Page:Women's War with Whisky.djvu/11

Rh Coast population, the saloon-keepers, generally, being unknown to the women, either by sight or name; the great number of reckless men known to frequent such places; as well as to the reluctance of ladies in general toward intrusion into places which men have set apart for their vices. It is well known to women that men protect themselves from intrusion by holding out the fear of insult, and seek to cover with shame the woman who shall dare to thrust herself into their company in certain places set apart by themselves for questionable practices. Just as if a man could have two characters, and be a fit associate in one place and not in another! Notwithstanding the inconsistency of this tabooing of the place and not of the men, women shrink from the mere mention of the one, while they receive the other to their homes, and too often to their hearts. Such is the influence of custom.

To resist this force of custom, and dare to invade the hiding-place of vice, requires the most entire consecration—a preparation by prayer, and absorption of the soul in the work of doing good, without regard to popular estimation, such as the few only ever attain. Hence it was that only fourteen arose upon the second call for volunteers to visit the saloons The hearts of many other ladies were with these elected Crusaders, and many shed tears because they could not decide to go. These remained to pray for their heroic sisters.

The first day's work at the saloons was performed by ladies going and two simply to leave the "dealers pledge;" and in most places they were politely treated, as before remarked: but at the famous "Web-Foot" the proprietor begun as he has since, consistently, at least, held out.

Were it not that there is too much serious earnest in this work, and too much of serious import involved in it; if it were not that there still lingers in the mind of a great many people some slight respect for sacred things, for old age, and for the womanly character—some of its incidents must provoke a smile at the simple and devout character of some of the leaders in it, so in contrast with the pagan recklessness of these they hoped to save The reception, for instance, which Mr. Moffett gave the two elderly ladies who called to leave the dealer's pledge with him on that opening day of the Crusade, while it plainly reveals in its true light the brutalizing influence of the business of liquor-selling, sets in such strong contrast the earnest and guileless natures of those Christian women as to cause a sense of mirthfulness to arise in the midst of our indignation.

As is well known, Mr. Moffett's place is upon a corner, with a door upon each side, so that one can pass into one on Morrison street and out at the other on First street, almost at a stride. The two ladies, trembling, but full of holy zeal, paused at the entrance on Morrison street, and stepped into the saloon whose proprietor was as unknown to them as the proprietors of other saloons. As they entered, Mr. Moffet, on the alert, (for the saloon-keepers on this Coast had not been reading the news from the East without preparing for a contest,) entered by the First street door, which brought him face to face with his visitors. Without giving them time to announce their errand, he seized them each rudely by an arm, and thrust them into the street, exclaiming. "Get out of this! I keep a respectable house and don't want any d——d wh——s here."