"Sitting on the garden gate,Where the little butterfly reposes,Now I hate to tell, but then I must,'Twas love among the roses."
"Sitting on the garden gate,Where the little butterfly reposes,Now I hate to tell, but then I must,'Twas love among the roses."
Some of the young people being delighted with that sentimental song, called for another, for they could not think of her taking her seat after singing only one; so she very kindly sang another. In a very soft, sweet voice, she sang a song containing the following verse:
"I love to think of thee, when evening closes,Over landscapes bright and fair,I love to think of thee when earth reposes,To calm a grief which none can share.When every eyelid hoversWhen every heart but mine is free,'Tis then, O then, I love to think of thee."
"I love to think of thee, when evening closes,Over landscapes bright and fair,I love to think of thee when earth reposes,To calm a grief which none can share.When every eyelid hoversWhen every heart but mine is free,'Tis then, O then, I love to think of thee."
If the true feeling of one or two young gentlemen present could be told, they certainly would like to have had Miss Grace Nettleton think of them in that way. After receiving many compliments from the company, the young lady took her seat. Mrs. French, who was a professional musician like her husband, was called for and sang with fine effect, "I am dreaming, yes I am dreaming, the happy hours away," etc, etc. Her fine cultivated voice was much appreciated by the company and they were eager to have Mrs. French sing again, but she wished to save her voice, and got her husband to sing "Beautiful Isle of the Sea." His fine baritone voice was a great treat to the guests, for it was seldom such talent as that of himself and wife was heard in the parlors of Orangeville.
Stella was called for and Professor French played the accompaniment, while she in a very sweet and feeling voice sang, "Hark! I Hear an Angel Sing." As her graceful form stood beside the instrument with her face and eyes turned a little upwards, she seemed to be lost to everything mundane, and when she sang those soul-melting words that she heard the angel sing, the effect was complete, for it seemed to those present as if it was the voice of an angel singing those words and not that of a human being.
The attention was so great that when she finished you could have heard a pin drop. The effect was very fine. There were some there who will never forget that song. Professor French and his wife were very much taken with Stella's singing; both of them pressed her hand and thanked her for her sweet song. They afterwards said, in all their musical career they never heard anything to equal it of its kind. The song was entirely new to every one present.
Mrs. French, who was half in doubt in her own mind as to whether Penloe had any musical talent or not, said: "Perhaps Penloe will favor us with some music."
Prof. French said: "Yes, Penloe, I would like to hear you very much." Mrs. Herne laughed and said: "It seems strange to think that, though Penloe has made many visits to our house, I never thought to ask him if he could play, for we always have so much interesting conversation that I never think about music."
Stella laughed and said: "Why, Clara, I don't know myself whether Penloe can play the piano, for he is so modest about his attainments. We have sung together many times, but I am like you, I never thought to ask him if he could play." Turning to Penloe, she said: "Now, Penloe, I do want to hear you play so much"; and when he rose to take his seat at the instrument curiosity reached its height in the minds of Mr. and Mrs. Herne as well as Stella, so eager were they to see his personality manifested in music.
The eyes of each member of the company were now riveted on that remarkable figure who had just begun to finger a few keys with one hand. He did not do as some would-be performers sometimes do, strike eight to ten keys as soon as they touch the piano, but, strange to say, he commenced playing with one hand.
We will here give the words concerning Penloe's performance as told to a friend in San Francisco by Mrs. French in her own unique way, as follows:
"My husband and I being at a party one evening given by Mr. and Mrs. Herne in Orangeville, I met a gentleman there by the name of Penloe, who certainly is the most gifted man I ever have met in all my travels. There is a power in his personality that is irresistible; you cannot help being drawn towards him. But his power is of that kind that is uplifting and elevating, and there is something very sweet in his nature. After supper I took a little walk with him about the grounds, and his conversation was exceedingly interesting. I will never forget the talk I had with him.He seemed to be able to bring out of me ideas which I had never expressed before; in fact, making me talk, as it were, above myself. In thinking it over, I must say my own conversation was a surprise to me; and as for him, while he does not take you all of a sudden into great depths of thought, or attach wings to you and have you flying through the heavens, yet he has the genius of taking the most commonplace subjects and causing you to see such an interest and beauty in them as you never saw before. After we all assembled in the large double parlors and had some games, there were several who favored the company with instrumental and vocal music, when I thought it would be no more than proper to ask Penloe to play. After he had been seated at the piano a few minutes, I was a little in doubt whether I had not made a mistake in asking him, for he commenced playing with one hand and only touching one key at a time, more like a child playing. He still went on playing with one hand, but touching two and three keys at a time. I noticed some ladies and gentlemen began looking at each other and then at Penloe, hardly knowing what to make of such playing. As he proceeded further in his performance with one hand, though the playing was simple, yet there was a peculiarity about it that can hardly be expressed as he went along with his apparently amateur performance. Then he used his other hand and fingered a few more keys occasionally, and I felt an interest growing in me, and also those around me seemed to share the same feeling. A little later and the fingers of both hands were going a little more rapidly over the key-board, and the childish and amateur performer had ceased and the playing began to impress me as being that of a young professional. I began to feel myself more drawn into the playing, and when the playing of a young professional had given place to the experienced professional, I was all attention; but it was not long before the professional had disappeared and I knew that the music I was listening to now was that of a genius. I was conscious a great master was at the instrument, and after thatI seemed not to be conscious of the performer or those about me, and how long I was in that condition I do not know. When I came to myself again, the music had ceased, there was no performer there, for Penloe had left the room.
"In talking with some others of the party about Penloe's playing, it seemed to have produced exactly the same effect on them as it did on me. I will, in a very inadequate way, tell you as near as I can the impression it made upon me. I felt, when he first commenced to play in his child-like way, as if all our minds were very much scattered; that is, I mean as if a great separateness and distinction existed, and as he proceeded with his playing it seemed to have the effect of collecting our minds and bringing them together till we all seemed to be just one mind. Then there arose in this one mind a desire, and the desire grew till it created a disturbance, and it kept increasing and growing more powerful till it burst into a storm of passion, and the storm became furious within; for it seemed at times as if it would rend and tear me to pieces, and I was about to be conquered by it. I felt like saying, 'Must I yield? Is yielding the only way out of this? Must I give way and let it have full sway over me?' I said, 'Must I let it die out by consuming its own self?' And as I was about to cry out in despair, 'There is no other way; I will feed the fire till there is nothing left for it to burn;' and just as I was on the brink, on the edge of the precipice, as it were, the fury of the storm being at its very height, then all of a sudden I saw a light and the storm began to lose some of its fury, and the clouds appeared not so black, and the light seemed growing brighter. At last the storm ceased within me, and the dark clouds were disappearing fast, till the last one had gone and a wave of sunshine swept over my soul, and I felt like saying, 'How peaceful it is after the storm,' and while I was enjoying that sweet feeling of peace a change came over me, I began to be lifted, as it were out of my little self, and myself and the world seemed to be larger than I had ever imagined. I began, as it were, to rise, and great as theworld had grown I had grown greater still. Then I entered a much larger world than even the great one I had lived in, and when I had outgrown that grand world, I went into another still more beautiful, and on I went rising out of one beautiful world into another far superior till I reached a condition that human language cannot convey the blissful state of the soul in me. Oh, the happiness I then realized. I shall never forget. My husband, in speaking of the piece Penloe played, said: 'That music was never composed on earth, it was born in heaven,' Mr. Herne heard my husband make that remark, and said, 'In order to play that kind of music, you have got to live in the same world as Penloe does. That is how it has its birth.'"
It is true, as Mrs. French told her friend, that after the music had lost some of its power over her she realized that Penloe had left the room. The piano being near the door, which was open, and no one sitting between the door and the piano, when Penloe ceased playing he quietly left the room and sat in a chair on the porch. About five minutes later, a soft footstep was heard on the porch and the sound of a light rustle of a dress, for Stella had taken a seat beside Penloe. His performance at the piano had stirred the dear girl's nature to its greatest depths and also had scaled its lofty heights. On that porch, gazing at the grand canopy of the heavens, those two souls listened to such strains of music as only the purified hear.
About ten o'clock the next morning after the party, Mr. Herne was in the front yard, superintending some work, when he saw a buggy coming towards his house and he recognized the occupants as being Mr. Herbert Barker and Mr. Stanley Brookes, of Roseland. When the team stopped in front of the house. Mr. Herne was there to receive the two gentlemen.
After shaking hands and exchanging a few pleasant words, Mr. Barker asked: "Are Penloe and Stella here?"
Mr. Herne said: "Yes, they are, come in, gentlemen," and gave them seats in the parlor, saying, "You had better stay to dinner, and I will have a man take care of your team," an invitation which they gladly accepted. Mr. Herne entered the sitting-room to tell Penloe and Stella that Barker and Brookes were in the parlor waiting to see them. Since those two gentlemen had become Stella's co-workers for sex reform consequently they had seen much of each other, and had come to a mutual understanding that they would lay aside all formalities and act as brother and sister; therefore, instead of addressing each other as Mr. or Mrs., they called each other by their given names.
When Penloe and Stella entered the parlor, the two gentlemen rose from their seats and came forward to tender their congratulations to the newly married couple. After a lively social chat, Stanley Brookes made known the object of their morning call in the following words. Looking at Stella, he said: "Since you were with us last in Roseland, we have been receiving information through various channels concerning certain persons, in a numberof towns and cities, who may be considered advanced enough to profit by our literature. In most cases the persons receiving it have written for more, to circulate among their friends. Since sending a second lot, we have been in receipt of a number of letters, like the following, and here Brookes took one from a large package of letters, and read it to Penloe and Stella. It was as follows:
"Los Angeles, Cal."Stanley Brookes, Esq.,"Roseland, Cal.:"Dear Sir: The literature which you kindly sent me I placed where I knew it would do the most good. It gives me pleasure to inform you that the California idea is gaining ground here, and interest is growing faster than I anticipated. I was not aware there were so many ready for the sex reform thought; but in talking with some of the more advanced, they said that they had done a little thinking along this line for some time, but their ideas were only half formed, and this reading matter was just what they needed to let the light into their minds. They are all now anxious to have a meeting, and want to know if you could get Penloe and Stella to come here and speak. They think the largest hall in this city would not hold the crowd that would want to hear and see those two much-talked-of-and-written-about persons. I will see that all their expenses are paid, if you will see to getting them here. I know if they come it will give the movement a big lift. Write as soon as you know if they are coming."Yours for Reform,"Harold Chambers.
"Los Angeles, Cal.
"Stanley Brookes, Esq.,"Roseland, Cal.:
"Dear Sir: The literature which you kindly sent me I placed where I knew it would do the most good. It gives me pleasure to inform you that the California idea is gaining ground here, and interest is growing faster than I anticipated. I was not aware there were so many ready for the sex reform thought; but in talking with some of the more advanced, they said that they had done a little thinking along this line for some time, but their ideas were only half formed, and this reading matter was just what they needed to let the light into their minds. They are all now anxious to have a meeting, and want to know if you could get Penloe and Stella to come here and speak. They think the largest hall in this city would not hold the crowd that would want to hear and see those two much-talked-of-and-written-about persons. I will see that all their expenses are paid, if you will see to getting them here. I know if they come it will give the movement a big lift. Write as soon as you know if they are coming.
"Yours for Reform,
"Harold Chambers.
At the conclusion of reading the letter Brookes said: "It seems that some of our literature got into the State of Colorado. The papers in that State called it the 'California Idea,' and as the 'C.I.' began to grow they called it the 'California Movement.' Some of the papers in this State have used the same expression, and thepeople in California seem to be pleased with the names given the new sex thought."
Stella laughed, and said: "Well, Stanley, I rather like the names C.I. and C.M. Don't you, Penloe?"
Penloe said: "Yes, the term or name 'Sex Reform Thought' I think very ambiguous, but C.I. and C.M. are names which convey to the mind the ideas they are intended to express."
Brookes said: Stella, I will read you another letter I received from a friend of mine in Bakersfield:
"Bakersfield, Cal."Stanley Brookes, Esq.,"Roseland, Cal.:"Dear Friend Brookes: Yes, it is just as you say, Bakersfield may be a very fast town, but there are some people here who are ripe for the 'C. Movement.' My experience and what I see here about me every day have made me so sick of the old ideas concerning sex that it does me good to see the interest people are taking in the literature you sent me. One woman told me that the pamphlet I gave her had been read by nine persons. Say, old boy, don't you think you could get Penloe and Stella to come here and wake us up a little more. My, they would be a drawing-card! I will see that they are not out anything by coming. Now, do your level best to get them here, for they would start the ball a-rolling in fine shape."Yours for the 'C.I.,'"Arthur Paine."
"Bakersfield, Cal.
"Stanley Brookes, Esq.,"Roseland, Cal.:
"Dear Friend Brookes: Yes, it is just as you say, Bakersfield may be a very fast town, but there are some people here who are ripe for the 'C. Movement.' My experience and what I see here about me every day have made me so sick of the old ideas concerning sex that it does me good to see the interest people are taking in the literature you sent me. One woman told me that the pamphlet I gave her had been read by nine persons. Say, old boy, don't you think you could get Penloe and Stella to come here and wake us up a little more. My, they would be a drawing-card! I will see that they are not out anything by coming. Now, do your level best to get them here, for they would start the ball a-rolling in fine shape.
"Yours for the 'C.I.,'
"Arthur Paine."
Holding up the package of letters, Brookes said: "Here are letters from Ventura, San José, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Riverside, Oakland, Sacramento, and a number of other places, all asking the same question, 'Could I get you both to come to their places to speak.' They all seem so anxious to see and hear the leaders of the great C.M., and that is why Herbert and I arehere this morning to see if you both will accept these pressing invitations to speak in a cause which is so dear to you."
Stella said: "I appreciate your kind thoughtfulness in coming out here to see us, and thus give us an opportunity of talking the matter over together." Then she was silent, and Barker and Brookes both said afterwards they never saw Stella look so serious and sober since they knew her as she looked then. It seemed as if a struggle was going on within her. After a few minutes' silence, there seemed to be a feeling in Stella's voice as she spoke. Looking straight at the two young men before her, she said: "To you I can speak in confidence. My aunt (Mrs. Marston) has known for a year or two that I had a great desire to travel and see the world. Since I first met Penloe that desire has grown much stronger. On my wedding day, aunt gave me a bank book with ten thousand dollars placed to my credit, saying it was to be used for the purpose of enjoying our honeymoon on a long journey around the world. I can hardly tell you how delighted I was when I thought what had been only a dream to me was about to be realized. Next week we were going to Roseland to visit aunt, then we were going abroad. Yes, Penloe and I have had such delightful talks about the countries we were going to visit. We talked much about some of the places and people in India we expected to see. Penloe has told me about the Sannyasins and the great Yogis of India, saying he could arrange matters so that we could live with some of them for a while. The thought of seeing and talking with those wonderful spiritual giants has kept me awake at night, my mind filled with joyous thoughts. He said, 'The great Yogi Kattakhan has conquered all nature, and at any time he could put himself in a mental condition so that he could give the contents of any book in any part of the world.'
"I remember the last time I was with you in Roseland, both of you were telling me you had read Burnette's book on 'The Freedom of the Women of Tiestan,' also Wharburton's 'The Land of Surprises.' Well, we had decided to visit the city ofSemhee, in Tiestan, and see those remarkable people. Till now I had not thought of there being anything to prevent our going."
Barker said: "Well, Stella, all we had heard was that you were married, and we did not know anything about your contemplated tour."
Stella said: "It was quite right for you to come and see us, and I am very glad you have. Of course, we intended calling on you both before we left for the Orient. Now, what I have told you is that you may see and know exactly how we are situated in regard to accepting the invitation to speak in the various places. The C.M. is dear to me, yes, very dear. I rejoice in the progress the movement is making through the efforts of you both, and before giving you an answer I must go and think it over, so you will please excuse me."
As her graceful figure was leaving the room, she said: "Penloe, come to our room about fifteen minutes before dinner. Clara told me that they were going to have dinner at one o'clock to-day."
After Stella had left the room, Penloe chatted with the young men about the C.M., and then said: "Would you like to take a walk about the place?" and they both said, "Yes, this is our first visit to Treelawn."
This was the first time Barker and Brookes had met Penloe. They had heard him deliver his address in Roseland, and were now pleased to have the opportunity of enjoying his company. Penloe was about their age, and the three became interested in relating some of their college experiences. Barker and Brookes were eager to have Penloe tell them all about the Hindu students, and what kind of men the Hindu professors are. They had many a laugh while Penloe was relating some experiences which seemed very peculiar to them. Penloe's interesting conversation had made time pass very rapidly with them, and it was near the dinner hour before they were aware of it.
Penloe said: "Please excuse me, I hear Stella calling." Takingout his watch he said: "It is about time I was in the room; I did not think it was so late."
After Penloe had left them, Barker said to Brookes: "Did you hear Stella calling Penloe?"
"No," said Brookes, "did you?"
"No, I never heard her voice," said Barker, "but what did he mean by saying she called him?"
"He meant she called him by what they call mental telegraphy," said Brookes.
When Stella left the parlor and went to her room and had taken a seat, her mind was filled with many conflicting thoughts and emotions. She said to herself: "I was so unprepared for this; it was only last night I remarked to Penloe, in about two weeks we would be on the ocean going to Japan." "And, why can you not go?" said a powerful voice within her. "You surely are not going to disappoint your aunt, are you, by not going, after she has shown such love towards you as to give you ten thousand dollars to travel on?" A little voice spoke within her and said: "Are you and Penloe not the leaders of the C.M., and would it be right for you to leave just as an interest is being awakened?" The powerful voice said: "Stella, this is your wedding tour, and you have accepted the money given you to go and you would not be doing yourself justice to stay at home now." The little voice said: "Stella, what effect do you think your influence would have on Barker and Brookes and other young workers, if they see you indifferent to the calls? You have always talked as if you would be willing to sacrifice everything for the cause which is so dear to you." The strong voice said: "Yes, but if you put off going now you will have to return the money to your aunt, and when you are ready to go you may not have the money to go with." The little voice said: "Stella, can you not give up the pleasure of a wedding tour for the sake of helping others out of bondage into freedom, thus making their lives happierand brighter?" The powerful voice said: "It is only idle curiosity on the part of the people wanting to see you. Do not be influenced by them; just think how it will help you in your future labors to have visited the Oriental countries and sat at the feet of those great Spiritual luminaries of India. If you go now, you have got the money and you have got Penloe, who is the most interesting traveling companion you could have. He knows many languages and can master the Japanese and Chinese in a month or two. If you don't go now, but postpone it till you think you can go, then perhaps Penloe might be dead and how could you enjoy traveling without him?" That suggestion touched Stella very deeply. After awhile the little voice said: "Stella, dear, have the people of Japan, of China, of Persia, or of India sent an invitation to come and speak to them? Are the great Sannyasins and Yogis looking forward to receiving a visit from you? If the people of the Orient had given you a special call, it would be right for you to go now. They have not called you at all; but the people of California have. They want you to follow up the grand noble work you so heroically commenced, a work so dear to you that you were willing to make every sacrifice in order to be true to yourself and thus free others from bondage. Go into the silence, Stella, ask the Blessed Spirit for light and knowledge and he will show you which path to choose."
And that is just what Stella did. When she came out of the silence her face was radiant and her mind settled and clear.
When Penloe entered the room Stella spoke in a serious tone and said: "I have half a mind to be just a wee bit put out with you, because you have acted so indifferently in regard to our wedding tour. Why, it does not seem to concern you whether we go or stay here." With a half twinkle in her eye she said: "I must say, you don't act like most men would who had just married a young lady with ten thousand dollars to spend on a wedding tour."
Penloe said: "I will answer you, Stella, dear, as if you spoke in earnest."
Stella said: "That is just what I want you to do, Penloe."
He said: "Stella, why should I care whether I am here or going on a wedding tour through the Orient with you? All I have to do is to realize and manifest the Divine. Stella, I have learned this one lesson,that I am not in it, for it is He that is doing it all. It was He that placed me in certain environments in India for my spiritual unfoldment. It was He that brought me to Orangeville. It was He that caused you and me to come together as co-workers in a cause which is so dear to us. It was He that made us man and wife. It was He that caused you to pass through this struggle which you have just had with yourself and brought you out victorious. It was He that caused you just now to cut the last cord of attachment and made you free."
Penloe had been standing while he talked and just here Stella rose from her seat and, going up to him, put her arms round his neck and said: "Yes, dear, it is He, it is He. He hath done it all and He has given me you as my husband and spiritual teacher." She kissed him and said: "Bless you, dear."
Continuing, she said: "Do you know that the fight I have just had has been the most trying and severe I ever experienced?"
"Yes, dear," said Penloe, "I know all about it, and when a youth I thought I was free from all attachment, till I passed through the most trying experience in my life, which showed me I was not free from all desire and attachment. In coming out of that struggle I cut the last cord which bound me to the external, and since then I have been free, and illumination followed, and that is why I have received light, and knew before I rose the next morning after our wedding we would not go now on a wedding tour, but would speak all through the State of California. I knew what a struggle you were going to have, and I knew it was necessary in order that you might be free from all attachment, for the love of traveling through the Orient owned you just a little, and now that you have become truly free illumination will be yours." He ceased speaking and kissed her.
Stella said: "I must take care and let nothing own me, for I see that as soon as I allow myself to be owned I become its slave, and you know, dear, that freedom from everything is my goal."
Penloe and Stella entered the dining-room just as Mrs. Herne had seated Barker and Brookes at the table. As Stella took her seat the two young men thought they had never seen her face so beautiful, with its sweet smile and calm expression. Her vivacity brought out the wit and humor of the two guests, who were always considered good company at any one's table. Penloe said little, because he saw how the two young men were enjoying Stella's bright conversation. After dinner the company adjourned to the parlor.
Stella seated herself between her two friends, and looking at Barker she said: "I must tell you and Stanley that we have given up going on our wedding tour through the Oriental countries. We both feel we are wanted here and we will stay where our work calls us."
Barker replied saying: "Your decision is grand and we will feel much encouraged in having you with us."
Stella said: "We will spend a week with aunt before starting out to speak. During our stay in Roseland we will see much of each other and have opportunities for perfecting our plans."
Two days later Penloe and Stella became the guests of Mrs. Marston, arriving at that lady's house about four in the afternoon, which was an hour before Stella's aunt dined. Mrs. Marston was delighted to receive her niece and her husband, for she was at her best when she had company. After dinner, as it was a little chilly, a fire was lit in the open grate and the three sat round to enjoy a social time.
Mrs. Marston said: "Stella, I suppose you and Penloe have all your plans made for your wedding tour."
Stella said: "Well, Aunt, we had made many plans and I had built several castles which I expected to occupy during our journey, but we received a visit from Herbert and Stanley while wewere at Charles' and Clara's and they brought with them a number of letters containing invitations for us to speak on the 'California Idea,' as it is now called, and we think it best to give up our wedding tour and do what we can to help forward the California movement; and, Aunt, the money which you so very kindly gave me to use for a wedding tour, I feel I ought to return to you, as we are not going; and so here is a check for the full amount of your gift made payable to your order."
Mrs. Marston received the check from Stella and said: "I had hoped you would have gone on your tour."
And added in a laughing tone: "You two are the strangest persons I have ever met. The idea of giving up ten thousand dollars and losing the opportunity of seeing the most interesting countries in the world, for the sake of talking to persons who are curious to see how you both look because they have read about you in the papers."
"I appreciate your gift just the same, Aunt, as if we had used the money," said Stella.
Mrs. Marston said: "Of course, I want you both to do whatever you think best." As they continued their conversation the door-bell rang and four of Stella's friends called to see her. They were Dr. Lacey's two daughters and two young gentlemen. They spent the evening in games and music, and when they left it was late. Mrs. Marston, Penloe and Stella sat in front of the fire a few minutes before retiring, and just before Stella rose from her seat to wish her aunt good-night, Mrs. Marston said: "Stella, dear, I thought I would have a little fun with you so I accepted the check, but I had no intention of taking the money back. No, dear, I want you to keep it and use it as you think best"; and taking the check off the mantel with a laugh she threw it into the fire.
Stella rose from her seat to wish her aunt good-night, and thanked her again for her handsome gift.
Mrs. Marston's guests spent a very pleasant time in Roseland.As they were very popular, they received many invitations to dinner. They saw Barker and Brookes every day and had chats about the C.M. After several consultations in regard to making arrangements for the work, they at last reached the conclusion that it would be best for Penloe and Stella to go to Southern California and commence their labors there. At Penloe's request the two young men agreed to accompany them, as Penloe said there was a kind of work to be done that they were adapted for and their services would be really needed. And as Charles and Clara Herne wished to be actively engaged in the C.M., it was decided to transfer the head office from Roseland to Orangeville, where the Hernes would see to the sending out of literature and do all the correspondence, and so that would relieve Barker and Brookes, and they could travel with Penloe and Stella, and Mr. Herne could do their work and see to his ranch. Barker said: "Brookes and I will pay all our own expenses connected with the work," and Penloe said: "For the present we will do likewise, as we do not wish to accept money from any one for our services; for by so doing our influence will be much greater."
Brookes said: "Why, Penloe, the people who have invited you and Stella to speak have expressed a wish to pay all expenses and remunerate you both for your services as well. When I think how hard you worked to get what few dollars you may have saved from your earnings, I hardly think you are called upon to use your hard earnings when there are so many more financially able to pay your expenses."
"I thank you, Stanley," said Penloe, "for your interest in my financial welfare, but I see you are under the same impression that many others are, in thinking that I worked out for the money there was in it. If it had been money I wanted, I could have accepted a very fine offer from a university to fill the Chair of Oriental Languages; but instead of being Professor of Sanskrit and drawing a fine salary, I took the position as dishwasher in a restaurant in San Francisco for awhile. Then I worked withpick and shovel on the Pacific Coast Road. Next I worked on the streets in the City of Chicago. I returned to Orangeville and took a position as cowboy on a great cattle ranch near Orangeville. Then I worked out as a ranch hand. I did all this hard, disagreeable work for my spiritual unfoldment. I did it to bring myself in touch with the hard lot of the masses. I did it also to show that if a man is upright in his purpose he can live the Divine life anywhere. Again, I did it that I might minister to the needs and necessities of that class of men who see and hear so little in their lives to touch their Divine nature. That was excellent for me; it helped to broaden and fit me for other work."
Brookes said: "It must have been exceedingly disagreeable to a man of your tastes, culture and refinement, to perform such hard muscular work in such rough surroundings, among coarse animal men."
Penloe said: "It would have been all that you have just expressed had it not been for the fact that neither my work, my rough, tough companions, nor my disagreeable environments were my world. No, they were not my world. I built a wall around me and allowed none of these things to enter my inner thought. My life was one of bliss, for I was all the time drinking deep at the fountain of Divine love, and by His help I trained and disciplined myself so that I saw Him in my hard manual toil. I saw Him in all my uninviting environments, and, above all, I saw Him in my animal companions."
Barker and Brookes saw such a glow of spiritual fire in Penloe's face as he finished his last remark as they had never seen there before. They realized they were in the presence of a divine man, and their natures had been touched by his discourse.
After a pause Penloe said: "My father left me property which brings me an income sufficient to make me independent of receiving financial support from those we intend to address."
After further talk in regard to perfecting arrangements, it was decided that Barker and Brookes should go to Los Angelesand arrange for Penloe and Stella to speak on Thursday evening of the following week. The committee of arrangements in Los Angeles saw the need of securing the largest hall in the city, for the city dailies had taken up the matter of their coming and dwelt upon it, so that interest in the subject combined with curiosity to see and hear two such remarkable personages caused the committee to do their best to provide accommodations for the large crowd they expected. Before the time for opening the meeting every seat in the large hall had been taken and standing room was all that was left, and that even was taken by the time the meeting was opened.
The Mayor of Los Angeles opened the meeting in the following language:
"It gives me great pleasure this evening to see before me this large and intelligent audience. I am proud to think that this audience before me to-night has demonstrated the wisdom and good sense of the leaders of the C.I. in selecting this city, above all others in this State, to open the campaign for the C.M. In order that you may feel better acquainted with the persons who will address you to-night, I will let you into a little secret which came to me in a very indirect way. It seems that the gentleman and lady who are on the platform were about to start on their wedding tour through the Oriental countries, and they had received the gift of a handsome sum of money to defray their traveling expenses; but when Los Angeles and other places sent pressing invitations to them to speak they gave up their wedding tour and returned the money to the giver in order that they might be able to accept the call which you and other cities have given them. I must say, in justice to the giver, it was subsequently returned. They are here at their own expense, they receive no remuneration whatever. I tell you this so you may appreciate their nobility and fidelity of character, their honesty of purpose in so grand a cause. Ladies and gentlemen, I nowhave the honor of introducing to you Penloe and Stella, the leaders of the C.I., who will address you this evening."
When Penloe and Stella came forward the whole audience rose and saluted them.
In regard to the meeting, we will quote a few extracts from one of the Los Angeles dailies: "However various the views on the C.I. the audience may have which heard Penloe and Stella last night, there can be but one thought in regard to the speakers themselves, and that is they are the two most remarkable and distinguished personalities that ever appeared before a Los Angeles audience. As speakers, they are brilliant, logical and impressive, and soon inspire you with their sincerity of purpose and with confidence in themselves. It seems thereis tacked on to the C.I. 'Woman's Suffrage', for it is claimed that a woman is still in bondage till she stands equal before the law, and has all the rights and privileges that a man has.
"Penloe's remarks were addressed more particularly to men, looking at the C.I. from the standpoint of a man, while Stella presented the woman's view.
"Penloe put these questions to the men of the audience: 'Is there a man here to-night who does not think that the average woman is as intelligent as the average man? Is there a man here to-night who does not think that woman has a divine nature the same as man? I would like to see the man rise in this audience who thinks he has a divine nature, but does not wish another being who has a divine nature to enjoy the same privileges as he himself enjoys?'... Stella portrayed in a telling manner the sufferings and misery which have been woman's lot through being in bondage to her material form.... We here give a few notes from Stella's address:
"A woman who is in bondage to her material form can never rise above the idea that she is just a woman and nothing more."
"A woman to be free must have a higher idea of herself than that she is only a woman."
"A woman can only advance as her thought concerning herself advances."
"When woman looks upon herself as an intellectual and spiritual being, and not as just being a woman only, and her whole thought is to adorn her mind and manifest the qualities of her soul, then will man look upon her with the same eyes as she looks upon herself."
"It is not man that keeps woman in bondage, but woman keeps herself in bondage through the thought she has concerning herself."... "Stella said we are not here on a flying visit, we have decided to remain in Southern California till two-thirds of its inhabitants are not only talking ofbut livingthe C.I., and we will stay here till we get a vote of two-thirds from all males over twenty-one, and all women over eighteen, in favor of woman's suffrage. It does not matter how pressing the calls to speak elsewhere may be, we shall not accept them till the work is completely done in Southern California."
The next day after the meeting Barker and Brookes were busy with the C.I. Committee of Los Angeles in dividing the work up and organizing, so that each ward of the city had its committee, whose business it was to do all it could in enlightening the people of the ward in which the committee lived.
Penloe and Stella devoted one afternoon and evening to informal talks in each ward in the city, those present having the privilege of asking questions. After Penloe and Stella had worked in every ward, they went with Barker and Brookes to San Diego and spent a week there; then they worked all the other towns in Southern California, and then returned to Los Angeles. On their return they were more than satisfied with the progress of the C.M. What helped the movement very much was the character which Penloe and Stella gave it. When some of the more conservative element suggested the impropriety or immodesty of the C.I., they were met with the answer: "Look at Penloe and Stella, who live the idea every day of their lives. Are there any purer-minded persons than they are? Do not the best people of the city open their houses to welcome them? Did they not tell how living the life helped them intellectually and spiritually?" Those replies quieted all opposition and gave courage to those who were a little timid and fearful, also to those in doubt whether it was right or not. As the movement was gaining ground rapidly, persons began to think how very foolish it was to entertain such thoughts as they had been accustomed to concerning the sexes. The movement in Southern California showed how the movement would work elsewhere in this way. It wasone of those movements that needed a few intelligent, courageous spirits in a locality to start it, and when once it got a going, most of the other members of the community fell in line, and when it was about universally adopted in one locality, the people living in the next county soon joined the movement. After three months' labor in Los Angeles a vote was taken. For Woman's Suffrage, eighty-five per cent. voted "Yes," and by a very careful estimate seventy-five per cent. had put in practice in one form or another the C.I. Soon San Diego followed Los Angeles, then Pasadena and Riverside, and soon after all the other towns in Southern California fell in line. The result was wired all over the State and nation.
During the progress of the movement in Southern California, Mr. and Mrs. Herne were not idle. They put their hands in their pockets freely, and paid for much of the printed matter they circulated.
Now that Southern California had gone overwhelmingly for the C.I. Penloe and Stella, Barker and Brookes, felt at liberty to accept some of the many urgent calls from other parts of the State. They were continually receiving calls from other States, but would accept none till the same condition prevailed throughout the whole State as now existed in Southern California and the State Legislature had granted to woman the same legal standing in the eyes of the law that man had.
The next places visited by the workers were Bakersfield, Hanford, Tulare, Visalia, Fresno, Oakland, and San Francisco. In all these places they found the work in a more or less advanced state. The fact that Southern California had gone for the C.I. was a great help in forwarding the movement in other places, so that after about eight months' work in these cities just named, and some other places, it was found that the entire State had been carried for the C.M. and Woman's Suffrage, except one county. The Legislature was about to meet in a month'stime, and would give to woman the suffrage, and place her, in other respects, on an equality with man in the eyes of the law.
Great work was being done in the last county, so that it joined the rest of California for progressive thought, and the whole State was carried for the C.I. just as the Legislature passed the necessary acts for woman's legal freedom. The news was wired to every State in the Union, and California was one scene of rejoicing throughout the entire State. It was a great day for California when her men and women threw off the yoke of superstition and ignorance and thus cut some of the bonds which had held them in ignorance. They had taken one great stride toward the goal of freedom. California now took her true place among the States in the Union, for she led the way toward freedom in its highest sense.
The leaders of advanced thought in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho were very active in working for the C.I. All these States having granted woman the suffrage before the C.M. was started, the workers found it easy to get them to follow California in the grand procession for freedom.
Wyoming, which was the first to grant the suffrage to woman, was the next to join California; then came Colorado, then Utah, and then Idaho wheeled into line.
Penloe and Stella were receiving calls to labor from other States, and finally decided to go to Illinois. Kansas wired the following message to the Central Committee of California: "Kansas is all ablaze with the C.M. from its center to its circumference, and its fires have leaped the borders into Nebraska, Iowa, and reached Minnesota."
After the C.I. had been practised in Southern California a few months, if a young gentleman had just returned to the East from Los Angeles, his friends wanted to know immediately how the C.I. worked.
Mr. Franklin Hart, of New York, a young gentleman who had just returned from Los Angeles, was sitting in a parlor withsome young friends, and they all wanted him to relate his impressions of the C.I. in Los Angeles. When he was describing its workings, two or three young ladies put their hands to their faces and laughed, one saying, "How strange and funny it must have seemed." Another young lady remarked, "There has been too much foolishness about such things." Mr. Franklin Hart said: "After you have been there about a week the old idea seems stranger than the new. You wonder to yourself however such thoughts could have fastened themselves on us for generations and generations."
Prof. Dawson, of Boston, visited Los Angeles two years after the C.I. had been in operation, and wrote a letter to the leading Boston daily, as follows: