“During our stay in St. Louis Mrs. Gage and I together held a woman’s-suffrage meeting in the library hall of that city, which was largely attended and well received by press and people. At the end of a week as there was yet no prospect of a rise in the river we took a packet and came on to St. Joseph. Here we had to wait two days for the stage, which only made tri-weekly trips to Council Bluffs and had left the very morning of our coming to the Missouri town, some hours before we arrived. The hotel at which we were obliged to stop was a very ordinary affair, as was common to western towns at that early day. The waiting was long and tedious. We could not even walk about and view the city because of a high wind that prevailed and sent the dust in clouds into our faces. “THE MISSOURI RIVER’S RAVAGES. “Here we first saw the devastations the Missouri River was making in eating its way up into the city and undermining great brick buildings and swallowing them up in its waters. The second day of our arrival it got out that we were at the hotel, and all unknown to us some progressive or curious ones went about and obtained numerous signatures to a paper requesting me to give them a lecture. The first intimation I had of this was after supper, when I was summoned to the parlor to meet two gentlemen who, after introducing themselves, made known the object of their call and presented me with the paper largely signed by the citizens begging me to give them a woman’s-rights lecture before leaving the place. Thanking the gentlemen for their kindness, I informed them of my intended departure in a few hours and that it would be impossible to comply with the request. They replied they were aware of my going and for that reason they wanted the lecture that very evening. There would be time before the stage left at ten o’clock in the evening. ‘This evening, gentlemen!’ said I; ‘how can that be when there has been no notice given?’ One of them looked at his watch and said: ‘It is a little after seven o’clock. We will give you a good house in an hour if you will consent to speak, the lecture to commence at eight o’clock.’ “CONSENTS TO DELIVER A LECTURE. “Being so urged I reluctantly consented, though with many misgivings, for I could not understand how an audience could be collected in an hour. I had never yet refused to proclaim the new doctrine of woman’s rights when I found people anxious to hear and opportunity offered and I could not go back upon it now.