked, as he looked around upon the gentlemen: "Brethren, I see that the ladies will do nothing while we remain; let us adjourn, leaving this new work with God and the

I

As the last man closed the door after him, strength before unknown came to me, and without any hesitation or consultation I walked forward to the minister's table, took the large Bible, and opening it, explained the incidents of the morning; then read the Psalm, and briefly (as my tears would allow) commented upon its new meaning to me. then called upon Mrs. McDowell to lead in prayer-and such a prayer! It seemed as if the angel had brought down "live coals" from off the altar and touched her lips -she who had never before heard her own voice in prayer! As we rose from our knees (for there were none sitting on that morning) I asked Mrs. Cowden (our Methodist minister's wife), to start the good old hymn,

"Give to the winds thy fears,"

and turning to the dear women, I said: "As we all join in singing this hymn, let us form in line, two and two, the small women in front, leaving the tall ones to bring up the rear, and at once proceed to our sacred mission, trusting alone in the God of Jacob."

It was all done in less time than it takes to write it, every heart was throbbing, and every woman's countenance betrayed her solemn realization of the fact that she was going "about her Father's business." As this band of mysterious beings" first encountered the outside gaze, and as they passed from the door of the old church and reached the street beyond the large churchyard, they were singing these prophetic words,

"And far above thy thought,

His counsel shall appear,

When fully He the work hath wrought

That caused thy needless fear."

On they marched, in solemn silence up to Main street. After calling at all the drug stores, four in number, their

pledge being signed by all the dealers save one, they entered saloons and hotels, on this and subsequent days, with varied success, until by continuous daily visitations, with persuasion, prayer and song, and Scripture readings, the drinking places of the town were reduced from thirteen to one drug store, one hotel and two saloons, and they sold very cautiously."

""

Prayer-meetings were held during the entire winter and spring, every morning (except Sunday), and mass-meetings in the evenings, at the Methodist church one week and at the Presbyterian the next. This is, in brief, the story.

The second account is condensed from the pen of Mrs. M. V. Ustick and is the history of

THE CRUSADE AT WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE.

On the evening of Dec. 24, 1873, the lecture association of Washington Court House had in its course a lecture on "Our Girls," by Dio Lewis, of Boston. During his address he offered to suggest a new plan for fighting the liquor traffic, which, he asserted, if carefully adhered to, would close every saloon in the place in one week's time. Accordingly on Christmas morning, at nine o'clock, in the Presbyterian church, were assembled quite a large congregation of men and women, eager to hear about a plan that promised so much. In a most elegant address the Doctor proceeded to fulfill his promise of the preceding evening, arousing the enthusiasm of his entire audience; and there was organized one of the grandest reformatory movements of the age,-now so well and fitly known as the "Woman's Crusade." In the evening a prayer-meeting was held in the M. E. church, at which the chairman of Committee on Appeal, Mrs. M. G. Carpenter, reported the following:

"Knowing, as you do, the fearful effects of intoxicating drinks, we, the women of Washington, after earnest prayer and deliberation, have decided to appeal to you to desist from this ruinous traffic, that our husbands, brothers, and especially our sons, be no longer exposed to this terrible temptation, and that we may no longer see them led into those paths which go down to sin, and bring both body and soul to destruction. We appeal to the better instincts of your own hearts, in the name of desolated homes, blasted

hopes, ruined lives, widowed hearts, for the honor of our community, for our happiness; for our good name as a town; in the name of the God who will judge you as well as ourselves; for the sake of your own souls, which are to be saved or lost, we beg-we implore you to cleanse yourselves from the heinous sin, and place yourselves in the ranks of those who are striving to elevate and ennoble themselves and their fellowmen; and to this we ask you to pledge yourselves." It was adopted.

On Friday, Dec. 26, 1873, after an hour of prayer in the M. E. church, forty-four women filed slowly and solemnly down the aisle and started forth upon their strange mission, with fear and trembling, while the men remained to pray for their success. The tolling of the church bell kept time to the solemn marching of the women, as they wended their way to the first drug store on the list. (The number of places within the city limits where intoxicating drinks were sold was fourteen-eleven saloons and three drug stores.)

They entered each place singing, presented their appeal, and this was followed by prayer; then there was earnest pleading to desist from their soul-destroying traffic, and to sign the dealer's pledge.

Thus it went on, all day long, going from place to place, without stopping for dinner or lunch, till five o'clock, meeting with no marked success, but with invariable courtesy. They entered dens of iniquity, back rooms and dark cellars, and saw what they had never seen before, and were filled with heart sickness. There was a crowded house at night to hear the report of their day's work.

Saturday morning, December 27th, after an hour of prayer an increased number went forth again leaving the men in the church who continued in prayer all day long. Every few moments the tolling bell cheered the hearts of the Crusaders, and notes were sent back to the church from every place visited. On this day the contest really began. The doors of the first saloon were found locked. With hearts full of compassion, the women knelt in the snow upon the pavement, to plead for the divine influence upon the heart of the liquor dealer, and there held their first street prayer-meeting.

At night the weary workers reported that two druggists

had signed the pledge not to sell, except upon the written prescription of a physician.

The Sabbath was devoted to union mass-meetings and prayer. Monday the ladies had increased to nearly one hundred. That day, December 29th, is one long to be remembered as the day upon which occurred the first surrender ever made by a liquor dealer, of his stock of liquors of every kind and variety, to the women, in answer to their prayers and entreaties, and by them poured into the street.

Nearly a thousand men, women and children witnessed the mingling of beer, ale, wine and whisky, as they filled the gutters, while bells were ringing, men and boys were shouting, and women were singing and praying to God.

On the fourth day, the town was filled with visitors from all parts of the country; there was another public surrender and more liquor emptied into the street. Mass-meetings were held nightly with new victories reported until on Friday, January 2d, one week from the beginning of the work, at the public evening meeting the secretary of the ladies reported that every saloon had surrendered. The campaign of song and prayer had won the field. Prayermeetings were held daily thereafter. Physicians were

pledged to care in making prescriptions, property owners not to rent property for saloons, and a thousand persons were pledged not to drink. Within three weeks this work had extended to every village and school-district in the county.

But a new man in the third week came with a license and opened a saloon with a $5,000 backing from a whisky house in Cincinnati. On Wednesday the 14th of January, his whisky was unloaded. Forty women were on the ground, followed the liquor in and remained until eleven o'clock at night. The next day, bitterly cold, was spent in the same place and manner without fire or chairs. On the following day, the coldest of all the winter of 1874, the women were locked out and held religious services on the street all day long.

Next morning a tabernacle was erected in front of the saloon and was occupied for the double purpose of watching and prayer. Before night this saloon-keeper of four days surrendered. A short time afterward he was dying, and he sent for those Crusade women to fill his dying ears with

their songs and prayers. January 20th, another man opened a beer-garden; and the women surrounded his house daily for days, until he said in German fashion : "You comes so many I quits." Another came February 6th and after days of prayer in the Presbyterian church he publicly pledged himself to quit the business forever. The women and God had won.

This strange movement swept over hill and valley from county to county, covering a large part of the entire state, and touching the borders of other states. Hundreds of saloons were closed and thousands of drunkards were reclaimed and families saved. The writer's blessed mother, now in heaven, and his sister, now a minister's wife in Springfield, Mass., were members of a Crusade band who filed out of a church, and marched down Main street in the city of Mt., to the drinking and gambling saloon of Mr. Mcthe worst house of sin for many miles around. The sister led in prayer. The proprietor, an expugilist, was converted, rolled his liquor into the street, became the president of the Y. M. C. A., superintendent of a Sunday-school, the president of the county Bible Society, and of the county Sabbath association.

John G. Woolley tells the following incident with matchless pathos: "In '74 I saw my mother kneeling in the snow to pray at a saloon door, and I crept out by a side way, stepping softly in the sawdust, ashamed-of her. That day's work caused her life, and the saloon not even paused, and her only child sped downward to the hell of drunkenness ;-but that snow-set prayer persisted at God's throne through thirteen awful years, and for her importunity He could but always hear, and when I would' He spoke to me; and speaks-and will speak on—and onuntil on some sweet Christmas Eve, I find my mother's arms again, and, leaning on her great heart, celebrate the end of the Crusade."

The writer has a friend in Akron, Mrs. P—, who was one of the finest soprano singers Ohio ever produced. She