When she spoke, her greatest charm was made known. Her voice was excellent, it had that kind of purring intonation which reminded some of the older people of the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt; her friends said that it was partly because of the "purr" that she had acquired the popular nickname of "Lady Cat." There were no formal preliminaries. Raising her hand for silence, she began to speak, and her first sentence was well chosen and arresting: "The Amazon is the greatest river in the world!" Puzzled glances were exchanged, and here and there was heard a wondering titter. Were they in for a lecture on geography? The speaker went on without a pause, and swiftly undeceived them: "The Amazon flows from the Andes with such stupendous force, in such enormous volume, that its waters are carried unmixed into the Atlantic Ocean." They now had a dim idea of what was coming, and the impression was speedily confirmed: "There are other mighty forces in the world besides that river, and I for one, speaking for the sex to which I belong, would glory in the name of Amazon. Call us Amazons, if you will. Let those laugh who win; women are winning all along the line!" Shrill applause went up from hundreds of women in the audience. The men, in a minority, were silent and uneasy. "The time has come for facing facts, for examining claims and titles. Man's title to be Lord of Creation is full of flaws, and we dispute it." Frantic cheers and handkerchief-waving came from the women; a few deep groans from the men. "It is no use trusting to recent history. The men by force and fraud got into possession of all the good things, all the power that life has to offer, and thousands of us have meekly acquiesced. If you are content to be regarded as the weaker vessel, if it satisfies you to be compared with men as water is compared with wine, or moonlight unto sunlight, be it so; we who are wiser must leave you to your fate. But some of us have already advanced a stage or two towards the position we claim rightfully as our own. Yet, you women of England, mark this, the stages already covered are nothing to what we can and will achieve." Excited applause for a few minutes prevented the speaker from proceeding. A fierce disturbance broke out at the back of the Hall, but was promptly quelled. "One thing all men and women here to-night must realise. There cannot be two Kings in Brentford, no, nor a King and Queen. Of the two sexes, one alone can reign. Which shall it be?" Shrill cries of "ours, ours!" broke from the speaker's supporters. "Yes," she cried triumphantly, "our turn has come at last; it _shall_ be ours, if women only stand to their guns. But there can be no halting half way. Forward or Retreat!" "Forward, Forward!" came from the now enthusiastic audience, with eager cheers and shouts, and again the cry went up: "Forward, one and all."