After the first wave of the novelty, the beauty, the grandeur and the thrilling depth of the truth had subsided only temporarily (to be superseded by a far more powerful wave of the same character), there came over Stella's mind during this lull, a strong feeling of attachment to some of the old ideas she had held. It was very easy for her to let some of her garments drop from her mental form, and be clothed with new ones, but there were some that seemed rather hard to loosen; and which were they? One was this: While it cannot be said that Stella was vain or self-conceited, there was that strong attachment to the personal I, which is generally seen in positive dominant characters in the Western world. And as a woman she had everything to make her feel proud of her form and beauty, with a graceful carriage, combined with a bright mind and noble purpose. She had realized her power over the opposite sex. Her dominant thought had been, that as a woman she was going to lead her sisters out of bondage; that because she was a woman she had a right to vote; because she was a woman she should not be in bondage to forms, ceremonies, and customs; because she was a woman she should not be a slave to sex superstition. But now all this had been swept away, and it was hard for her to let go all the grand thoughts she had entertained about woman as woman. But, blessed, noble, courageous girl, she said: "I will follow truth whithersoever it may lead," and she inscribed truth on her banner, saying, "That will I follow." So she let the last of her old garments drop from her, saying: "I will clothe myself with the garment of truth." The battle had now been fought and the victory won; and now a wave came sweeping over her mind, more powerful, with more beauty, with greater grandeur, penetrating far deeper, stirring the very depths of her nature, and she felt such freedom as she had never realized in her life before. With this rock, the corner-stone of truth, she commenced to lay a foundation which is eternal and immortal. CHAPTER XVII. PENLOE'S ORIGINAL ADDRESS.