last, complied. At the close of the lecture, Dr. Lewis called upon
all, who were willing to follow his mother's example, to rise, an
invitation to which about fifty ladies responded. Many gentlemen in
the audience promised to stand by them. A meeting was held the
following morning in the Presbyterian church, at which Mrs. Judge
Thomson was chosen leader. After much prayer and consultation, the
ladies started out in procession, seventy-five in number, and
proceeded, singing the familiar hymn, "Give to the winds thy fears,"
first to the drug stores, and then to the hotels and saloons, which
they fearlessly entered, asking permission to sing and pray. In
nearly every case, the permission was given during that first day,
and a few saloon-keepers yielded to the entreaties of these earnest
Christian women, and promised to give up selling liquor. As the days
went by, the thirteen drinking places of the town were reduced to
three, while in Washington Court House, Ohio, in one week, yielding
to the persistent appeals of the "praying women," all the drinking
places were closed, the three drug stores selling only on
prescription. Here, while the ladies went in bands from place to
place, meeting often with insult and abuse now that the saloon-keepers
had recovered from their first surprise, the gentlemen remained in the
church to pray. As the fresh toll of the bell announced that another
prayer had ascended to heaven in their behalf and for their success
and protection, these women were encouraged and became strong to do
all that they felt had been committed to them. After a time their
approach to a saloon or hotel was the signal for the doors to be
locked and entrance was denied them. Then, outside, on the public
pavement, in the snow of a bitterly cold December, they knelt and
prayed for the saloon-keeper and his family, that he might see his
error and be persuaded to do right, for those who were in the habit of
frequenting that saloon, and for the downfall of the liquor traffic.