CHAPTER III


It is all very well to say that there have been movements towards
the enfranchisement of women since before the Roman era; it is all
very well to point out that these movements are periodical, almost
as inevitable as the volcanic eruptions that belch out their volumes
of running fire and die down again into peaceful submission: but when
the whole vital cause is altered, when the intrinsic motive in the
entrails of that vast crater is changed, it is no wise policy to say,
"It will pass over--another two or three years and women will find,
as they have always found before, that it is better to sit still and
let others do the work."

It is the problem of population that is being worked out now, not
the mere spontaneous and ephemeral struggle of a few dominating
personalities.

It is well-nigh ludicrous to think that Sally Bishop--quiet,
virtuous, chaste Sally Bishop, the very opposite of a revolutionary--is
one in the ranks of a great army who are marching, they scarcely know
whither, to a command they have scarcely heard, strained to a mighty
endurance in a cause they scarcely understand. She seems too young to
be of service, too frail to bear the hardships of the way. How can she
stand out against the forced marches, the weary, sleepless camping at
night?