Page:The rising son, or, The antecedents and advancement of the colored race (IA risingsonthe00browrich).pdf/414

 stood Abby Kelly Foster, the Joan of Arc, of the anti-slavery movement. Born, we believe, in the Society of Friends, and retaining to a great extent the seriousness of early training, convinced of the heinousness of slavery, she threw comfort, ease, and everything aside, and gave herself, in the bloom of young womanhood, to the advocacy of the right of the negro to his freedom. We first met Mrs. Foster (then Miss Kelly), about thirty years ago, at Buffalo, in the State of New York, and for the first time listened to a lecture against the hated system from which we had so recently escaped.

Somewhat above the common height, slim, but well-proportioned, finely-developed forehead and a pleasing countenance, eyes bright, voice clear, gestures a little nervous, and dressed in a plain manner, Mrs. Foster's appearance on that occasion made a deep and lasting impression upon her audience. The life-like pictures which she drew of the helpless condition of her sisters in chains brought tears to many eyes, and when she demanded that those chains should be broken they responded with wild applause.

As a speaker, Mrs. Foster is logical, forcible; leaping from irony to grave argument. Her illustrations, anecdotes, and figures are always to the point. She is sharp and quick at repartee. In the earlier days of the movement, she was considered very able in discussion. At Buffalo, where we first heard her, she basted one of our ablest lawyers until he acknowledged the fact, amid loud applause. Mrs. Foster was at times harsh, but not harsher than truth. She is uncompromising, and always reliable in a public meeting where discussion on reformatory questions is under con