章节正文
made pledges in proportion.
In 1906 full suffrage prevailed in four states;
we now have it in twelve. Our movement has
advanced from its academic stage until it has
become a vital political factor; no reform in the
country is more heralded by the press or receives
more attention from the public. It has become
an issue which engages the attention of the entire
nation--and toward this result every woman work-
ing for the Cause has contributed to an inspiring
degree. Splendid team-work, and that alone, has
made our present success possible and our eventual
triumph in every state inevitable. Every officer
in our organization, every leader in our campaigns,
every speaker, every worker in the ranks, however
humble, has done her share.
I do not claim anything so fantastic and Utopian
as universalharmony among us. We have had our
troubles and our differences. I have had mine.
At every annual convention since the one at Wash-
ington in 1910 there has been an effort to depose
me from the presidency. There have been some
splendid fighters among my opponents--fine and
high-minded women who sincerely believe that at
sixty-eight I am getting too old for my big job.
Possibly I am. Certainly I shall resign it with
alacrity when the majority of women in the organiza-
tion wish me to do so. At present a large majority
proves annually that it still has faith in my leader-
ship, and with this assurance I am content to
work on.
Looking back over the period covered by these
reminiscences, I realize that there is truth in the
grave charge that I am no longer young; and this
truth was once voiced by one of my little nieces in
a way that brought it strongly home to me. She
and her small sister of six had declared themselves
suffragettes, and as the first result of their conver-
sion to the Cause both had been laughed at by their
schoolmates. The younger child came home after
this tragic experience, weepingbitterly and declar-
ing that she did not wish to be a suffragette any
more--an exhibition of apostasy for which her wise
sister of eight took her roundly to task.
``Aren't you ashamed of yourself,'' she demanded,
``to stop just because you have been laughed at
once? Look at Aunt Anna! SHE has been laughed
at for hundreds of years!''
I sometimes feel that it has indeed been hundreds
of years since my work began; and then again it
seems so brief a time that, by listening for a
moment, I fancy I can hear the echo of my child-
ish-voice preaching to the trees in the Michigan
woods.
But long or short, the one sure thing is that, taking
it all in all, the struggles, the discouragements, the
failures, and the little victories, the fight has been,
as Susan B. Anthony said in her last hours, ``worth
while.'' Nothing bigger can come to a human being
than to love a great Cause more than life itself, and
to have the privilege throughout life of working for
that Cause.
As for life's other gifts, I have had some of them,
too. I have made many friendships; I have looked
upon the beauty of many lands; I have the assur-
ance of the respect and affection of thousands of
men and women I have never even met. Though I
have given all I had, I have received a thousand
times more than I have given. Neither the world
nor my Cause is indebted to me but from the depths
of a full and very grateful heart I acknowledge my
lasting indebtedness to them both.
THE END
In 1906 full suffrage prevailed in four states;
we now have it in twelve. Our movement has
advanced from its academic stage until it has
become a vital political factor; no reform in the
country is more heralded by the press or receives
more attention from the public. It has become
an issue which engages the attention of the entire
nation--and toward this result every woman work-
ing for the Cause has contributed to an inspiring
degree. Splendid team-work, and that alone, has
made our present success possible and our eventual
triumph in every state inevitable. Every officer
in our organization, every leader in our campaigns,
every speaker, every worker in the ranks, however
humble, has done her share.
I do not claim anything so fantastic and Utopian
as universalharmony among us. We have had our
troubles and our differences. I have had mine.
At every annual convention since the one at Wash-
ington in 1910 there has been an effort to depose
me from the presidency. There have been some
splendid fighters among my opponents--fine and
high-minded women who sincerely believe that at
sixty-eight I am getting too old for my big job.
Possibly I am. Certainly I shall resign it with
alacrity when the majority of women in the organiza-
tion wish me to do so. At present a large majority
proves annually that it still has faith in my leader-
ship, and with this assurance I am content to
work on.
Looking back over the period covered by these
reminiscences, I realize that there is truth in the
grave charge that I am no longer young; and this
truth was once voiced by one of my little nieces in
a way that brought it strongly home to me. She
and her small sister of six had declared themselves
suffragettes, and as the first result of their conver-
sion to the Cause both had been laughed at by their
schoolmates. The younger child came home after
this tragic experience, weepingbitterly and declar-
ing that she did not wish to be a suffragette any
more--an exhibition of apostasy for which her wise
sister of eight took her roundly to task.
``Aren't you ashamed of yourself,'' she demanded,
``to stop just because you have been laughed at
once? Look at Aunt Anna! SHE has been laughed
at for hundreds of years!''
I sometimes feel that it has indeed been hundreds
of years since my work began; and then again it
seems so brief a time that, by listening for a
moment, I fancy I can hear the echo of my child-
ish-voice preaching to the trees in the Michigan
woods.
But long or short, the one sure thing is that, taking
it all in all, the struggles, the discouragements, the
failures, and the little victories, the fight has been,
as Susan B. Anthony said in her last hours, ``worth
while.'' Nothing bigger can come to a human being
than to love a great Cause more than life itself, and
to have the privilege throughout life of working for
that Cause.
As for life's other gifts, I have had some of them,
too. I have made many friendships; I have looked
upon the beauty of many lands; I have the assur-
ance of the respect and affection of thousands of
men and women I have never even met. Though I
have given all I had, I have received a thousand
times more than I have given. Neither the world
nor my Cause is indebted to me but from the depths
of a full and very grateful heart I acknowledge my
lasting indebtedness to them both.
THE END
- movement [´mu:vmənt]
n.活动；运动；动作 (初中英语单词) - factor [´fæktə] n.因素；原动力；要素 (初中英语单词)
- reform [ri´fɔ:m] v.&n.改革；改良；革除 (初中英语单词)
- speaker [´spi:kə] n.演讲人；代言人 (初中英语单词)
- worker [´wə:kə] n.工人；劳动者；工作者 (初中英语单词)
- universal [,ju:ni´və:səl] a.宇宙的；普遍的 (初中英语单词)
- harmony [´hɑ:məni] n.调合，协调，和谐 (初中英语单词)
- annual [´ænjuəl] a.每年的 n.年刊 (初中英语单词)
- resign [ri´zain] v.辞职；放弃；委托 (初中英语单词)
- charge [tʃɑ:dʒ] v.收费；冲锋 n.费用 (初中英语单词)
- strongly [´strɔŋli] ad.强烈地；强有力地 (初中英语单词)
- bitterly [´bitəli] ad.悲痛地；憎恨地 (初中英语单词)
- ashamed [ə´ʃeimd] a.惭愧；不好意思 (初中英语单词)
- privilege [´privilidʒ] n.特权 vt.给....特权 (初中英语单词)
- working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
- affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)
- grateful [´greitful] a.感谢的；令人愉快的 (初中英语单词)
- acknowledge [ək´nɔlidʒ] vt.(公开)承认；感谢 (初中英语单词)
- suffrage [´sʌfridʒ] n.投票(权)，选举权 (高中英语单词)
- inevitable [i´nevitəbəl] a.不可避免的 (高中英语单词)
- fantastic [fæn´tæstik] a.奇异的；荒谬的 (高中英语单词)
- presidency [´prezidənsi] n.总统的职位(任期) (高中英语单词)
- sincerely [sin´siəli] ad.真诚地；诚恳地 (高中英语单词)
- annually [´ænjuəli] ad.每年；按年计算 (高中英语单词)
- assurance [ə´ʃuərəns] n.保证；自信；信任 (高中英语单词)
- tragic [´trædʒik] a.悲剧的；悲惨的 (高中英语单词)
- exhibition [eksi´biʃ(ə)n] n.展览；显示；表演 (高中英语单词)
- academic [,ækə´demik] a.学术的 n.大学学生 (英语四级单词)
- weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)
- preaching [´pri:tʃiŋ] n.说教 a.说教的 (英语六级单词)
- indebted [in´detid] a.负债的；感恩的 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
京公网安备 11011202003401号
