CHAPTER VI.

HOW WOMEN MAY WORK.


Every human being has influence, and we may not know the effect of
our words or of our silence. The fact being generally known that one
is a member of the W.C.T.U. has sometimes a great influence. Recently
one of our temperance workers spent a few weeks at the sea-side. She
had no occasion to speak of her temperance principles, but as the
little white envelopes marked W.C.T.U. went out from the office of
the hotel from time to time, it soon became known that she was a
temperance woman. Mrs. ---- one morning was very much interested to
hear as she passed a bathing house near her own, "Here, take some
brandy before Mrs. ---- comes down," and the reply, "Mamma, she don't
take any, and the bathing don't make her sick." It was thought a
necessary preventive in this case, but there was a silent influence
that conveyed its disapproval. Yet there are many ways in which women
may exert more than a silent influence in this work.

1. _In the Home._--The time has gone by, when it was thought
absolutely necessary to have the brandy bottle on the sideboard and
in the kitchen, and when it was thought to be flying in the face of
Providence if one made a voyage or took a journey without this
companion. Years ago even temperance people dare not exercise quite
enough faith and common sense to enable them to put this thing quite
out of their homes, so for every ailment, for spleen and spasms, for
tooth ache and toe ache, for head ache and heart ache, this wonderful
remedy was used. This greater than all quack medicines, for
_some_ of these do stop at _some_ point in their healing power,