This day I have been to school and have recited poorly, our …?… did poorly and as for Latin, it was worth nothing. I returned home in tears, but it did some good for I studied so much the harder. In the evening I went to hear a lecture from Mr. Gauff and a fine one it was for he mimiced the drunk and in fine he so intense into the spirit of his subject that it was impossible for . . . with him but what was worse then all I had to come home alone.
The Temperance Movement is very active in Cincinnati in 1851. Ministers and speakers are railing against the evils of drinking distilled liquor. John B. Gough is one of the most popular speakers on the national circuit. According to the Cincinnati Commercial he is “creating a tremendous sensation. He is undoubtedly a great man. He is comic, tragic, melo-dramatic, statesmanlike, and everything that is rare, in his manner and speech.” Susan B. Anthony, temperance activist and future campaigner for Women’s Suffrage, heard Gough speak in New York in 1849. She wrote, “What a lecture, what arguments, how can a man or woman remain neutral or be a moderate drinker” (Dannenbaum 18).
Serena goes to hear Gough, in spite of the fact that she has no escort. We can picture her scanning the crowd, looking for the friendly face of someone to walk home with her.
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