As Judge Cooley， one of the professors， was a very liberal man， as well as a sound lawyer， and strongly in favor of opening the college to girls， I had no doubt the women of Michigan would soon distinguish themselves at the bar. Some said the chief difficulty in the way of the girls of that day being admitted to the University was the want of room. That could have been easily obviated by telling the young men from abroad to betake themselves to the colleges in their respective States， that Michigan might educate her daughters. As the women owned a good share of the property of the State， and had been heavily taxed to build and endow that institution， it was but fair that they should share in its advantages.
The Michigan University， with its extensive grounds， commodious buildings， medical and law schools， professors' residences， and the finest laboratory in the country， was an institution of which the State was justly proud， and， as long as the tuition was free， it was worth the trouble of a long， hard， siege by the girls of Michigan to gain admittance there. I advised them to organize their forces at once， get their minute guns， battering rams， monitors， projectiles， bombshells， cannon， torpedoes， and crackers ready， and keep up a brisk cannonading until the grave and reverend seigniors opened the door， and shouted， "Hold， enough！"
The ladies of Ann Arbor had a fine library of their own， where their clubs met once a week. They had just formed a suffrage association. My visit ended with a pleasant reception， at which I was introduced to the chaplain， several professors， and many ladies and gentlemen ready to accept the situation. Judge Cooley gave me a glowing account of the laws of Michigan杊ow easy it was for wives to get possession of all the property， and then sunder the marriage tie and leave the poor husband to the charity of the cold world， with their helpless children about him. I heard of a rich lady， there， who made a will， giving her husband a handsome annuity as long as he remained her widower. It was evident that the poor "white male，" sooner or later， was doomed to try for himself the virtue of the laws he had made for women. I hope， for the sake of the race， he will not bear oppression with the stupid fortitude we have for six thousand years.
At Flint I was entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Jenny. Mr. Jenny was a Democratic editor who believed in progress， and in making smooth paths for women in this great wilderness of life. His wife was a remarkable woman. She inaugurated the Ladies' Libraries in Michigan. In Flint they had a fine brick building and nearly two thousand volumes of choice books， owned by the association， and money always in the treasury. Here， too， I had a fine audience and gave my lecture entitled "Open the Door."
At Coldwater， in spite of its name， I found a warm， appreciative audience.
The president of the lyceum was a sensible young man who， after graduating at Ann Arbor， decided， instead of starving at the law， to work with his hands and brains at the same time. When all men go to their legitimate business of creating wealth， developing the resources of the country， and leave its mere exchange to the weaker sex， we shall not have so many superfluous women in the world with nothing to do. It is evident the time has come to hunt man into his appropriate sphere. Coming from Chicago， I met Governor Fairchild and Senator Williams of Wisconsin. It was delightful to find them thoroughly grounded in the faith of woman suffrage. They had been devout readers of the Revolution ever since Miss Anthony induced them to subscribe， the winter before， at Madison. Of course a new glow of intelligence irradiated their fine faces (for they were remarkably handsome men) and there was a new point to all their words. Senator Williams， like myself， was on a lecturing tour. "Man" was his theme， for which I was devoutly thankful； for， if there are any of God's creatures that need lecturing， it is this one that is forever advising us. I thought of all men， from Father Gregory down to Horace Bushnell， who had wearied their brains to describe woman's sphere， and how signally they had failed.
Throughout my lyceum journeys I was of great use to the traveling public， in keeping the ventilators in the cars open， and the dampers in fiery stoves shut up， especially in sleeping cars at night. How many times a day I thought what the sainted Horace Mann tried to impress on his stupid countrymen， that， inasmuch as the air is forty miles deep around the globe， it is a useless piece of economy to breathe any number of cubic feet over more than seven times！ The babies， too， need to be thankful that I was in a position to witness their wrongs. Many， through my intercession， received their first drink of water， and were emancipated from woolen hoods， veils， tight strings under their chins， and endless swaddling bands. It is a startling assertion， but true， that I have met few women who know how to take care of a baby. And this fact led me， on one trip， to lecture to my fair countrywomen on "Marriage and Maternity，" hoping to aid in the inauguration of a new era of happy， healthy babies.
