by Jim Wetton
William
Lizzy turned her head and looked at the empty snifter with a frown. She tried hard but couldn’t remember when she’d gulped the last of the brandy. She stared blindly at the glass for a few minutes and then turned her head back up towards the portrait of Jacob with disbelief.
She slowly and methodically folded the letter. Once it was neatly into its original tight square, she leaned forward and nudged herself out of her chair. She walked carefully—and by now, a bit tipsily—towards the kitchen. She placed the snifter into the sink next to an old tea cup and saucer. She looked out the kitchen window and imagined seeing her morning feathered friend looking back at her. The thought brought a tired smile to her face. She dimmed the kitchen lamp and went back into the living room. She stopped at the mantel and lightly touched Jacob’s portrait. She gave him a tired smile too before retreating to her bedroom for the night.
At the end of the hall, she raised her hand and placed it on Mary Elizabeth’s door and smiled. “Good night, my sweet, sweet child. Maybe you can send some common sense to your big brother tonight; I’m sure not in the mood.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Time to Speak
1898
From The Washington Post’s front page:
Teddy’s Rough Riders Storm the Hill
Colonel Theodore Roosevelt led a regiment of unfit rascals called Rough Riders up San Juan Hill on the island of Cuba July 1-2, 1898. Though sustaining heavy casualties, Roosevelt and his men were able to capture that hill and secure it. Photo shots of the regiment show in detail how the men looked: slouched hats, blue flannel shirts, brown trousers, leggings and boots. Private Saunders told this reporter, “We like to think of ourselves as rogue cowboys but put us up against any other Marine and they’ll all know who outdoes who, mark my word, mister.”
Sergeant Lunkenwitz was asked if he felt prepared and trained to accomplish such a rigorous challenge. “The boys and I’ve been working real hard. We’ve filled our bellies before we left and hey, here we are, ya know.”
Private Meadows was asked about his equipment. “Had the best, yes sir, the best. We had our carbines, cartridges and best of all our trusty Colt revolver. Yes sir, we had the best.”
Some of the men, now relaxing under the sun, were refueling their own bodies with food and water, but most were taking care of their horses.
This reporter approached a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He was at the far end of a row of tethered horses and seemed to be softly brushing the mane of his horse. When I approached the soldier, he turned his head towards me and if I wasn’t mistaken, was crying.
I offered the young man a drink and he just shook his head. As I turned around to leave him, he spoke to me. “We lost so many, mister! So many.”
I didn’t respond. What could I say to that?
Henry dropped the paper into his lap and leaned back. A gust of wind tried to lift it in the air but not before he was able to grab it and place it under his thigh. He looked through the window and over to the top of his roll-top desk against the wall. He stared with saddened eyes at the numerous copies of old newspapers stacked on the top of the desk. Ever since the sinking of the USS Maine, Henry had been following the news and praying that it wouldn’t come to this. He stood up and walked inside and over to his desk. He shuffled through the various editions and found the one he was looking for:
DECLARATION OF WAR
Congress accepts the request from President McKinley to declare war on the nation of Spain. Although the president had been struggling against a declaration ever since the sinking of the USS Maine, he couldn’t have made any other decision. After two long and stressful months, he has decided to move forward against the tyrannical and oppressive state in which the Spanish Regime have placed themselves. In his recommendation was also the request to make Guam, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Cuba annexed land under the protection of the United States. The president has asked for a call up of volunteers to help the country come out victorious. The total needed is estimated to be around 175,000 troops.
Henry thought of that lone soldier, alone brushing his horse’s mane. How sad. Then again, one of those could have been me. If I could only wish.
When the news of the war made the headlines, Henry was one of the first to go downtown and enlist. He failed to tell anyone of his decision; he just went. The tests were fine, his physical was fine, but when he came across the eye exam, he failed. He had the option of enlisting for a desk job in the Office of the Army or decline with what they told him would be classified as a 4F.
As the newspapers continued to write, Henry continued to read and the more he did, the more guilt he felt. I should’ve been there. 4F, that means unfit. I am unfit to be there.
His spirits continued to fall. He had been having a hard time finding work; the whole country was revolving around the war effort. Nellie was seven months pregnant with their third child and between her need to lie down and him taking care of little Hannah and Bonnie Louise, their household seemed mighty dim at the moment.
Henry was shaken from his depths of despair by the sound of keys dropping outside the front door. He walked across his living room and into the foyer and just as he reached for the handle, the door barged open. Nellie’s face could barely be seen behind a plethora of packages, bags and ribbon-wrapped boxes.
“And this is only her first trip in, Henry!”
Lizzy’s voice could be heard from behind Nellie, but she was still far out of sight. She too had her arms filled with various bags bursting with the purchases of the day. With Nellie swiftly passing Henry, Lizzy approached the door and then handed over her lot to Henry, who grimaced sarcastically.
After Nellie and Lizzy’s third trip to the carriage, she finally closed the door and turned the lock with a loud click.
“Girls still sleeping?” Nellie asked as she tried to catch her breath.
“Yes, and I’m still doing nothing,” Henry moaned.
“Oh now, are we in one of those, pouty ‘poor me’ moods again?” Nellie asked as she poked him affectionately in the ribs. Lizzy noticed that Nellie’s teasing wasn’t well received by Henry and stepped to the side.
“Knock it off, Nellie; you know it hasn’t been easy. Give me a little. . . .”
“No, I won’t give you a little,” Nellie shot back. “I know how disappointed you were about your enlistment. If you ask me, I’m tickled pink; but yes, I understand. And hey, jobs are hard right now, but you’re here, with me, with us. Alive! OK?”
Lizzy could see Henry simmering down, though she too felt for the man. She looked over at his desk and frowned sadly. He’s living it through the news. The more Lizzy thought, the more she was convinced.
“Henry, can we talk?”
Henry looked at Nellie, who was busy unpacking her packages. Lizzy nodded her head towards the living room with eyebrows raised. Henry got the hint from her and walked over to his chair in the next room. Lizzy sat across from him on the couch.
Nellie and Henry’s home was farther to the east from where Lizzy lived. They were able to purchase the home from the funds left by Henry’s great-great-grandfather, Walter Monroe. Walter was the illegitimate son of Charles Monroe, who everyone surprisingly learned was also Lizzy’s Great-great-uncle Charles.
Walter Monroe had invested wisely throughout his years. He had lived most of them overseas and traveling back and forth from New York City. He was a very wealthy man, but his total estate was never known until the day after Henry married. For some unknown reason, Walter Monroe had stated in his Will that half of his fortune would go to the first Monroe great-great-grandson to wed. His Last Will and Testament had been sealed and secured within the trust of a legal team on Fifth Avenue in New York. Each generation of lawyers who managed the Will knew that when the time came that Walter Monroe had a great-great-grandson, they were to wait until the day he was wed.
Henry still didn’t believe the legitimacy of the Will, but when he examined t
he bank statements, they told him differently. Both Henry and Nellie had offered to give some of the inheritance to Lizzy, but after just a few minutes of careful reflection, Lizzy had declined. To her, Martin had tried his best, and what she had in her bank accounts was what the Lord wanted her to have. Nothing more.
Still, the thought of Henry being a wealthy man and Nellie needing for nothing had not yet registered for either of them. The money sat in an account, oddly untouched. The accountants called on them on a monthly basis. They wanted for nothing, yet they desired little. They had once joked at a quiet dinner out: “We were born the Monroes and McKeevers. We are now the Monroes. We want little, need little, yet have a lot. . . . Go figure!”
It had become a family joke ever since. Neither Henry nor Nellie considered things any different than how they were before. They were the Monroes and nothing could make them prouder.
“So, Henry,” Lizzy said, waiting for Henry to finally sit. “I hate to do this and I know it’s really not something that you would do on your own, but—”
“It sounds a little frightful in there, you two,” Nellie yelled from the outer room. “You two hold off on agreeing to anything unless I sign on to it, you hear?”
Lizzy smiled, her eyes sparkling bright at Nellie’s comment. “Henry, I’m just going to come right out and say it.”
Henry waited. He looked at Lizzy. He tilted his head at her long pause and just before he spoke, Lizzy continued. “I need you, Henry!”
Nellie dropped a newly purchased vase and it made a loud crash. “You what!?”
“I told your husband that I need him!”
Lizzy turned back to Henry, her smile wide with mischief. She laughed at the look Henry was giving her. “Oh, dear God, if only Mr. Brady was still alive to photograph this moment.”
“OK, seriously, you two!” Lizzy steadied herself before blurting it out. “You know that I’ve been asked to speak for the suffragist’s cause. I’ve been set up with events from Boston to Chicago to Philadelphia, New York, and yes, the first one is this Saturday, right here in D.C. and to be quite frank, I need help!”
Nellie entered the room, one recently purchased garment draped over her arm. She sat on the edge of Henry’s chair and looked at her mother. “What could Henry do?”
“Well, he could drive me; he could help me set up; he could, well, you know . . . he’d be there.” Lizzy stopped and thought. “To be honest, kids, I’m just really scared about all I’m about to do. Having Henry there would just make me feel that much better. He’s big and strong . . . now, don’t let that get to your head, son.” They all laughed before she continued, “Seriously, he could do so much. The thing is, I just don’t know how or if I can pay him.”
“I’ll do it!” Henry abruptly replied. “It’s perfect. I don’t care about the money, Mrs. M. This ol’ boy needs to find something meaningful to do, to make me feel, well, like I’m contributing to something rather than reading about it in the paper every day. You know?”
Nellie reached her hand behind Henry’s neck and caressed it. She too would have loved to join with them but she knew that with their two little ones, plus one on the way, that her time would have to come at a later time.
“Splendid!” Lizzy exclaimed joyfully with a slap on her knee. As everyone began to rise from their seats, Lizzy added, “Can you start Saturday?”
* * * *
Lizzy looked out and took a deep breath. Her heart throbbed. She’d started with her usual neutral introductory format but as soon as she noticed the reaction, her pulse raced. When she looked over to the side of the stage, she was calmed by Henry’s sweet smile of confidence. It was just what she needed to continue on.
“We always hear from those who use the Bible to defend themselves against what is truly right for women. Yet, we women, most of us defended the very right of freedom for slaves, and for them to have their own right to cast their voice to the Republic. That, my friends, was twenty-eight years ago. It was in 1870 that our brothers in bondage received their right to vote. Well, my friends, it is now 1898 and we women, well, where are we and what are we going to do?”
Lizzy took a step back as the crowd erupted. The best she could decipher was that most were cheering but she could still hear a few angry outbursts, especially in the rows closer to the front. She noticed a woman, not much younger than herself, cheering her on, until the man next to her forcefully put his hand over her mouth. She looked over to the fourth or fifth row and could see three men with bats in their hands. The bats themselves didn’t cause Lizzy to panic, but the sour grin on the men’s faces sent chills down her spine and made her wish she’d never agreed to come.
She looked once again over to Henry for courage.
“Again, my friends, I ask you!” Lizzy stepped closer to the microphone and her voice vibrated against the walls. “What is it we women are supposed to do!?”
“You’re supposed to be in the kitchen! Or in the nursery! Best of all, lady, you women are better off in the bed chamber where you’re supposed to be. Read the Bible, lady! Read the Bible!”
Lizzy dismissed the latest outburst from the crowd. She knew that she was almost finished. The crowd was mixed. She estimated it to be several hundred in attendance, with an even mix of men and women. She continued to question her commitment to speak. It had been presented to her weeks before by Susan Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton. She was asked to start in her own town before venturing out to other cities in the country. Anthony and Stanton were busy out west and were relying on their newest member to carry the torch in the east. She’d agreed reluctantly. At the time, she’d hoped that Harriet Tubman, her oldest and dearest of friends would be with her, but that was not to be. Tonight, it was only going to be her. Thank you, Henry!
Henry had agreed to go with her. He had no idea to what purpose he’d serve, but he’d go. Once there, his instincts took hold of him and he placed himself more in a protective position. He could see the rising temperature of the crowd. The comments, civil at first, had now become quite vulgar. He stood just off the right wing of the stage, ready at any moment to come in and whisk his amazing mother-in-law away.
“You women in this auditorium, you listen to me. I have a family. I had a husband. I have grandchildren. I, like you, am a woman and I’m very proud of it, as you should be too. This isn’t about taking any of that away from you. No! It’s about who you are and who we are in the eyes of the world.
“There are many states who, right now, are deciding for themselves. Deciding if the time is now. If now is the time to finally allow women to have their voices heard. Each state is leaning towards that very right. But, I’m here tonight to ask you—no, to ask all of us—to call out to the president of the United States and this federal government to establish a new constitutional amendment that ALL women have the right to vote. That ALL women have a voice. That ALL women are equal to the men they love so much. All women. . . .”
“That’s hogwash and all of you know it!” the heckler called out from the back. “Tell me, what do you know about the state of our affairs? Tell me, Missy, what in Sam Hill do you know about what this country has done and where it’s supposed to be going? Tell me, woman, and while you’re at it, tell all of us exactly where is YOUR husband right now? If he’s so supportive of you. Where in the hell is HE now!?”
Henry lurched onto the stage, but Lizzy put her hand out to stop him.
“Sir, I’d be happy to answer your questions on the state of the affairs of this country anytime you’d like. I’m a well-educated woman. I lived and served my conscience before our Civil War, during it and well after it. I lost three of my brothers. One before the war, one during, and one after the war. My only living sibling is a brother who I pray to God above is safe.”
Lizzy paused and placed her handkerchief under her nose then wiped her eyes. Her legs felt weak. Her knees were shaking, but it was the memory of her past that was beginning to bring her down, not the crowd.
“Si
r, as far as my husband, well . . . ,” her voice cracked, “the love of my life and the father of my children was murdered in ’93 along with one of my sons.”
The crowd instantly became quiet and the heckler sat down in silence. Soon after, all were seated and waiting impatiently for Lizzy to continue.
“As I’ve said, I will never ask a woman to give up the most cherished gifts given to us. That of being just that, a woman. I was a wife; I am a mother and a grandmother, but I’m up here tonight in front of all of you and I’m telling you that I’m most proud of the fact that I am, yes, I am a woman and have a right to be heard.”
“And she is damn right!”
The loud voice echoed from the back of the auditorium. Several heads turned back to see where the voice came from.
“I heard that this woman was speaking tonight but I questioned coming.” The voice still strong but unseen. “You see, folks, I’ve been from the east to the west. I’ve seen more in the past twenty-odd years than most in this room have seen in their lifetime. But I can assure you all that no matter what this damn government does, this woman here, she’s for real. I can see that she has a blood line for dramatics and always with a cause. Thought she was lost and I’m sure she thought the same.”
Lizzy craned her neck and squinted as she tried to see through the lights. She had no recollection of the voice.
She looked over at Henry questioningly. He too looked confused.
“You people in this room must know that the future for women is happening right now. In fact, it’s happening right here tonight; believe it or not, like it or hate it, it’s happening. I’ve known a lot of women in my days, but I can tell you that this woman on this here stage is the real deal. She’s the spittin’ image of the momma and papa who raised her up to speak out for the causes she believes in and you know what!? Her momma would be right next to her if she was alive today, mark my word!”
The crowd began to stir again, their voices growing loud. The heckler began to swear oaths that caused one woman to faint. If it wasn’t for her husband’s firm hold on her, she’d have landed face down on the floor.